Ranting about tourque bind.

[sailhard]

I recently had to take a $2500 bath on a TB'ed 96 legacy l 2.2 that I HAD to get out of my yard. I sold it cheap to a friend, with the recomendation he get it the TB fixed asap. ( I'm sure he won't )

 

When I got the '96 it had 3 50% worn tires and 1 brand new one.

She had 80K miles and no TB. It developed the TB at around 100K while driving back and forth from snowy ski resorts ( solid 16 flash at temp light ). I then learned all about TB...needing exactly the same size tires, and if you get a flat, put in the fwd fuse, the transfer case cover flaw.. blah blah blah etc.

 

My question is: if having one tire a bit bigger did in my tranfer case components, does that mean if you used your subaru in the snow or mud ALL the time that it would be doomed to fail as well? ( since being in 4wd mode is "bad" for it).

 

I also wonder if the 92-96 awd trannies are more likely to get TB than newer versions.

[ericem]

Yes, they are more likely, but driving with 4 tires that are not 100 percent the same meaning wear, size, PSI in the tire, this can damage the clutch as i one clutch spins at a different rate, and they tend to ware and overheat, and can possibly melt, then u need to remove the rear housing and/or replace the components, or get the newer updated rear housing with all the components.

 

But a better place to start now is getting new tires. But to test the transfer case try inserting the FWD fuse and see if the binding disappears, then a good step front there is to get a transmission fluid change several times, or get a tranny flush.

 

Although what i said is related if u have a automatic transmission, if its a manual well, then thats not good. Then most likely the, im not expierenced with the manual system, so if it is manual please state.

[idosubaru]

My question is: if having one tire a bit bigger did in my tranfer case components, does that mean if you used your subaru in the snow or mud ALL the time that it would be doomed to fail as well? ( since being in 4wd mode is "bad" for it).

no that is not the case. you'd need to tell us what you mean by "4WD mode" since these transmissions don't have any type of selectable mode that you speak of other than the TCU controlled AWD system. the only concern on a stock subaru set up is to make sure the tires match, are rotated when needed, and the ATF is changed as needed. whether it's driven on snow, mud, off road, roads, gravel, parking lots, highways....none of that matters.

 

I also wonder if the 92-96 awd trannies are more likely to get TB than newer versions.

not related, but interesting is that the first 4EAT's that came out in the XT6's never, ever experience torque bind. now, i'm sure there's probably one example somewhere in the world. but i've owned 15-20 of these things, been on the various XT groups over the past decade, moderator of XT6.net and have never heard of one TB issue on these 4EAT's. i've always found that odd.

[weddes05]

TB normally seems most common in 95-98 trannies. After that in the external filter trans they used a steel bushing in the housing instead of just letting the shaft ride in the aluminum housing. I have probably personally done about 30or so 95-98s and none of the others.

[sailhard]

What I meant by "4wd mode" is when there is more than the "normal" 10% of torque automatically being supplied to the rear wheels, from actual detected slip or "missmatched" tires. Yes I was only refering to automatic transmissions.i

 

So whenever you get a flat that is not repairable, and have "used" tires, you should just bite the bullet and replace all 4 tires. That sucks balls!!!!

 

I still think that it you had to drive a newer automatic subie in slipperry conditions ALL of the time you would kill the transfer case....which also sucks.

 

There was no warning of any of this in the manual either.

[Dr.Outback]

Having uneven tire wear between axles, is like making the car drive in a circle for thousands of miles. The diff gears are not meant to take that type of abuse. It would happen eventually to a front drive vehicle if driven long enough and with a substantial amount of diameter difference between the tires. Google differentials and read up on them.

[nipper]

Having uneven tire wear between axles, is like making the car drive in a circle for thousands of miles. The diff gears are not meant to take that type of abuse. It would happen eventually to a front drive vehicle if driven long enough and with a substantial amount of diameter difference between the tires. Google differentials and read up on them.

 

You can destroy any car with a LSD this way very quickly too. On a single axle drive car, you can over heat the differential, and it will give you an incorrect spedo reading.

 

the Dif is a mechanical computer. It divides the input rpm by two when the wheels are going in a differnt speed on the same axle. (left 10 mph, right 5 mph, input 7mph)

 

Also Now this is getting critical. With ABS and traction control reaind individual wheel speeds, mismatched tires can fool the computers into thinking the car needs assitance to stay undercontrol. This can cause breaks to drag or the throttle to be cut back.

 

nipper