torque binding?

H

hundog

i just bought a 95 impreza l 1.8 with an automatic transmission. the
car has 98,000 miles on it and was very well maintained. i bought it
for $2300 (they wanted $3200) from a subaru dealer in cleveland.
anyway, that stuttering in tight turns was the only thing that made me
kind of hesitate to buy the car. i asked the dealer why it does that,
and he claimed that most older subarus do that, and that it is "normal"
in an AWD car. i decided to wait on buying the car so i could ask some
people if this statement was true, and if AWD cars do this. a friend of
mines dad has always owned subaru cars and said that his have all done
this and that it shouldnt be a problem. he said that when he asked his
dealer mechanic, that they told him to change the transmission fluid
and do figure eights in a parking lot to help "seat" some bullshit.
another friend of mine has a 96 impreza and said that hers does the
same thing. a guy i work with has an audi quttro, and said he gets the
same stuttering effect in his AWD. i bought the car after i felt
comfortable with what everybody said. i figured it was normal, never
have driven AWD before. anway, the car has been great, runs real good,
and is very clean inside and out. this stutter on the tight turns is a
little bothersome though, because im still not sure if this is normal,
or if every tight turn i make, im slowly destroying my tranny. ive read
alot on the boards, and it sounds like this torque binding thing. from
the other posts ive read, some people say this really isnt a huge
issue, while others say it is destroying the transmission. also, some
say to just change the tranny fluid and add some additive to solve the
problem. others have said that it is a $800 job and you might as well
go get a new tranny and put it in. im confused! btw ,the car shifts
fine and its only a slight stutter on sharp turns at slow speeds.
anyway, heres a few simplified questions:

1) is this a huge problem that i need to immediately have checked out.
is my transmission about to go? is it safe to drive the car?

2) when changing the fluid, do you have any recommendations, like fluid
to use (weight etc..,) and how to flush. i have read some say that
power flushing is bad. also, whats the additive to use (name,brand
etc..) that other posts have mentioned. is it worth changing the fluid?
mine looks very clean as is.

3) i have read that the clutch packs going bad are what create torque
binding, how big of a job would it be to replace these myself?

4) when i bought the car, i wasnt planning on doing mods or upgrades,
just change the oil and drive daily 15 miles to work. is this torque
bind something that i may be able to deal with through the life of the
car, or is it something that will progressively get worse over time? i
really dont want to dump money into it if its not really a big issue.
like i said, the transmission shifts smooth , and the car drives and
runs very good.

if you have read this far, i gotta give you props!! :disco:

if you could help me out by passing on some advice, that would be
greatly appreciated. links, advice, pics, anything! thanks alot, jason.
(e-mail address removed)
 
My 1998 Forester did the same at 16000 miles. The dealer replaced the clutch
packs and bearings and I have no futher problems. I now have 42000 miles on
it.
 
First thing, check your tires, they need to be very close in actual
circumference (measure with a tape measure); Subaru says 1/4" difference,
but you probably can get away with a bit more (1/2"). Adjust pressure to
what it says in the book. Test again.

Clutch pack is not a DIY project unless you're very familiar with
transmissions. You need to remove the rear tail of the tranny to get to the
clutch pack. In some cases (especially if left too long before repairing),
it can groove the housing, requiring a new one as well as the clutch pack.
Had a Legacy that was binding, it was the AWD control computer, put in a
used one and the problem cleared (it's under the dash beside the steering
column on the Legacys, square box about 2 1/2 x 3").
Try putting in the fuse to disable the rear drive (look in your vehicle
booklet for location), if the problem goes away, it's the control system
(AWD computer or the valve that regulates fluid flow to the clutch pack).
Ed B
 
i just bought a 95 impreza l 1.8 with an automatic transmission. the
car has 98,000 miles on it and was very well maintained. i bought it
for $2300 (they wanted $3200) from a subaru dealer in cleveland.
anyway, that stuttering in tight turns was the only thing that made me
kind of hesitate to buy the car. i asked the dealer why it does that,
and he claimed that most older subarus do that, and that it is "normal"
in an AWD car. i decided to wait on buying the car so i could ask some
people if this statement was true, and if AWD cars do this. a friend of
mines dad has always owned subaru cars and said that his have all done
this and that it shouldnt be a problem. he said that when he asked his
dealer mechanic, that they told him to change the transmission fluid
and do figure eights in a parking lot to help "seat" some bullshit.
another friend of mine has a 96 impreza and said that hers does the
same thing. a guy i work with has an audi quttro, and said he gets the
same stuttering effect in his AWD. i bought the car after i felt
comfortable with what everybody said. i figured it was normal, never
have driven AWD before. anway, the car has been great, runs real good,
and is very clean inside and out. this stutter on the tight turns is a
little bothersome though, because im still not sure if this is normal,
or if every tight turn i make, im slowly destroying my tranny. ive read
alot on the boards, and it sounds like this torque binding thing. from
the other posts ive read, some people say this really isnt a huge
issue, while others say it is destroying the transmission. also, some
say to just change the tranny fluid and add some additive to solve the
problem. others have said that it is a $800 job and you might as well
go get a new tranny and put it in. im confused! btw ,the car shifts
fine and its only a slight stutter on sharp turns at slow speeds.
anyway, heres a few simplified questions:

1) is this a huge problem that i need to immediately have checked out.
is my transmission about to go? is it safe to drive the car?

2) when changing the fluid, do you have any recommendations, like fluid
to use (weight etc..,) and how to flush. i have read some say that
power flushing is bad. also, whats the additive to use (name,brand
etc..) that other posts have mentioned. is it worth changing the fluid?
mine looks very clean as is.

3) i have read that the clutch packs going bad are what create torque
binding, how big of a job would it be to replace these myself?

4) when i bought the car, i wasnt planning on doing mods or upgrades,
just change the oil and drive daily 15 miles to work. is this torque
bind something that i may be able to deal with through the life of the
car, or is it something that will progressively get worse over time? i
really dont want to dump money into it if its not really a big issue.
like i said, the transmission shifts smooth , and the car drives and
runs very good.

if you have read this far, i gotta give you props!! :disco:

if you could help me out by passing on some advice, that would be
greatly appreciated. links, advice, pics, anything! thanks alot, jason.
(e-mail address removed)
Tell them you'll buy it if THEY make it stop. Yes, many older Subarus
have broken AWD. Doesn't mean you should accept a broken car as normal.

to further induce slee...uh...educate yourself, try a search on 'torque
bind' at www.usmb.net .

Carl
1 Lucky Texan
 

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