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Hi guys,

I have a '90 Subaru Legacy Auto. I just got my duty solenoid c changed since it had failed. However, the new Soleniod is also giving problems. Till now I have observed it does not work when engine is cold. When the car is warmed up and I restart the car it comes on at the same time the TCM throws the error code of 24 indicating the Solenoid was not working earlier. Any idea why the solenoid wont start on a cold engine? It might just might a faulty Solenoid but just wondering.

Shekhar

Another question... If the solenoid is buzzing pretty loud would it indicate the soleniod is bad?

how do you know it's the solenoid buzzing? I've never heard one buzz? Have you gone under the car and listened to the rear extension housing for noise?

Do you hear the noise when in park or neutral, or only when in gear?

The mechanic who replaced the solenoid confirmed thats whats buzzing. But he says thats normal whereas whatever I have read about solenoid tells me otherwise.

It buzzes in Park and Gear. Not sure about neutral. Will check it tommorrow.

Shekhar

Checked it... It buzzes in neutral too

What did the car do before that?(i just got a code24 myself) and what does Duty C Handle?

When my duty Solenoid C fails the rear wheels generally bind on turns at slow speeds like pulling in or out of a parking lot.

The Duty Solenoid C controls the distribution of power to the front and rear wheels. When it fails the power ratio defaults to 50/50 to the front and rear wheels hence the binding.

hmmmmm
then it must not have been a code 24 that i got. DAMN, I HATE AT'S
Im just having a problem with the car not wanting to go into 2nd....
Thanks for the information

I have the same problem, torque bind, how do I get to the "duty solenoid C"? Are there any posts on doing this job? Pics?

You have to pull the tranny pan first. They're up in the body of the transmission. Not quite a home mechanic's job. These engines were meant to be worked on by us, but the trannies are a different demon altogether.
skarani- Your trans is probably on its way out, start looking for replacements.
Blackbart-
Torque bind is caused by something in the tranny wearing on the steel wall of the trans housing, i think. Check out our library at
www.legacycentral.org/library
There's an article on the infamous torque bind.

I thought torque bind was caused by the solenoid or by metal rubbing, I was hopeing for the first. I went to the library to see the artical on torque bind several weeks ago but the artical seemed to be incomplete, I reloaded several times on different days and even sent an email to the author with no reply. The link you just sent me said "FORBIDDEN"

this is the correct link

http://legacycentral.org/library/torquebind.htm

yup, that's it!
Too bad it's like a $750 fix.. the author says that like it's no problem. I mean, in the realm of how expensive trannies CAN get, $750 is small. But for our cars, if we were wrecked, at least $750 in damages is enough to total it out anyhow.

You don't have to pull the tranny or the pan. You need to remove the rear extension housing, and the solenoid is in there.

There's a good posibility the clutches need to be replaced if the solenoid is toast.

When I go to that link the artical seems to end just when it looks like there might be hope. Here is a copt/paste of the entire artiical as it shows up on my screen:


(quote)
This has been a hot topic of late, as more and more older Subaru Legacies reach high mileage and drivetrain wear becomes a factor. One of the most common problems in AWD 4EAT automatic transmission equipped cars is the dreaded "torque-bind".

The most common symptoms of this problem are a shudder throughout the whole car, but more pronounced beneath the seat, when accelerating in a low-speed turn. The shudder will stop if power is removed and disappears when speed goes beyond the threshold of most tires or the wheels are straightened out.

Recently i've found out that the early model Legacies don't actually have the wear problems listed below, but frequently have a malfunctioning solenoid in the same area that causes pressure problems and very similar symptoms. Replacing this should fix the problems in pre-95 models.

The solution to the problem is relatively simple and comprehensive but first you should know what causes this problem.

The evolution of the problem and the solution were shown to me by a Master Technician at Subaru of Ogden in Ogden, Utah.

In the rear of the transmission is a watermelon sized aluminum housing that contains several valves, bushings and seals. The rear driveshaft that couples with the rear differential. The problem occurs in here, and the replacement of this cures it.

Inside of the housing the rear shaft spins and has teflon bushings and fluid seals for the AWD system. This is where much of the rear power is transferred. The problem occurs when these bushings wear against the aluminum. For some reason Subaru, or the transmission manufacturers, decided not to have a bearing or liner in lieu of using the housing itself as the wear surface.

This is where the problem and solution lies.

The bushings and seals wear the aluminum down after time. This allows the pressurized ATF to leak from one chamber to the next. The torque meant to be transferred to the rear ends up being greatly reduced and the fluid transaction causes the shuddering.

Thankfully the fix is relatively inexpensive and doesn't require the transmission to be removed.

At Subaru of Ogden i got to see a 95+ Legacy in the midst of this operation. The rear driveshaft and exhaust rear of the Catalytic Convertor have to be removed and the rear transmission housing needs to be removed.

The housing is completely replaced with a new one. New internal components are included and apparently the bushings and seals on the driveshaft are also replaced. The most important piece of the solution is the addition of a steel liner to protect the aluminum housing against wear. This should ensure that this problem doesn't occur for the remaining life of the car.

The procedure was quoted as $750 by Subaru of Ogden.

An updated case with the steel liner was put into prodution and installed in all new cars in mid-1997.

You may never have this problem but if you do, there is a relatively easy and inexpensive solution to a more and more common problem.
(end quote)


And that is how it ends, what is the " inexpensive solution"? Maybe my computer is messed up and dosn't load the whole thing or maybe I am messed up and just don't get it

I have a problem with my duty c....but my rear wheels dont really work any of the time. Only when i rev it up FAST...then the car will "clunk" forward. after that its back to FWD. I have a hell of a time getting up snow covered hills.......vvvrooom...CLUNK....vroooom.......clunk, clunk clunk....vrooom.....all the way up the hill