No Rear Wheel Drive

[rlutz]

I noticed last winter on slippery snow, that I had nothing coming from the rear wheels. I'm finally getting ready to do something about it. What kind of parts should I buy for my mechanic? (solenoid-C, clutch packs, gaskets, etc.). I did some looking on the Subaru-parts site to try and find part numbers, and it's not very obvious what to get.


Its a '92 LS-L with 179,000 miles, 144,000 on this transmission.

[Manarius]

Replacement transmission? With the amount of work it would be to figure out what exactly is wrong, you could probably just buy one with less miles and have it swapped.

[rlutz]

http://www.ecutune.com/4eat.htm

Anybody have experience with the partial re-builds? How much labor would you guess for the swap?

[NeedForSpeed]

Originally Posted by rlutz

I noticed last winter on slippery snow, that I had nothing coming from the rear wheels. I'm finally getting ready to do something about it. What kind of parts should I buy for my mechanic? (solenoid-C, clutch packs, gaskets, etc.). I did some looking on the Subaru-parts site to try and find part numbers, and it's not very obvious what to get.


Its a '92 LS-L with 179,000 miles, 144,000 on this transmission.

The FWD fuse is not installed?

[Blacky]

Replace the transmission because the RWD is not working
Why in the world would you do that?
The RWD in my Ebony wasn't working simply because the right rear axle clip was missing and when it popped out, no more rear drive.
Solenoid C is a likely candidate but do some digging before you start throwing money at it.

[Manarius]

Originally Posted by NeedForSpeed

The FWD fuse is not installed?

That would be the first thing I check. And the associated bits too; is it throwing a code, is the fuse installed, is the resistor working, etc.

Originally Posted by Blacky

Replace the transmission because the RWD is not working
Why in the world would you do that?
The RWD in my Ebony wasn't working simply because the right rear axle clip was missing and when it popped out, no more rear drive.
Solenoid C is a likely candidate but do some digging before you start throwing money at it.

The transmission has 144k on it. Assuming it's solenoid C, $100 for the part, $600 for the labor (maybe less if you have a creative person who can replace it without taking off the transmission) and you still have $700 sunk in it.

Lower mileage transmission for $400-500 and $300-$400 for the swap and you now have a lower mileage transmission and a working solenoid C/clutch packs/whatever. If you're not doing the work yourself or aren't getting it cheap, there's no sense in trying to dig around to buy parts and getting them replaced in an aging transmission. Even more so since it's a 1992 with that stupid screen thing.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by Manarius

That would be the first thing I check. And the associated bits too; is it throwing a code, is the fuse installed, is the resistor working, etc.

The transmission has 144k on it. Assuming it's solenoid C, $100 for the part, $600 for the labor (maybe less if you have a creative person who can replace it without taking off the transmission) and you still have $700 sunk in it.

Lower mileage transmission for $400-500 and $300-$400 for the swap and you now have a lower mileage transmission and a working solenoid C/clutch packs/whatever. If you're not doing the work yourself or aren't getting it cheap, there's no sense in trying to dig around to buy parts and getting them replaced in an aging transmission. Even more so since it's a 1992 with that stupid screen thing.

The transmission doesn't have to be dropped for a transfer clutch or Sol "C" replacement. Remove exhaust, remove driveshaft, unbolt about 10 or 12, 12mm bolts and you have the back of the transmission apart and access to both parts. Also, lower mileage doesn't always mean better. If he's taken great care of the transmission, it could be in as good or better as most 50k mile transmissions.

Like Needforspeed said, The front wheel drive fuse is not installed is it? make sure of this.

[rlutz]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

The transmission doesn't have to be dropped for a transfer clutch or Sol "C" replacement. Remove exhaust, remove driveshaft, unbolt about 10 or 12, 12mm bolts and you have the back of the transmission apart and access to both parts. Also, lower mileage doesn't always mean better. If he's taken great care of the transmission, it could be in as good or better as most 50k mile transmissions.

Like Needforspeed said, The front wheel drive fuse is not installed is it? make sure of this.

No fuse, no codes. Transmission had 57k miles on it when I bought the car six years ago. I went to Mobil 1 ATF and swapped the screen filter right away. Since then I've changed the fluid twice, and the screen once (it was clean).

Where are the rear axle clips? What do they look like?

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by rlutz

No fuse, no codes. Transmission had 57k miles on it when I bought the car six years ago. I went to Mobil 1 ATF and swapped the screen filter right away. Since then I've changed the fluid twice, and the screen once (it was clean).

Where are the rear axle clips? What do they look like?

No rear axle clips, the rear axles won't need to be touched to replace either. If its not throwing a transmission code, then its more likely that the transfer clutch is shot or working intermittently rather than the C solenoid not working. I believe the C solenoid should buzz with the key turned forward to on but not yet started (my memory is a bit fuzzy on this though).

