91 legacy awd problems

[FrozennorthLGT]

So we got out first snow of the season and the awd in my 91 ss doesn't seem to be working? What's a good way to check, and what should I look into if it isn't?

[dscoobydoo]

I guess the question I have is: how do you know it is not working?
What symptoms are you having?

How many miles are on the car?

kthxbai

[FrozennorthLGT]

170k on the car...no grip in the snow, and last night I had a buddy from work watch as I gas it some gas in the parking lot and he said the back wheels barely spun if at all...and no the fwd fuse isn't in.

[mike-tracy]

By default the autos send 90% of the power to the front. They are 50/50 split in 1,2 and reverse, however.

[FrozennorthLGT]

Well I haven't had time yet with the weather and work to lift the car up and check, but from what I an tell driving there's nothing going to the rears. The car wont step the rear out at all on snow, and having someone watch me floor it on a snow covered parking lot they didn't appear to spin much, if at all.

[Legacy777]

Put the gear selector in 2 or 1 and see if that changes anything.

[FrozennorthLGT]

Since I picked up the car in April the gear elector hasn't been able to go past D. The transmission was swapped at some point, by a show that I know doesn't exactally do stellar work, so I suspect an issue with the cable...it also has a code for the inhibitor switch when driving in d-check...I think this weekend when I have time I'm just going to park the nose against a snow bank and floor it to see if the rears spin at all...then ill know for sure if they are working or not...lol

[Legacy777]

Well....sounds like you have other issues besides just AWD. They may have screwed up the inhibitor switch on the trans which may be causing the trans to go into limp mode and you not have AWD.

[FrozennorthLGT]

I wasn't aware the transfer had a limp mode..hmm. it doesn't have back up lights either. I suspect a damaged inhibitor or at least out of adjustment...maybe that's where Ill start.

[Legacy777]

Ok...yeah, if you don't have backup lights, then I'd definitely suggest starting at the inhibitor switch.

[FrozennorthLGT]

I just did some digging though the wiring diagrams and learned that the inhibitor switch actually sends a signal to the TCU that affects the front and rear wheel power distribution ratio. So it could possibly affect the rear wheels power. Tonight Im going to hopefully have time to jack up the car, and do some testing. Ill also have to double check because I have the original trans from the car...that was supposedly in working order, that I could rob the inhibitor switch from if this one turns out to be bad. Im hoping that instead of the adjustment it lists in the repait manual that requires metering pins and such, that I can just loosen the bolts and adjust till the backup lights come on. Then Ill tackle the issue of not being able to move the shifter farther down that D.

[FrozennorthLGT]

Jacked up the rear of he car and spun the wheels to make sure the rear diff was ok and it seems to be. I freed up the shifter, it seemed to be binding at the pivot point where it comes through the body of the car...but its hard to tell if its there or I eternally. I was sad to see you can't adjust the inhibitor switch with the downpipe on. I can't get at the bottom bolt at all. Since the shifter seems to be working good though, what gear should I put it in to test the awd better? I'm waiting till we get some more snow to try blocking the front of the car and giving it some gas.

[Legacy777]

You really probably need to monitor the pins to determine if the inhibitor switch is truly bad or not.