HELP ME!!! FEELS LIKE THUNKING IN SUSPENSION OR TRANSMISSION

[tofu_boi13]

I CURRENTLY DRIVE AN AWD 96 SUBARU LEGACY L BG5 SEDAN WITH AN AUTO TRANNY. ITS A GREAT CAR. HAS NEVER LEFT ME ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD EVEN ONCE. IVE HAD IT FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS ND DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS, MY CAR HASN'T BEEN WHAT I KNO IT CAN BE. IT FEELS AS IF WHEN I CORNER THE CAR GOES THUNK...THUNK,THUNK,THUNK. KIND OF LIKE CV AXLES GOING BAD BUT I HAVE CHECKED THOSE AND THEY ARE FINE. ALSO DRIVER SIDE RACK AND PINION BOOT SLIPPED OFF BUT I HEAR RACK AND PINIONS DON'T GIVE MY CURRENT PROBLEM. THE CAR BINDS EVEN WHILE IM DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE. TOOK IT IN TO A GOODYEAR ND THEY TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD GET A TRANNY FLUSH AND ALSO TOLD ME IT FEELS LIKE IT COULD BE MY AWD BINDING. NOW I KNO A THING ER TWO BUT IVE NVR HEARD OF AWD BINDING UP. ALSO IN 1ST GEAR, THE CAR THUNKS BEFORE SHIFTING AS IF IT BUILDS UP PRESSURE AND THUNKS RIGHT BETWEEN 1ST AND SECOND GOIN THROUGH GEARS (HENCE THE TRANNY FLUSH BUT WHO KNOWS). SOMETIMES IT DOES IT IN SECOND GEAR GOING TO THIRD. I WILL EVENTUALLY POST A VIDEO BUT FOR NOW CAN SOMEONE PLZ HELP ME OUT HERE. IM IN A RUTT ND IM BROKE SO IF ITS GOIN TO BE AN AFFORDABLE FIX I WILL DO IT. GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK SOMEONE!

[mike-tracy]

YAY YAY I LOVE TO SHOUT!!! WALLS OF TEXT ARE SO HARD TO READ!!!

[green97gt]

OMG WTF HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON THE INTERNET BEFORE?


SOUNDS LIKE YOUR SHITS BROKE, BETTER SELL IT TO ME.

[httrdd]

Is it a constant clunk that happens only when you turn?

[d1giPhux]

If your getting a clunking while accelerating & turning in either left / right direction, I would guess its your axle. Had mine go bad in my car and it would clunk upon acceleration into a turn / slight turn. Sounded like a really bad clunking noise pretty much like how you have described. I think your gonna have to replace one of the axles, if not both of them. Check it out.

[tofu_boi13]

Srry for the "wall of text" but i figured if i list the problems, maybe ppl would get a better idea of the problem if I listed everything going wrong at once. Maybe its all the same problem? idk, but i can say it feels like the auto tranny thunks going into second and as far as the suspension goes maybee it is the axle, but the cv joints are fine and yes the rack and pinion boot is slipped off of the driver side. but i hear tht wouldnt cause the bang bang bang whenever i corner. and yes its doin it even while im driving ina straight line like i said b4. C'mon subie specialists! help!!! lol no asses plz. lol

[JunkerXL]

im gonna say.... check you tires, make sure they are all the same size, and/or pressure, could be something different but start cheap. also you cv could be failing inside where u cant see it. the cage on mine sheared in half. ddnt see it till it exploded :smt023 ball bearings on those are huge :shock: also my wife's car does something similar in regards to binding, might be duty solenoid "c"? might be off on that, anyone back me up? :smt017

lol also, try to find a better mechanic. not doggin goodyear, but they know pretty much squat when it comes to subarus, unless you happen to have a sube junky working on your car. they have quirks that make unfamiliar mechanics make stupid recommendations based on ignorance. :grin:




:smt020

[tofu_boi13]

That's great info thank you. however my tire pressure and tire sizes are all good im good in that region. the solenoid? where is tht located maybe send a link so i may better grasp the concept of tht. now what could the tranny problem possibly be? any knowlege in that dept.?

[green97gt]

the duty solenoids he is referring to are in the trans, if you remove the trans pan you should see them on the valve body.

[Huffer]

If your AWD system is binding, you can test this by inserting the FWD fuse in the engine bay, it has a special slot on the passenger side by the firewall. When the fuse is in place, the FWD light on the dash illuminates and your AWD system bypasses the rear wheels. If the "scrubbing" or thunking sound goes away (esp when performing tight circles or parking) then you have a failed or failing duty c solenoid or burned up transfer clutch packs.

If it's the clutch packs, it's a very easy fix of draining and replacing the trans fluid and dropping in a bottle of Lubegard ATF protectant (red bottle).

[green97gt]

it's a very easy fix of draining and replacing the trans fluid and dropping in a bottle of Lubegard ATF protectant (red bottle).



fluid replaces burnt clutch packs? you should market and sell that stuff...

