Nervous about fwd fuse

[imprezaII]

Help,I am getting more confused on the fuse thing for FWD . I really do think now that I have bought a mistreated 96 2.2 auto impreza SW . Was looking at the winter tires that came with the car, one tire was run flat for a long time..looking inside of tire.... ooooooohh ,then my summer tire has started leaking . Had it repaired an they told me this tire also was run many times with low pressure.right a way put in the FWD fuse ,but now reading the search I am confused on how long I can keep it in Fwd. Still on fwd ,today on the highway, on new pavement we noticed that it seems to want to go from side to side, no wind no traffic, light throttle. Also when I drive quickly, mid to heavy throttle it seems to want to move from lt to rt to lt to rt. man oh man.. I have had this car less then 2 months. I hate giving up on this car. My wife really likes it, so do I , black sw with beige interior , and because no one here ,from my area seems to know much about subaru....and I really do like the feel of how solid it drives, no rattles or squeaks , and the ease of how they are seeming easy to work on , plugs & wires, so far.

This week I will take scooby to a friend who owns a transmission shop.

YOU folks are very smart . I have been reading the search but some times things don't seem so clear ... Please help ... this all very new to me . I have worked on many antiques and trucks. But this is a very different car. Thanks in advance.:banana:

[idosubaru]

there's no need to know anything about subaru's. your problem is likely to be something very simple:

 

tie rods, steering rack bushings, struts, causing this pulling/wandering.

 

i would start by looking at the steering rack bushings.

 

something is out of whack and it's unlikely (like i'd bet my house on it) to be anything expensive. just need to find it.

[nipper]

FWD Fuse is really only meant to get you someplace till you fix a flat tire (due to using mismatched tires). Anything longer then that and it can last 1 week or 2 years before you fry the solenoid (seen both).

 

But more importanlty you are driving on bad tires, and need to get that cured asap. You may have bad ball joint(s), tie rod end(s), wheel bearing(s). Any of those that are worn enough to make the car wander is dangerous and need to be looked at sooner then later.

 

 

nipper

[4x4_Welder]

The factory manual for the transmission basically says to only use the FWD fuse for testing and emergencys. You are essentially running that clutch pack without any lubrication.

[nipper]

The factory manual for the transmission basically says to only use the FWD fuse for testing and emergencys. You are essentially running that clutch pack without any lubrication.

 

Not true (not picking on ya).

 

As long as the car is running there is fluid going to the clutchpack parts to lubricate it and cool it. With the FWD fuse in you are energizing the duty solenoid continuosly, which it is not designhed for. The solenoid is designed for cycling on and off quickly. The solenoid being held open dumps all the pressure to the clutch pack, but not the fluid that is required to keep things happy. The risk here is overheating the solenoid causing it to fail. When this solenoid fails, it allows full pressure to the clutch pack, which locks it in 50/50 torque split with no slipping. The slipping allows for differential type action.

[Fairtax4me]

If the tire has wear on the inside of the sidewall due to driving with low pressure it needs to be replaced ASAP! Right now! Do not drive the car ANY until you get all 4 tires replaced. You are gambling on your life, and the lives of every other driver around you, driving that car at highway speed with those tires.

You also need to take it to an alignment shop and have them look it over. Any part of the car concerning alignment that is worn out they will be able to find and replace for you.

[imprezaII]

Well yesterday my brother retired his 3.0L Dodge shadow and he said come get the factory mags .. lace pattern,gold colored accents,mounted with Eagle RSA, all about 50 % good. The happy part is they fit right on the Impreza...with no real issues..they sit out farther by 3/4 of an inch.My wife likes the color match from the rims and interior. :banana:

Now regarding the wobbly feeling of the car. We checked out the front end ; ball joints, struts , mounts, sway links, wheel bearings, lower control arm bushings, the rear sub frame mountings, rear trailing arm bushings, they are all tight . Also checked the brake calipers on the front for sticking pistons or slider mounts, and rear shoes, in case they were sticking on. The one thing we did before this all started with the wonky feel was the right frt cv axle was replaced with a new one. We think it may be the problem, may be ......

I checked the Search ,someone wrote in 09-20-2002 that they used 35psi all around , will do that tomorrow . I can't see 3 psi more from 32 psi which is the pressure now, but never had a Subaru before...I hope this will be the first of many.

Thank you for helping us with your experience on these cars:)