I talked with my father the other day, and he mentioned off-hand about having an issue with his (Forester?) wagon binding up and clunking in corners. I don't remember a whole lot about the car, it's been three years since I saw it, but I seem to recall it's an auto. I have read on here referances to an FWD fuse to test the center diff for torque bind, where is this in terms I can explain to a non-car guy, and what are the results desired?

I talked with my father the other day, and he mentioned off-hand about having an issue with his (Forester?) wagon binding up and clunking in corners. I don't remember a whole lot about the car, it's been three years since I saw it, but I seem to recall it's an auto. I have read on here referances to an FWD fuse to test the center diff for torque bind, where is this in terms I can explain to a non-car guy, and what are the results desired?

It would be good to know the model year, and for certain if it's a manual or auto. I'll tell you what I can without that info.

 

Torque bind is often caused by driving with tires that are not of equal diameter. The size difference can be due to not replacing worn tires all at the same time, running with low air in one or more tires, etc. So, the first suggestion is to verify that the tires are all of the same size and properly inflated.

 

If the car has an auto trans, there is no center diff; there's a clutch pack and a solenoid ("duty C") that controls it. Putting a fuse in the FWD fuse holder should disengage AWD, and if the problem is torque bind, things should improve. If so, a trans fluid change (full flush) might eleviate the problem if it hasn't gotten too bad yet. (By the way, on a MY98-99 Forester, the FWD holder is in the main fuse box, in the engine compartment; use a spare fuse.)

 

If there really is a center diff, the car has a manual trans. In that case there is no FWD fuse holder, because a manual has a viscous coupling, not a clutch pack. The VC is a sealed unit, so no fluid change can be done, and once torque bind is evident, the VC usually has to be replaced. However, there have been reports of some success in eleviating the problem by finding an empty parking lot and doing about a dozen figure-8's while in reverse. Obviously, that needs to be done with care.

... (By the way, on a MY98-99 Forester, the FWD holder is in the main fuse box, in the engine compartment; use a spare fuse.)...

On my 90 Legacy, FWD fuse is between strut tower and the firewall on passenger side.

On my 90 Legacy, FWD fuse is between strut tower and the firewall on passenger side.

On my '99 Legacy Outback, it's mounted at the rear of the passenger side strut tower, in front of the wiper motor. (We're probably describing the same location.) Foresters tend to have a different layout than Legacys, but 4x4_Welder wasn't sure of the model, so .

...Foresters tend to have a different layout than Legacys, but 4x4_Welder wasn't sure of the model, so .

That is the same reason I threw out where mine was... give him a sampling of where it might be.

That is the same reason I threw out where mine was... give him a sampling of where it might be.

We seem to be on the same page.

Thanks guys- I'll call him tomorrow, give him this info. Sorry I'm so vague about this, what I remember about the car is a bit sketchy, I haven't been on the east coast in more than a year.

I agree it is most likely torque bind, but is after putting the fuse in if that dont stop the problem I would look at the big bushings on the back of the control arms, the one that bolts with two large bolts under the car about where the front of the front doors are. If grease is leaking out of these they are shot. I have torque bind problem now and have had these bushing out before and the symtoms are somewhat alike.

I talked with my father the other day, and he mentioned off-hand about having an issue with his (Forester?) wagon binding up and clunking in corners. I don't remember a whole lot about the car, it's been three years since I saw it, but I seem to recall it's an auto. I have read on here referances to an FWD fuse to test the center diff for torque bind, where is this in terms I can explain to a non-car guy, and what are the results desired?