Running, but no drive-power; 91 Legacy

[intangibleid]

Hello all,

This is my first post to these forums, so thanks for the resource in advance!

 

I've run into a strange problem which I have not yet been able to diagnose with my 1991 Legacy Wagon Automatic 4WD (normally aspirated)......

 

This has been a great car which has never had any major problems at all except for the normal maintenance issues. It's still on it's original engine (145,000 miles) and it's original tranny. It has always operated just fine until one day went I was about to take a trip to the store.

 

I started the car (everything sounded/felt normal) backed out of the driveway and put it in Drive to begin heading down the road, however it has almost no motive force..... The engine simply goes into high RPMs and the tranny doesn't shift up as usual.

 

Allow me to explain this a little better;

I put it in D, the tranny makes it's usual click/soft clunk sound that it always makes when it shifts into gear, but then when I press on the accelerator, the car begins to move but it only crawls- I'm talking like walking speed maybe 2mph...... I shift the lever into gear 1 and it makes it's usual sound but the same thing occurs.... It moves when I accelerate, but only a couple mph while the engine continues to go up into higher RPM.

 

If I shift the lever to Reverse, the same thing happens, except the car is moving in reverse. In addition to the slow speed, the car has almost no motive force; It can't even get up on my ramps so I can get a look under there unless I have a couple buddies push it.

 

I checked the tranny fluid but it seems fine, and there are no metal shavings/chunks apparent........

 

I have no idea what is going on..... The engine seems fine in every way I can tell, The tranny shifts into reverse, drive, park, and neutral just fine, but it doesn't have hardly any power at all transferring from the engine to the wheels.

 

I can't see any fluid leaks anywhere and all the fluids seem to be in good shape.

 

Is the torque converter a possibility here? It is the mechanism which transfers

the torque from the engine to the transaxle, correct? Based on my understanding of the working of the torque converter, it would seem that it may be the most likely culprit, but then again, I'm surely not that knowledgable about mechanics......

 

I'm away from home right now so I can't check the car for a few days but I'd really appreciate any tips, pointers, or details of experiences that may light up the path to a fix here from someone more knowledgable than I.

 

I have the Subaru service manual for this transmission and I've been looking through it today to see if it had any obvious pointers..... In the diagnostic procedures refering to the way a car drives there was nothing that sounded anything like this condition pertaining to any of their directives for a cure.

 

Oh well- I've got the specs to pressure test the tranny to see if it is shifting into gear, but I really believe that it is due to the fact that it moves forward and reverse in the respective gears.......

 

Sorry for the long first post as a cry for help,

but maybe I can balance the karma somewhat;

I have pdfs of the Subaru service manuals for the 1990,1992, and 1995-2004

Legacys if anybody wants a copy- They really seem to go over everything.

I have some assorted forrester and other models as well from assorted years.

Getting ahold of the official service book was the smartest thing I ever did for my car. (Handy pics!!)

 

Let me know via PM if you would like one, or if you would like a different model/year as I may have those as well.

 

Thanks a lot!

 

-Id

[ShawnW]

Have any enemies/pranksters that might have plugged your exhaust?

 

I think you need to lift all 4 wheels off the ground and see if something is locked up like a brake be it E-brake or half the hydraulic system.

 

Don't over complicate it until you have narrowed it down.

[nipper]

Hrmmm have you cheked the fluid hot with engine running?

 

Have you tried all the other gear positions

 

what happens if you feather the gas pedal.

 

This really doesnt sound good, it sounds like your tranny may be shot. Do a Torqu Converter stall speed test (basically powerbrake the car) If you cant get the engine over 2000 rpm (i forget the exact spec) the TC is fine. If the engine revs freely the one way clutch in the TC may have let go.

 

A clogged exhaust pipe would limit engine response.

 

Do you have any CEL or Power lights on?

 

ANother possability is the car is in limp mode, but that would just get it stuck in one gear and still give you throttle response up to 50.

 

 

nipper

[nipper]

Does the car ever reach road speed?

[intangibleid]

The tranny fluid level while the engine is hot is at the proper level in the 'hot' range and it's in the proper range when it's cold (in the cold range), ....

 

Feathering the accelerator doesn't make the car perform any differently except for the normal change in engine response between feathering and putting it to the floor. It doesn't get anymore drive power. The exhaust pipe isn't clogged; the car is putting out normal looking and smelling exhaust fumes.

 

There is not a lit CEL or Power light.... There are no abnormal lights lit.....

 

It doesn't reach anywhere near road speed..... It MIGHT have hit 5mph on level ground with plenty of time to accelerate, certainly not 10 mph.

 

I have to wait a few days until I get home to do the stall speed test.

 

If the tranny IS shot, I know I can find used ones at the u-pull-it junkyard for pretty cheap. However, a low mileage tranny from an 18 year old car is almost certainly not to be found......

[nipper]

If the tranny IS shot, I know I can find used ones at the u-pull-it junkyard for pretty cheap. However, a low mileage tranny from an 18 year old car is almost certainly not to be found......

 

 

You would be surprised. Sometimes you can find rebuilt ones too.

 

 

Just make sure it comes with a warrenty.

 

 

nipper

[intangibleid]

Around here, all you get is a 30 day guarantee on used parts,

What that actually means though, is that if you pick a broken one and find that it doesn't work, you can get another or you can get your money back, but you might lose out on a good bit of hard work in the process of finding out....

 

However at 175-200$ a pop, I can afford to go through 5 of em before it becomes economical to me to have one rebuilt:rolleyes:

 

Oh well.....

I'll probably try my luck at testing the tranny every way I possibly can via the service manual if I end up having to pull it out.

 

The book makes it look not to difficult to disassemble and rebuild, however, little pictures in a book can be deceiving sometimes.....

I'll likely try to identify the problem and correct it myself after I switch a used one in(assuming it comes to that) since you don't have to return the core in order to purchase a junk tranny around these parts.

 

Thanks for the input.