AWD not engaging right

[greendragonsegg]

"O, help me Subaru gods!"

93 legacy wagon, awd, stock, with blinking power light says duty c is issue

ok, i finally had time to lift my subi on jack stands and see how the wheels turned

first: i lifted on side unplugged the tcu started car and put in neutral spun back tire and nothing happened

second: i lifted both sides and spun rear tire with engine off, one tire moved (driver side) other stayed unmoving passenger side)

third: i plugged tcu back in started car and put in gear, rear wheels tried to move then stopped while the engine idled and spun front wheels, then hit gas and the rear spun "fast" but considerably slower then front

Fourth: put in FWD fuse and tried again..... same as the third but the rear spun ....better?!

i am confused as to what is wrong, one person said a leaking seal inside the tail housing can make the AWD not engage but why is it engaging with the FWD fuse in?

[wtdash]

Hi and Welcome,

You'll find lots of info on this on here and the UltimateSubaru.org/forum. Search for better answers that I can provide.

But if you're getting the POWER flash AND the FWD fuse does nothing, then I'd say you 'likely' have a bad Duty C. I'd double check it by driving w/the FWD fuse in and out just to confirm the fuse makes no difference. With the fuse IN, the car should spin the front wheels w/out much trouble>>If the Duty C is doing its job.

The Duty C can be replaced w/out removing the transmission.

GL,
TD

[greendragonsegg]

i have read most of whats on here about the duty c, i know its either stuck all the way "engaged" or almost there since i have no torque bind.

what i'm trying to find out is if i can ignore the clutchs, and also i thought with the fuse in place the rears should not move if they are jacked up.

thought the diffs on these things worked like regular diffs, if you spin one tire on one side the other side would spin, maybe not same way, you know driver to passenger side type

[Legacy777]

Welcome to the BBS.

Can you please clarify whether you just counted the power light flashes on start up, or whether you pulled the codes from the TCU using the following procedure? http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/trans.html

I ask because the power light defaultly flashes 16 times on start up if there is a code present. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the duty c solenoid. You need to follow the procedure from my site to pull the codes if you already haven't done so.

[greendragonsegg]

i pulled the codes per that website, said it was the the duty c, i will try again tonight and try to record it so you guys can verify that i'm not insane.

[greendragonsegg]

here is my blinking light of doom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHRfeypb68U

is it a code 24? or have i been reading it wrong this entire time?

[Legacy777]

Yup, that is code 24, duty c solenoid.

I guess to clarify your original post, when you put a fuse in the FWD fuse holder did the rear wheels spin? Do you get a "FWD" dash warning light that comes on when you put the fuse in?

[greendragonsegg]

with all four wheels up and FWD fuse in, dash saying FWD, the rear still turned, a bit faster but not by much, also with car off in park off ground if i turn a rear wheel by hand should the opposite side spin other way? (thought that is what most diffs do, first AWD system ive owned)

[Legacy777]

With the automatic AWD system, you need to test it on gravel. You won't really get accurate tests with the wheels in the air.

As for the rear wheel spinning the other way, yes it should do that.

[greendragonsegg]

so mine does not move, so does that mean my rear diff is dead? if so may be better to just buy a donor or saving and getting a gen 2 legacy wagon

[Legacy777]

What doesn't move, the rear wheels? Can you please clarify what you mean and the testing scenario you used.

[greendragonsegg]

like i stated, the second thing i did was raise the rear and spun one side of the rear, the other side of the rear did nothing, this was with the car off, in park with both rear wheels hanging above the ground

[jamal]

Yeah that's how an open differential works. You're spinning the one side and it's turning the diff and prop shaft and not the other tire because that happens to take less work to do. If you had someone get under the car and hold the prop shaft in place the other tire would spin the opposite direction.

Rears are spinning even with the fwd fuse in because there is still friction in the rear clutch packs when they are disengaged.

[greendragonsegg]

ok, then i feel better about replacing the duty c, did not want to change that and fine it was for nothing because the rear diff was dead do duty c solenoids fail partially open?

[10wrxing]

Have you done what Josh has suggested already, and test it out on gravel?

[greendragonsegg]

i never have a helper to confirm, but there is a nice little hill near my house and when it rains i can spin the tires really good there, and i do have traction but it seems like when i had my FWD car and the front bounces as it spins. also when i did on gravel with just myself i didnt see marks for the rear,

[Legacy777]

On that hill, try putting the gear selector in 1 or 2 and see if that makes a difference.

These cars don't typically exhibit the front wheel hop like some FWD cars.

[greendragonsegg]

ok, found a nice gravel parking lot, and spun the tires, i had spots were the fronts dug into the gravel, but nothing from the rears so im certain the duty c is dead but it seems odd it died "open" as it were were the rears get little to no power.

[Legacy777]

Did you try putting the gear selector in 1?

If the duty c failed open you'd have full line pressure to the rear clutch packs which would give you 50/50 split. It's possible the clutches are toast and that's why you're not getting any power to the rear.

If you didn't try the test with the gear selector in 1, I definitely recommend doing that as it puts the TCU in a more agressive AWD map.

[greendragonsegg]

it was in the "1" gear, even held the brake to rev higher to see if the valve is stuck not all the way to FWD but maybe kinda like a cruising setting were its split 90/10. but anyways looks like i'm hunting for a full set of clutches and a duty c along with all the goodies that go with it. -_- yay -_-

edit: i revved to like 2k and let go of the brake, dug in nice in front (kinda fun) but nothing in the back

[Legacy777]

Yeah, then there's either a lack of fluid pressure to the rear clutches or the rear clutches are toast.

I'd suggest removing the rear tail housing with the anticipation of replacing parts if it's your primary car. If you have another means of transportation you could pull the tail housing and see what you see.

[greendragonsegg]

it is my primary, i am planning a trip to a pick n pull so i am hoping i can find the one wagon they have and steal the output shaft with clutches just incase they welded themselves together. and also try and secure a rear deck for the poor subie