All wheel to two wheel drive

[dboyw]

I have heard that you can make the car into two wheel drive when you don't need the all wheel drive. Can I do this to my car? A 96 Legacy Outback.

Thanks for the help.

 

If I can , how do I do it?

[felipe01forester]

Yeah, but as far as I know, that's only in automatic transmission vehicles. There's a fuse under the hood that you pull out that disengages the AWD system and makes it front-wheel drive. However, this isn't something you can turn on and off at will. You would only do this in an emergency situation. For example, if you need to change a tire, but the spare is smaller, you'd put a regular sized tire on the front and the spare on the back, then pull the AWD fuse so it's just FWD. That way, the mismatched tires won't mess up the drivetrain.

[Jason1976]

We have a '96 Legacy Outback as well. Indeed, there is a fuse box under the hood...but you need to put in a fuse...not take one out. The one-fuse box is located next to the firewall on the passenger side. The box on our car says FWD. When engaged, you will notice the FWD light on the dash light up.

 

As far as when to use it...I've read a lot of people discouraging using it. In our car there is an issue with the AWD when making a slow, sharp turn...such as at a stop sign. Our mechanic explained that the problem was with the transmission, but I don't recall what he said explicitly (other than "expensive"). He advised us that a work-around was the fuse under the hood. We engage our car in FWD for the months of April to October (no snow or ice) and return to AWD for the winter. We've done this for two years and have seen no ill effects.

[JT95]

Have you noticed any difference in gas mileage when you go to FWD, Jason?

 

 

 

Now, if only there were a RWD option--that would be sweet.

[idosubaru]

jason,

 

yes you can run an automatic in FWD. you would want to disconnect the driveshaft under the car (on older soobs it's only eight 10 mm bolts, very easy to do). they generally have two pieces, you leave the half of the driveshaft that's connected to the transmission because pulling that will allow transfluid to come out. so you pull the rear half of the driveshaft out (asssuming there is one) so as to disconnect the rear drivetrain. then you can install the FWD switch, or even better yet install a switch (like i have) to control the Duty Solenoid C (there are other posts on this subject elsewhere and pictures at www.xt6.net). This Duty cycle controls the lock up of the transfer clutch for your AWD. with the switch you can essentially control it manually, whether it is locked or not. In your case you would probably just cut the wire i think, as that would fully engage Duty Solenoid C. This would lock your transfer clutch, which would give power to your rear wheels at all times, but it wouldn't matter because your driveline is disconnected. in your car probably easier to just install the FWD fuse if you're not familiar with all of that, the FWD fuse won't compromise your transmission if you remove the rear drive shaft because the rear wheels won't be driving it all. if you do remove the rear drive shaft i would put the car in drive WITHOUT the FWD switch in a parking lot, just to see how the car reacts in case the FWD fuse ever blew or got corroded. i would want to know what the car feels like so i can identify it later on if anything like that happened.

 

and yes you can make the car rear wheel drive too, people have done. just pull the front axles and again lock the transfer clutch. i wouldn't recommend it, because i'm not sure how much those rear transfer clutches can take if the car is completely driven through them, but i really have no idea.

 

i don't think you'd notice the gas mileage as you're still driving all the intenals inside the transmission. the rear wheel bearing and diff drag is still present, you'd only be reducing the drag by small amounts, doubt it's noticable. probably save more gas by buying light shoes or cleaning your car out, or removing some needless bolts to save weight.

[Jason1976]

Thanks for the info Gary. In the past, I've always trusted my vehicles to certified mechanics. However, the last straw for me was the quoted cost to replace the struts. I found this place and have been learning ever since. I'm looking forward to working on my own vehicles and absorbing as much info as I can about Subes.

 

JT95...just as Gary stated, we've seen no increase in gas mileage when running on FWD only.

[idosubaru]

i don't recommend messing with the Duty Solenoid C, or other transmission control devices until you're very comfortable with how the system works, how it feels when something isn't working right and have a solid foundation for the transmission and components. if you understand how it works, know how to test it, know what it feels like and what it does if something isn't hooked up right, it's actually very simple. i can lock my transfer clutch and experience excellent 4WD capability. the transmission will bind, buck and hop just like a true 4WD with locked differential. of course you don't want to do that, but it's nice knowing that traction capability is there with the flick of a switch and i control it, not the computer. and even still, i don't think the computer ever goes to full lock-up but i could be wrong. i didn't know much about it and it didn't take long at all to pick it up and roll with it.

 

for instance - if you have a manual trans with DIFF lock you can remove the rear drive shaft and press the DIFF lock button and you'll be in FWD mode because the rear end isn't powering anything, just the front. the rear output shaft is spinning, but it's not connected. BUT - safety concern, if you accidentally press that DIFF lock button and turn it OFF while driving this way, all power goes to the rear output shaft and you won't have any power to the front wheels. that's a serious safety concern that you want to be very careful of as you will basically just start drifting....through and intersection or right in the middle of a turn and you can't get out of the way of oncoming traffic...etc.

[friendly_jacek]

i don't think the computer ever goes to full lock-up but i could be wrong.

"1" gives you as much lockup as possible. I confirmed that.

Some people say "2" is the same but I never tested that.

 

As for MPG saving with FWD fuse, I saw no difference on a 1600 miles trip alternating FWD and AWD.

[coloradosubarules]

Considering the torque split in "D" is 90 (front) 10 (rear)...I wouldn't reccomend making it a rear-wheel drive only vehicle.

 

(90-94 legacy I am refering to)

[dboyw]

I forgot to say my car is a manual. Does that mean that I cannot do this? I have not seen the fuse holder by the firewall, so I guess I'm out of luck.

[ballitch]

the fuse has FWD written on it and it should be next to your passenger side strut tower, open your hood and look to the top left corner, and look about 3 inches down and about 3 inches to the right and you should see it, unless your 1996 legacy somehow didnt get the AWD system installed at the factory, which probably didnt happen.

 

 

 

~Josh~