johnceggleston

you got to figure if the belts failed at 106k miles they would have us change them at 80k miles. but since they say 105k then i figure at least 131k. i had to do mine at 98k because of the leaking water pump. i sure didn't want to run low on coolant and over heat.

a few pics of the at clutch pack, duty c sol and the crud in the valve seat. as you have already figured out: duty c off (retracted, no electricty) = 4wd locked duty c always on (extended, constant elec.) = fwd only duty c controled by tcu (variable on/off) = awd as needed when the duty c fails or the valve seat gets crud in it restricting the flow, you have torque bind.

HOnestly after reading all these posts, I still don't understand what the "practical" difference is between the modern awd and 4wd is. to further confuse...the owners manual in my 97 obw a/t has driving tips for both the legacy wagon and the outback. 'off road' driving is not recommened for one and is (with limitations) for the other. this surprised me, my understandig was that there are no differences in the drive train except tire size. did i miss something?

io just replaced the clutch pack with used in my 97 obw 4eat with 98k miles. my symptons were that i was in 4wd all the time. i also had the "AT TEMP' light flashing at me when i started my car. turns out my problem was the duty soleniod. i had a good used clutch pack from another 97obw a/t that i used to drive . my guy charged me 280 for labor, fuild and gasket. no warranty on used clutch pack. in hind sight i should have priced (and used ) a new duty c sol. there small units and can't be very expensive. but for the labor and troubl, well worth the investment. i suspect that the clutch itself will take alot of wear and tear. i don't know what would make one fail. but the solenoid is a small electronic device held in by 2 bolts. use new!!! good luck

i take it the viscous coupling on the manual trans is different from the clutch pack on the a/t. i just had my AWD clutch /cover asembly replaced and it fixed my 97 obw a/t. the dealer quoted me $1000.00 to reelpace the clutch pack. i had a used one off my old trans, (different 97 obw i used to drive) . trans shop charged me $280.00 labor, gasket and 2 qts fluid to install my used part. (3.5 hours labor) i think he padded the labor bill but what the hell, it didn't cost 1000 and it's done. in hind sight i should have priced a new duty c sol and installed that instead of used . i don't know what they cost, but for 280 labor i should have used new. so i'm not sure exactly what the viscous coupling consist of, but if it bolts on to the rump roast end of the trsans there is a good chance you could get a used one save some money and keep most of your existing transmission. on auto trans, (per nipper) the failed clutch pack can ruin a trans, but the trans failing should not damage the clutch pack. so any bad trans could have a good clutch pack / viscous coupling??? any body have any pictures of a manual trans with the viscous coupling open??? good lucjk, john

true, diff cars use different keys, but when auto makers use the same keyway and key blank, you can have one of the cars rekeyed to match the other. now one key will fit both cars, carrying fewer keys is a plus in my book. imagine one key fitting all 3 of your subarus. subaru and nissan (older ones anyway) use the ignition keyway, maybe switch. just like all fords use the same keyway. so which wears out faster, the key or the keyway?

ok... yes the bolt heads do break off when you install the switch... BUT (and this may come in handy for thoses who own 2 suubies) if you have a working key (it may need to be turned) you can extract the 'keyway" with out removing the switch from the column. there is a button/slot you push in, when the key is in the ignition (and turned, i think) that releases the 'keyway'. you can then have it rekeyed. (2 cars can share the same key.) this means you don't have top mess with the 'brokenen off head bolts'. however i've done both and the bolts are not impossible to remove, time and patience and chisel and tapping. you can also remove the dooor lock keyway and have that rekeyed to match the new ignition key... however, the door lock is very hard to reinstall with the bolts. it has a retaining clip which goes in pretty easy, and everything works, but there is one bolt that's really hard. did you know that the 95 legacy and the 90 nissan pickup share the same ignition keyway. ( 15.9GAL gas tanks too, i think)i have owned both and the same key operates both cars. what a joy. good luck, john

i've had several burnig smells in my 95 leg & 97obw. front right cv joint/boot will leak and throw out grease onto the exhuast, giving a burning grease smell. rear end pinion seal (where drive shaft goes into the rear end) leaking throwing grease on thr exhaust, burning smell. or my favorite, rushed to the shop, put the car on a lift to find out what the NEW burning smell was. apparently i parked in a pile of leaves and picked up a plastic grocery bag which got on the exhaust, rubber burning smell. good luck.

