My transfer clutch experience

[Mr. Pockets]

After some frustration with subaruparts.com (purchases through them can never be trouble-free), they sent me the parts I needed overnight. The parts included a transfer valve assembly, transfer clutch set and the associated gaskets.

The clutch was easy enough to install in the clutch drum. Although, in hindsight, I wish I'd cleaned the shipping lubricant off and smeared good old ATF on the parts. I'll explain why in a minute.

Fitting the extension housing back onto the tranny was a bit of a pain. I used some grease to glue the gasket to the case itself so I could focus on fitting the solenoid lead into the proper hole. I've heard horror stories of that wire getting caught in the reduction gears, and I wanted to be sure that didn't happen.

When I had taken the prop shaft off, I found that I was easily able to turn the shaft, with the car in Park, to access all the bolts attaching it to the diff. Upon reassembly, I found that I was unable to turn the tailshaft. I put the car in neutral and I was able to turn it. I was worried that I had bound up the clutch on reassembly, but I figured that since it was turning okay in neutral, it was probably the shipping lubricant holding the clutch together. Again, I'll get back to this.

I reassembled everything and filled up the tranny. I started the car up and made sure that the ATF was circulated well through the tranny before I put the car down. I left it in FWD mode for the time being.

I backed the car out just fine, but as I started to turn it slightly there was a 'thunk' noise. I think it was the shipping lube on the clutch plates releasing.

That was really it. I took the car to a big empty parking lot (closed store) that I call my private test track. I drove it around in some tight turns in FWD mode, stopped the car and took out the fuse. It worked just fine after that. I drove it in some tight circles with power applied, and there was no binding and no drama whatsoever. The car seems to be back to normal.

Woohoo!

Of course, the real test will be over the next week as Amber drives it. But I think it's all good. Go me. Next week: rebuilding the entire tranny.

[svx_commuter]

Way to go Nick.
Nice job you did but I think it's more involved then your post would lead one to believe. Your post has it out to be a one hour job. How bad where the transfer clutch plates?

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by svx_commuter
Way to go Nick.
Nice job you did but I think it's more involved then your post would lead one to believe. Your post has it out to be a one hour job. How bad where the transfer clutch plates?

I typed a brief outline of the disassembly procedure in another thread. I should find that and post it here.

I'm going to guess that actual reassembly took me about three hours with another person helping me lift the heavy stuff like the exhaust. Having done it once now, I bet I could do the entire job in that time.

I stacked the new transfer clutch next to the old and, believe it or not, they looked to be the same total thickness. I didn't have a caliper handy to verify that with numbers, but I really didn't see a difference.

Yeah, that one had me scratching my head, too... Apparently they're not really made to wear that much. The actual friction material can't be more than a half a millimeter thick on each side of the drive plates.

[svx_commuter]

You are reminding me of something I was told by a tranny rebuilder. I had a Chevy 3spd atuo rebuilt by him for my 83 Van. Oh that was about 10 years ago I guess. It cost me $700 and came with a one year warrantee unlimited mileage. [That's a guy with confidence in his work.] The tranny was still going strong after we put about another 60k miles on it.

Anyway, he knew I was interested in how things worked. So he showed me the clutches with the paper (or whatever it is) on them. He pointed out there were lines on the surface of the paper and the lines were just ever so slightly grooves in the face of the clutch paper. He said that when the lines are "gone" the clutch is done. So it does not take much for them clutches to wear out.

[oab_au]

Well done Nick, did you have a look at the transfer valve assemble to see if it is stuck, or has some other trouble, that would cause the problem. There are two spool valves, one regulates the pilot pressure that the C solenoid bleeds off, the other is the transfer valve, that bleeds off the line pressure that goes to the clutch. See if they or the C solenoid are stuck.

Something has to cause the problem. I don't think it is the clutch plates being worn, as they will keep working down to the metal.

Harvey.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by oab_au
Well done Nick, did you have a look at the transfer valve assemble to see if it is stuck, or has some other trouble, that would cause the problem. There are two spool valves, one regulates the pilot pressure that the C solenoid bleeds off, the other is the transfer valve, that bleeds off the line pressure that goes to the clutch. See if they or the C solenoid are stuck.

Something has to cause the problem. I don't think it is the clutch plates being worn, as they will keep working down to the metal.

