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Stuck In 4WD


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is this a push button auto trans ??

you may have different size tires on it, or different types of tires. or even some worn tires mixed with new tires . if you can try to take the car to some loose sand or dirt and then try to take it out of 4x4

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have you tried backing up? sounds silly, but as ivantruckman said, if the tires are mismatched and you torque-bind it then this might help... or getting onto some loose road (gravel/dirt) and backing up...

 

if it's a pushbutton 4wd then there's a vacuum activated thing behind the driver's strut tower that gets a vacuum feed from the cannister behind the passenger strut tower... this then feeds the switch on the tranny...

 

 

--Spiffy

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Its pushbutton manual. Its thoroughly stuck. I have to drive it really gingerly for fear that my trans will break, I will try to take it in the back alley but if that doesnt work, does anyone know where the actuall mechanism that engages or disengages the 4wd?

I am assuming that it locks the center diff so I will look in that area, but I have no jack at my moms house so I need to drive all the way to my dads to lift this thing.

 

I have driven over 20 miles with it like this and it still wont pop out, its definately stuck.

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Push button 4WDs don't have a center differential. That's why it's not good to run them in 4WD on hard surfaces.

Push button (part time) 4WDs have the button in the center of the shifter, and full time 4WDs with differential lock have the push button on the console (I believe, never have owned one).

Let us know for sure which transmission you have (push button 4WD, or full time with a center differential lock). A GL-10 could have either one.

Andy

 

 

 

Its pushbutton manual. Its thoroughly stuck. I have to drive it really gingerly for fear that my trans will break, I will try to take it in the back alley but if that doesnt work, does anyone know where the actuall mechanism that engages or disengages the 4wd?

I am assuming that it locks the center diff so I will look in that area, but I have no jack at my moms house so I need to drive all the way to my dads to lift this thing.

 

I have driven over 20 miles with it like this and it still wont pop out, its definately stuck.

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I've had a pushbutton manual and a pushbutton auto... both with the buttons on the gear stick, so not the full-time with center lock that's on the center console... both of them were a bit tricky sometimes to get out of 4wd... sometimes I'd have to take it out of 4wd, then back up a few feet...

 

but they never got THAT stuck...

 

I'm not sure where the exact mechanism is, but if you follow the vacuum lines it'll lead you there...

 

don't you have the spare tire scissor jack? not that it's the safest... you could also drive up a curb...

 

 

--Spiffy

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Get on a loose surface like gravel, wet grass, loose dirt, ect. and put it in reverse and try to get the wheels to break loose. That would be enough to get the bind loosed up. I have had a vacume line come unpluged whitch caused mine to not disengage also. Pluged it back up and it shifted right out of 4wd.

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My turbo timer has a vac/boost guage built in, when I push the button in, it drops vaccum and then regains it, when I pop it out, nothing happens.

Its a 5 speed manual pushbutton four wheel drive.

 

If it doesnt have a center diff, how does it transfer power to the rear wheels, and also why does it create torque bind if its not locked up, if I dont have a locked center diff wouldnt my car be like my bro in laws 2.5 RS? (minus the viscous this and that in the diffs) (and also a whole hell of a lot slower)

As for the breaking the tires loose I did that plenty in my alley, plenty. Also I think I found the little lever, its passenger side near middle to rear of the trans, but I cant move it, its at a bad angle so I cant get any leverage on it with my arms... why does my car hate me?

 

Although it does launch really really well now :grin: so we better get this figured out before I have catastrophic falure.

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your in-law's 2.5 RS has a center diff, which helps transfer power between the front and rear, so that bind in the tranny doesn't happen... the older 4wd subies have a direct drive, like a 4x4 truck, so that both the front and rears go the same speed no matter what, even in corners, resulting in the bind on hard pavement...

 

you shouldn't need to force the tranny by hand, as the vacuum system should (key word) do all the work...

 

but yeah, sounds like you got it stuck good... not sure where to go from here... it sounds like the vacuum system is doing it's job (judging by your gauge), but the tranny just might be stuck...

 

 

--Spiffy

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Check the line from the canister on the pass. side firewall and follow the line that goes to the pass. side back of the intake, near the egr valve. If it comes undone when in 4wd it won't disengage. This has been my experience anyway.

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didn't you already have this problem? or am I thinking of someone else.

 

 

check those vacuum lines, the one from the engine over to the solenoids on the driver side strut tower, and the 2 from there down to the trans. otherwise, there's a lever on the passenger side of the trans that controls it. good luck moving it by hand though :-\

 

also, try jacking up one end of the car, that will definitely release any binding you've got.

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I did have this problem before, when i first got the car (the day after actually :lol: ) but it was just my impatience combined with the awesome subaru pushbutton system, it worked fine after I rocked it.

 

I am going to put it up on jackstands, either the front 2 wheels or all 4, depends on how lazy I am today. And I may just beat on that lever a bit, anyone know which way it is supposed to go?

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Sweetness, I got her up on all fours, scooted underneath and pushed on the lever, and sure enough click, and im out of 4wd.

Thank Jebus, I posted a few pics sorry, the camera was dieing so I had to be fast.

Chasescar001.jpg

Chasescar002.jpg

Chasescar003.jpg

my awesome setup, although it lacks in the power department.... :mad:

Chasescar004.jpg

Chasescar005.jpg

Somewhere down here is a big azz diapragm,(hard to see in the pic) thats what actuates the 4wd. Its underneath the Red Starter Cable.

 

Chasescar006.jpg

The black thing is the lever, My car isnt supposed to be a dirty oil leaker, but a few issues have arrived.

The Diagnosis will come later, it may just be a fluke, or old age (this tranny has 260k+ on it) snow is the only ting that will get me to locker up again...

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Thanks man, Its nice to have someone say sweet car, usually its the people at the gas station who say its badass, and then try to tell me that its AWD, and not 4wd... honestly some peoples children,

 

anyways, I am now replacing my master cylinder, being that this is the only time I have ever fixed something on my car and nothing has bit me in the butt, ive decided that while my luck is good, I will fix other things, please refer to my other thread I just started if you want to help me along the way :grin:

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