thanks for all the help. i'm out of town till tuesday, i'll run some test then. i know the battery isn't the best but i hate spend money hoping for a cure. thanks again, john

i went to start my 97 obw w/ 110k miles, automatic, this just after a 3 hour drive home. when i turned on the key every thing lights up as normal, when i turn the key to start, it al goes dark, dash lights, headlights, warning lights, dome lights...everything dark and the car wouldn't crank & electric locks wouldn't work. no clicks, no nothing. the next day, it acted a little like a weak battery, and over time system lights slowly came back and it finally started. i checked the battery voltage while off, 12.58v and after i got it running, 14.88v. this is wierd, my first fear was the computer. any ideas on what or where to check next? thanks, john

you do realize the awd is a 90/10 power split front/rear until the computer detects the need for more power to the rear (front wheel slipping)? so the awd is very subtle until you need it. try finding some snow, ice or wet grass (maybe gravel) with "lots of room" and punching it in first gear. you should be able to see / feel all 4 tires grab. john

do you have a "fwd" light on your instrument panel when the car is runnig? if so you need to remove the fwd fuse under the hood passenger side near the firewall. this fuse makes the car drive front wheels only. if no light, then...... i don't know.... bad tcu? some one smarter then me needs to tel you.

how does this conflict / intergrate with the duty c failure, ie: torque bind? seems to me if the fuse under the hood entergises the duty c (fwd only) then the "4 wd" switch would have to interuput power to the duty c? or are there 2 different functions going on? does the computer vary the vlotage to vary the power distribution? i'm only asking because the description of 4wd locked sounds a lot like torque bind. john

i had to replace the radiator in my 90 nissan pickup the other day and thought it would be a good idea to remove the thermostat. i didn't know a car could run that "cool". the guage didn't hardly move. i always heard that the thermostat helped the engine warm up faster. well it does , but what it really does is create heat for the heater. if you live in florida, throw it away.

have you looked for a leak from the water pump? it's hard to see unless you have the car on a lift.

a carfax check should show any open recalls on the car. carfax checks w/ subaru to see if the recall work has been done. luck, john

i just bought a 97 obw with an engine noise. louder at first start up less after warm up.drove it home 300 miles and it runs great. i was told the car needed an engine, and it was priced accordingly. the dealers mechanic diagnose it as a "wrist pin". said it went away when the plugs were pulled on that side. question: 1. how to tell the difference between bad "wrist pin" and piston slap? 2. will piston slap damage the engine? (apparently not) 3. timing belt is due soon, is it foolish to spend the money if engine is bad? 4. is it better to spend the money on 95 2.2l (167k mi) and move it to the 97 obw? the 95 trans went bad just after new timing belt, water pump, front seals and valve cover gaskets. any help would be great. john

if you have a flat and use an odd size spare on the road, make sure the spare is on the rear, and put the fuse in the fwd holder under the hood. that way there's no damage. you can run fwd to home or your shop instead of dealing with strange shop or buying one new tire.

sorry i can't help, but i'm glad to know the car went to a good home. good luck. what are your plans for the car.?

i have the same problem in my 97 obw. i was planning on swaping out the clutch pack, but need to check the ecu/tcm (? i don't the difference or which one to check.) where is the unit located, in the car or on the trans. can i swap one out of another 97 obw to check it. are the units expensive? new or used? i don't really want to pull the trans. thanks, john

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_maintenance.html#90-99maintenance this might come in handy, i copied the info and pasted it into excel and saved.

no differance in behavior with fuse in. tires are not new but all are equal. this binding is much more severe than what was on 95 legacy. that was my first awd and i just thought it was normal. that is until the rear seal blew out. and it died. i just happen to have a junk 97 obw trans. (100k miles) that was pulled because it wouldn't drive any more. would the tranny failing ruin the cluth pack? regardless, i thought i'd look inside at the sol just to see what is there.

congrats on you success. maybe there is hope yet. what i can't figure on mine is why i don't get the fwd light when i put in the fuse. could a bad tcm cause this problem? or would it cause lots more too. it runs great at speed on the road but it sure doen't like to turn sharp. what is the chance that a 95 clutch pack would work? didn't they change the trans mission in 96?

how practical would it be to buy the used 98 tranny and just use the clutch pack. it may not save alot since the tranny may equal the new clutch pack, but you'd have the spare trany if you need it. or sell it.

slow down, clutch pack equals transfer case? sending power to the rear wheels. or is it inside transmission itself. i didn't think you could get some to open up a trans for less that $1000. long term, drive it like it is, sooner or later the trans will fail? i just got the car for a good price $2500 w/ 98k miles. the engine seems to have piston slap which does not go away after warm up . i expected to be replacing that (i have one attached to a bad trans wrecked.) but now i'm looking at the clutch pack. i think for $1k i'd go for it. also read that you don't want the timing belt to fail on the 2.5, very bad. is this true? it certainly isn't for the 2.2. thanks