Harvey.

I haven't really examined the transfer valve assembly that well, although I suspect a problem with the solenoid itself since the car was storing a fault code.

I know the clutches were working fine, but they had 150k miles on them, so I figured I should replace them while I was in there.

PS I'd like to give a shout out to Doug for advising me to 'put the car in neutral' when I couldn't turn the prop shaft.

Of course, he's still a pansy for saying, 'I can't believe you're doing that yourself. I wouldn't.'

[CigarJohnny]

Way to go, Nick! I wish I had the cahonies to have attempted that one myself.

Of course, he's still a pansy for saying, 'I can't believe you're doing that yourself. I wouldn't.'

LMAO!

Johnny

[mohrds]

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
PS I'd like to give a shout out to Doug for advising me to 'put the car in neutral' when I couldn't turn the prop shaft.

Thanks! Its the details that kill you...

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
Of course, he's still a pansy for saying, 'I can't believe you're doing that yourself. I wouldn't.'

Well... um... well... you're just stupid



Doug

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by CigarJohnny
Way to go, Nick! I wish I had the cahonies to have attempted that one myself.

Thanks, but to be honest with you, it really wasn't that hard. A certain amount of care is required, and a mistake could have catastrophic results - but as long as you're careful and know what you're getting into, it's not hard.

Don't fear the car.

[Mr. Pockets]

The call I've been waitign for this week finally came:

'There's something wrong with my car.'

She told me that she had pulled into a parking spot, stayed there for a few minutes with the car running, and backed out. When she was backing out, she said the car made some horrible noise and clunking like she had hit something. Then she drove it home like that and I met her at home so she could take the SVX for the rest of the day.

I got in her car, which she was nervous about - the noise was apparently that serious. I drove it around a bit and heard no noises. I drove it to work and heard no noises.

'Well, it must've fallen off then.' was her explanation.

I have two theories, barring something I effed up in the transmission:

1. A heat shield or something similar was damaged somehow. I did take the entire exhaust system off in one piece, and dragged it around like Linus with his blankie. So maybe one of them came loose.

2. She actually did hit something and dragged it around under the car until she got home.

[Mr. Pockets]

Well, here's a lesson for you kids:

Make sure you don't mess up the parking pawl when you reinstall the extension housing.

Amber noticed today that 'Park' doesn't keep the car from moving. Oops. I'm glad she uses the parking brake.

I know exactly what happened. When I was wrestling with the extension housing, trying to get it back on, I hit the spring for the pawl. I thought I put it back in the right place, but apparently I didn't.

Whoops

I'll have to take it all back apart again when I get back from Minneapolis.

I'm going to go look at the manual and make sure it's not dangerous to drive, in the meantime. I don't think without that spring it can accidentally engage park while the car's in motion, at least.

But I am more than a little worried that the noises she heard were the reduction gears chewing up the spring.

Aloha,

Just read the post about the noise coming the general direction of the tranny while reversing. My 92 just started doing the same thing, did you determine the cause? I suspect a loose heat sheild -- my car is slowly being rattled to death by the worst roads in the country. Noise only happens in reverse, tranny shifts smooth and reliably in all forward gears. Any ideas. Mahalo in advance for your reply.

Nick

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by nickhawaii
Aloha,

Just read the post about the noise coming the general direction of the tranny while reversing. My 92 just started doing the same thing, did you determine the cause? I suspect a loose heat sheild -- my car is slowly being rattled to death by the worst roads in the country. Noise only happens in reverse, tranny shifts smooth and reliably in all forward gears. Any ideas. Mahalo in advance for your reply.

Nick

As a matter of fact I did. I started another thread entitled, 'Legacy: What I Broke.'

I apparently didn't reassemble the parking mechanism correctly and the noises were the transmission grinding up the related parts.

I doubt very much that this is the problem in your case.

Best of luck finding your noise. Does it only happen in reverse? You can narrow it down by finding whether it's related to a certain engine speed. If so, it's likely a heat shield. If it's just related to the car moving in reverse, then we have to look into more complicated (and therefore expensive) solutions. It might also be a tranny mount, though, and that's not so bad.

Thanks for the reply -- my second guess is the tranny mount. Considering I have had to replace every other rubber bit on the car -- it does not surprise that the tranny mount could be next.

Nick