Either way, if its either of those 2 things, first the exhaust and heat shields have to come off, then there are 4 12mm bolts/nuts that connect the driveshaft to the rear differential. You will need to remove 2 and then spin the rear tires so the driveshaft turns until you have access to the other 2. Then there are 2 bolts that secure the driveshaft center bearing to the underbody that are 14mm if I remember correctly. This will allow you to pull the driveshaft out of the transmission. (trans fluid will come out even if you have already drained the pan) Then remove all of the tailhousing bolts (12 mm I think)-you may have to loosen the transmission crossmember from the underbody to access all of the bolts that are on the tailhousing of the transmission. You will probably need to carefully use a screw driver to tap and separate the tailhousing which will give you access to remove the C solenoid from inside(bolted to the tailhousing using 10 or 12mm bolts) so you can take the tailhousing out completely and set it down. Now you have access to the transfer clutch and all associated parts.

Hope this makes sense. If you are truly thinking of doing this yourself, I'm sure I or someone could get some pics and post them up for you, at least of what everything looks like under the car. I can get some pics from transmissions i have laying around showing how the C solenoid is mounted in there and what the transfer clutch looks like, etc if needed...

[rlutz]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

No rear axle clips, the rear axles won't need to be touched to replace either. If its not throwing a transmission code, then its more likely that the transfer clutch is shot or working intermittently rather than the C solenoid not working. I believe the C solenoid should buzz with the key turned forward to on but not yet started (my memory is a bit fuzzy on this though).

Either way, if its either of those 2 things, first the exhaust and heat shields have to come off, then there are 4 12mm bolts/nuts that connect the driveshaft to the rear differential. You will need to remove 2 and then spin the rear tires so the driveshaft turns until you have access to the other 2. Then there are 2 bolts that secure the driveshaft center bearing to the underbody that are 14mm if I remember correctly. This will allow you to pull the driveshaft out of the transmission. (trans fluid will come out even if you have already drained the pan) Then remove all of the tailhousing bolts (12 mm I think)-you may have to loosen the transmission crossmember from the underbody to access all of the bolts that are on the tailhousing of the transmission. You will probably need to carefully use a screw driver to tap and separate the tailhousing which will give you access to remove the C solenoid from inside(bolted to the tailhousing using 10 or 12mm bolts) so you can take the tailhousing out completely and set it down. Now you have access to the transfer clutch and all associated parts.

Hope this makes sense. If you are truly thinking of doing this yourself, I'm sure I or someone could get some pics and post them up for you, at least of what everything looks like under the car. I can get some pics from transmissions i have laying around showing how the C solenoid is mounted in there and what the transfer clutch looks like, etc if needed...

I was thinking the transfer clutch was shot, but at 144K mies, I wonder if a partial rebuild is a better option than just replacing the clutch pack. I don't want to do it myself (my level of mechanic'ing ends at replacing all the hoses & vacuum lines 2 years ago, or replacing valve cover gaskets this year) simple stuff...

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by rlutz

I was thinking the transfer clutch was shot, but at 144K mies, I wonder if a partial rebuild is a better option than just replacing the clutch pack. I don't want to do it myself (my level of mechanic'ing ends at replacing all the hoses & vacuum lines 2 years ago, or replacing valve cover gaskets this year) simple stuff...

LAN's partial rebuilds do not include replacing the transfer clutches, so that would be extra if that's who/what you were thinking. As long as the 2-3 shift is solid and it holds 4th gear without slipping, your transmission should still be good for awhile.
Having a shop replace the transfer clutch should only cost the parts and about 3-4 hours of labor or less for most shops. (if they know what they're doing)

[rlutz]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

LAN's partial rebuilds do not include replacing the transfer clutches, so that would be extra if that's who/what you were thinking. As long as the 2-3 shift is solid and it holds 4th gear without slipping, your transmission should still be good for awhile.
Having a shop replace the transfer clutch should only cost the parts and about 3-4 hours of labor or less for most shops. (if they know what they're doing)

Thanks! That's a big help. I think it'd be worthwhile to buy the transfer clutches and turn my mechanic loose on it. Now if I can just figure out what part number is what...

Looks like I need:

6 31588AA060 Pt070399 Transfer Pl
6 31589AA041 Pt070399 Transfer Pl

Should I put in a new solenoid "C" at the same time? Anybody got a part number?

[Blacky]

Originally Posted by rlutz

Where are the rear axle clips? What do they look like?

The circlip is on the inboard end of the axle inside the rear diff. If the axle is popping out you can see by looking at it that it is not seated in the same position as the other one.
It's probably a rare issue but it was the only problem with my rear drive.

[spinn360]

Originally Posted by rlutz

I noticed last winter on slippery snow, that I had nothing coming from the rear wheels. I'm finally getting ready to do something about it. What kind of parts should I buy for my mechanic? (solenoid-C, clutch packs, gaskets, etc.). I did some looking on the Subaru-parts site to try and find part numbers, and it's not very obvious what to get.


Its a '92 LS-L with 179,000 miles, 144,000 on this transmission.

If solenoid c fails it fails in awd meaning you wood have rwd sounds like clutches to me.
Good luck