My 99 impreza wagon 5MT is showing some torque bind symptoms (clunking in low speed turns with the steering wheel turned to lock).

 

It is my limited understanding that there are some intermediate fixes (transmission flushes etc) if the damage isn't too bad instead of going straight to replacing expensive parts.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for shops in the Boston area (live in Somerville, girlfriend drives the car to Andover for work most days) that deal with a lot of subarus and would be familiar with the problem and the steps in solving it (as opposed to a dealer who would probably push me towards a brand new drivetrain or something)?

 

I'm laid up with a broken collarbone so i'm pretty limited as far as what I can do/check on my own.

 

Edit: there's also a bit of a gear grind/chunking when i put the car in reverse--another red flag for some new transmission fluid? given my condition would taking it to a valvoline or something to flush the transmission and change the fluid be reasonable?

 

Also-

 

I need to drive the car this weekend--if the tires are all consistently inflated, does driving a car suffering from torque bind rapidly worsen the problem?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

edit again: pardon my misuse of terminology...

Definitely start with fresh fluid and filter; it is the best thing that you can do for an automatic transmission. How is the wear on the tires, as far as being even from tire to tire?

How is the wear on the tires, as far as being even from tire to tire?

 

thanks for the reply.

 

I'll give a look this evening when the car is back in my possession--going to do the tranny fluid tonight.

 

edit: it's a standard tranny, hopefully some fresh fluid will still be helpful.

OOPS! Sorry... automatics on the brain this week. Torque bind is a different animal between manuals and automatics. I am not very "up" on the manual's torque-bind, but other than wheel circumference needing to be consistant I believe that the main cause is a damaged viscous coupler in the center differential. I do not know that there is any reasonable fix other than replacing the coupler (or complete center diff???).

 

Changing gear oil might make the rest of the tranny happy but probably won't help torque bind.

I do not know that there is any reasonable fix other than replacing the coupler (or complete center diff???).

 

Changing gear oil might make the rest of the tranny happy but probably won't help torque bind.

 

yeesh. well, i'll probably do taht anyway...

 

so...other problems that could be causing a bap..bap..bap noise while low speed sharp turns...axles? i guess i'll check the boots...

 

back to the original question--any mechanics the cambridge/medford/somerville area or andover area recommended?

My 99 impreza wagon 5MT is showing some torque bind symptoms (clunking in low speed turns with the steering wheel turned to lock).

 

It is my limited understanding that there are some intermediate fixes (transmission flushes etc) if the damage isn't too bad instead of going straight to replacing expensive parts.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for shops in the Boston area (live in Somerville, girlfriend drives the car to Andover for work most days) that deal with a lot of subarus and would be familiar with the problem and the steps in solving it (as opposed to a dealer who would probably push me towards a brand new drivetrain or something)?

 

I'm laid up with a broken collarbone so i'm pretty limited as far as what I can do/check on my own.

 

Edit: there's also a bit of a gear grind/chunking when i put the car in reverse--another red flag for some new transmission fluid? given my condition would taking it to a valvoline or something to flush the transmission and change the fluid be reasonable?

 

Also-

 

I need to drive the car this weekend--if the tires are all consistently inflated, does driving a car suffering from torque bind rapidly worsen the problem?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

edit again: pardon my misuse of terminology...

 

 

Bad news, once Torque bind shows up in a manual, its already too late. Once you have torque bind in a manual, you cant make it any worse by driving the car, as its already fried. You need a new vscous coupling along with other parts (maybe a center diff).

It is CRITICAL on a manual that all the tires are inflated the same. A automatic is much more forgiving, a manual is not. Driving on a low tire or a flat will burn the VC quickly.

 

nipper

its already fried

nipper

 

doh.

 

thanks for the reply.

 

on to the mental damage control--there's still the possibility that a steering component or something is causing the thunking...right?

 

replacing a center diff/vc must run a couple grand, eh?

--there's still the possibility that a steering component or something is causing the thunking...right?

 

Just an off-the-wall thought, but could it be your power steering pump?

diff/vc is about 1000.00. Nothing else there to make the nois except a broken tranny mount to add insult to injury.

 

nipper