91 Loyale - Brakes and 4wd questions

[samneric]

Hi all,

 

Quick question about the selective 4wd on a 91 Loyale. I drive an '02 wrex myself which has the AWD feature. My girlfriend is under the impression that it is bad for the Loyale to drive it in 4wd mode while not off-roading. My theory, based on my wrex is that the only downside is slighly reduce gas milage - is this the case or is it risky to drive the Loyale in 4wd mode all the time.

 

The only other warning I have heard is with Jeeps that arn't supposed to be driven at speed in 4wd mode - because of the risk of flipping me thinks. Hmm.

 

Next question - I have replaced the front axle on the Loyale and needed to remove the caliper to do so. I bled the brakes until clean fluid with no bubbles came out of all the lines and the brake pedal is hard until you start the car and it goes spongy again. Is this the master cylinder with air? If so, do you have to bleed it with the brake lines that come out of it???? Is there a special wrench you can buy to undo those nuts with the lines in them because I used a regular wrench and they are starting to get rounded. I have read on other threads that you should try bleeding with the engine running - will this effectively bleed the master cylinder?

 

Thanks for any help,

 

Steve

[MorganM]

There is a big difference; your girlfriend is right. The simple version is 4WD = Offroad and AWD = onroad. To run in 4WD you need to be on a surface that will alow your tires to slip if your drivetrain binds up. The AWD is specially designed to allow you to use it on dry pavement.

 

As for the brakes you need to bleed them in the proper order. Front right,rear left,front left then rear right. The master cylinder is fine unless you let it run dry. Then you have to 'bench bleed' the master cylinder and I can go over that if it ran out of fluid.

 

Speed bleeders can help a lot with bleeding. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16029&highlight=speed+bleeder

[Caboobaroo]

yes what Morgan said is correct. A little more detail into it though: The AWD is designed to slip inide the drivetrain thus allowing you to drive it on dry pavement without binding from the drivetrain itself. The part-time 4wd or the selectable 4wd is designed to give you better handling in the rain, snow or mud. This setup does not have the viscous couplings inside the tranny and rear end to allow the slipping like in the rex. You can use the part time 4wd on dry pavement but only in a straight line or you will start binding it and putting a lot of stress on your tranny and axles.

[samneric]

Thanks for the advice,

 

My girlfriend liked being right BTW

 

Steve

 

 

 

There is a big difference; your girlfriend is right. The simple version is 4WD = Offroad and AWD = onroad. To run in 4WD you need to be on a surface that will alow your tires to slip if your drivetrain binds up. The AWD is specially designed to allow you to use it on dry pavement.

 

As for the brakes you need to bleed them in the proper order. Front right,rear left,front left then rear right. The master cylinder is fine unless you let it run dry. Then you have to 'bench bleed' the master cylinder and I can go over that if it ran out of fluid.

 

Speed bleeders can help a lot with bleeding. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16029&highlight=speed+bleeder

[MorganM]

Thanks for the advice,

 

My girlfriend liked being right BTW

 

Steve

They always do

 

Thanks for the details Caboobaroo