I bought a wore out old forester with 250,ooo miles. Automatic. I've done a lot of work to it like new tires, struts and so on. I was excited to see AWD in action in te snow. Southern Indiana's first snow this year was a whopper 12". Well my forester didn't quite live up to what I expected. It seemed it was stuck in FWD.
I checked and the FWD fuse is in. Why would someone disable the AWD?
I'm new to subaru's and AWD and I'm not a car guy (just a fix it guy), so any input would be appreciated. like; Is the transmission likely tore up now with the fuse in? should I leave the fuse in? would 12" of snow even been doable in my forester with AWD? Help.
They could have put it in to try to achieve better fuel mileage. I would say take it out and try. Just my opinion. I would tend to think if there was something wrong you would notice it whether it is engaged or not. Really up to you. Wait for a few replies and see what everyone says.
There's also a possibility that the previous owner was trying to mask a problem with the AWD system by putting in the fuse (like torque bind). It's definitely not meant to be a permanent solution, and it won't save any gas either.
the fuse is not in and I still don't think the AWD is working. If the AWD is working properly shouldn't the front wheels rarely spin freely, like in loose gravel or snow?
So if the fuse is not in and I don't think it's working properly is there likely a bigger problem and/or would changing the tran fluid help?
Changing the fluids is definitely a good idea on a vehicle of that age and mileage.
The automatic gearbox in your Forester runs a 90:10 power bias normally with 90% of the power going to the front wheels. Typically you can get a bit of front wheel spin before the center diff sends more power to the back.
You should manually select 1 or 2 on the shifter and see if it is sending power to the rear.
I don't get any rotation out of the back wheels in any gear.
what do I do now?
I think the rear does work sometimes but it seems like it just isn't powerful enough and when the conditions get serious then only the front wheels spin.
At 75% throttle in 1st gear the duty solenoid should be fully open (no volts) and the MTP clutch will be locked with hydraulic pressure and you have a 50/50 torque split.
If FWD fuse is out and there is no RWD at all and you have 100% fwd, the multi-plate transfer (MPT) clutch could be worn out.
my 98 forester went to a shop, but 48 hours later I was told nothing I didn't know! Note to all near Evansville, IN; no one works on subarus in that area! (or so it seems) anyway...
My AWD is NOT working (refer to my first post) and i got 3 questions;
1. is the flashing AT oil temp light related to the AWD? How do I figure out what's wrong? I would hope someone could diagnose it, but even the place that advertised "foreign cars" couldn't do it.
2. how long will the transmission last if the AWD isn't working? In other words; is it only a matter of time before "kablooey" or do I have many more miles?
3. should I look for another transmission (or what parts) or just keep on driving?
1) Almost definitely. If it is flashing, there should be some way to read the code. These are not the same codes as those with the CEL. You may need to research youtube, find a dealer, or a specialist that can pull the code.
2) It depends on what's wrong. If the torque duty solenoid has failed, it will just stay in FWD. I would suggest installing the FWD fuse in the front fuse box until you get the problem figured out. It may save you some damage. You may be able to pull these code with a regular tester you can borrow from your local parts store.
3) Once again, you need all the info first. If it's a bad speed sensor or something, it's not too big a deal. If it's internal, a used trans may be your cheapest fix.
3b) Drive it if you want. You just won't have the luxury of AWD.
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