Transmission dying?
 

Ok, I have been having problems with my AWD engaging slowly and with a thunk. I had a Subaru dealership diagnose the problem and they said that SOA stated the most likely cause for the odd pressure readings were that the plastic sealing rings had worn the housings and it was letting fluid pass by and this is why my AWD was slow. I picked the car up and a day or so later I was having problems with the transmission shifting odd. I have tried to reset the computer and it seems fine until the AWD engages with the thunk.

The car will shift fine and then all of a sudden it will act up. If I drive with the FWD fuse in it is fine all the time. I took the fuse out today to take it to another mechanic and after I left his shop it shifted from 1-2 fine but it held 2nd until 3500 rpms when it shifted firmly and then it downshifted to 2nd again and it did this until I restarted the car. I noticed that with the fuse out it will usually hold 1st until 3500 rpms when it shifts firmly. As I said, as soon as I put that fuse in, the car shifts fine.

I'm looking to get some suggestions. I may have to take the dealer to court if the transmission is on its way out. He said he would fix the AWD, I paid a well respected dealership to diagnose the problem, and the dealer tells me he wants his mechanic to look at it because he disagrees with my diagnosis. So, I drive 250 miles back to NY and his mechanic argues with me that NOTHING is wrong with my car and that a 1994 SVX transmission is not suppose to engage the RWD until the front wheels slip a lot. I argued with the guy for an hour, and he swears that my car is fine. Although, he wouldn't pull any of his other cars in to show me they worked the same, and he would not let me watch him disassemble the extension housing to inspect the internals.

I'm contemplating having a Subaru dealer in NY rebuild the tailshaft housing and when the AWD is working correctly I will take the dealership to small claims court to refund my money BUT I do not even want to bother putting $1100 into the car if the transmission is going. I'm having bad thoughts since it is shifting odd but I'm led to believe the AWD problem is confusing the TCU because it shifts fine once I put the FWD fuse in.

Thanks for any help in advance!

Good luck with this. If I ever lose my AWD or 4EAT that's the time I upgrade to a 5/6 speed.

Your symptoms may not be caused by mechanical failure in either the gearbox or the extension housing - it may just be an electrical or hydraulic problem that's preventing an otherwise healthy tranny from performing properly.

If that's the case, then you need to get it repaired ASAP before this fault causes mechanical damage to your transmission.

Either way, that guy was wrong - the front wheels should not slip a significant amount before the rears engage. That's not even safe in some conditions - it can cause the back end to step out suddenly on snow.

VSS #1 was replaced along with a wiring harness and that took care of the odd shifting. The dealership replaced the TCU because they said their computer was telling them the TCU was not sending voltage to the VSS. The new TCU did not fix the problem and now they finally agree its either the transfer clutches or the duty solenoid. So, it goes in next Thursday to have the extension housing rebuilt.