[d1giPhux]

I'm still thinking its the axle.. considering this exact thing happened to me. Mine wasn't too bad, and would only thunk at certain speeds.. sometimes in a 'straight line' if the wheel was turned even the slightest bit. I really think its the axle. If i were you, sometimes the cheapest route is to just pay a shop the $60 or whatever they want for an hour inspection. Tell them you want a documented list of all the stuff that IS broken, and then fix it yourself if your into that. Sometimes I find its the only good way to find complex problems. A little cash spent can sometimes save you a ton of time and buying parts / stress you dont need.


Maybe instead of assuming its the tranny clunking.. try to HEAR better where the sound is coming from. Try different tests to rule the tranny out. Try the various gears.. does it also do it in reverse? All the other gears? Try different speeds, different turning situations, etc. The more you test and write down the results, the easier it is for us to diagnose your problem. Try to think of various ways to test the problems it could POSSIBLY be and then rule them out as you go along.

When mine had the axle.. i too thought it was a serious problem with trans, or something else. It sounded / felt horrible.

Can you feel it in the pedal? It the seat of the car? Does it feel like its banging? Does it feel like a circular ticking. Etc. Test more!

[Huffer]

it's a very easy fix of draining and replacing the trans fluid and dropping in a bottle of Lubegard ATF protectant (red bottle).



fluid replaces burnt clutch packs? you should market and sell that stuff...

It works, ive saved 3 subarus from torque bind with it. Do a search on my posts here and on nasioc and do a general search on the product. Its not snake oil.

[tofu_boi13]

ok so should i def not go with a flush bcuz its not like my fluids brown er anything. fluid is ok and i also put in almost a full bottle of the lucas tranny conditioner. it made things run a little bit smoother because before i added the lucas, the tranny fluid was very thin like it didnt have that smooth conditioned texture. kind of watered down almost. interesting about the fwd fuse tho. nvr would have thought it could even be possibly something that simple. ill check it out a little further tomorrow. maybe do a video even.

[tofu_boi13]

so should I take out the existing fuse from the fuse box and replace the empty slot with that one er do i just leave everything the way it is, go get the fuse at an auto store, and put it in with the other fwd slot while other fuses are all still plugged in? basically do i have to remove anything? lol

[JunkerXL]

the fuse is a diagnostic tool subaru incorporated b/c they like being able to have normal people fix their cars. go get a fuse from auto zone, dont take it out of your fuse box. i think it takes a 15 amp, but i might be wrong. if the problem goes away, you have your answer, if not let us know.

also "If it's the clutch packs, it's a very easy fix of draining and replacing the trans fluid and dropping in a bottle of Lubegard ATF protectant (red bottle)." - i will try this, as my wife's car is having binding issues. how do i know if its the clutch packs and not duty solenoid c? or do i try this b4 replacing the solenoid, or simply do both. also, is that solenoid readily available :smt017 ?? dont mean to hijack, but this could help us both :grin:




:smt020

[Huffer]

so should I take out the existing fuse from the fuse box and replace the empty slot with that one er do i just leave everything the way it is, go get the fuse at an auto store, and put it in with the other fwd slot while other fuses are all still plugged in? basically do i have to remove anything? lol

Uh, there should be 3 spare fuses in your fuse box. 5amp, 10amp, 15amp (or maybe it's 20amp).

http://www.drive.subaru.com/Fall05_QuickStops.htm
Scroll down to "Temporary Spares And Fuses"

Basically, check your owners manual.

[JunkerXL]

ahh i forgot about those, lol, i imagined removing an important fuse :lol:



you killing my huffer. is that solenoid available? change when adding fluid? ahhh :smt010




:smt020

[Huffer]

also "If it's the clutch packs, it's a very easy fix of draining and replacing the trans fluid and dropping in a bottle of Lubegard ATF protectant (red bottle)." - i will try this, as my wife's car is having binding issues. how do i know if its the clutch packs and not duty solenoid c? or do i try this b4 replacing the solenoid, or simply do both. also, is that solenoid readily available :smt017 ?? dont mean to hijack, but this could help us both :grin:

What I did, is dragged up every single thread on Nasioc about torque bind and read everything until I was totally confused... lol.
It's been a few years, but the way it worked is that the transfer clutch packs get worn out to the point where they're fully engaged don't allow the rear wheels to rotate at different speeds which results in a total 50/50 torque split.

As far as I understand it, DutyC solenoid works in conjunction with the transfer clutch packs and when it fails it also puts the car into 50/50 torque bind. The way I understood the problem, was that it was far cheaper and easier to drain and refill fluid than it was to replace DutyC. The little bottle cost $6 and saved me $600 in repair costs. And for all the haters, there's plenty of documented cases of it working on Nasioc, and I've personally cured 3 Subarus of various vintages and states of advanced torque bind with it.

It may not work all the time, especially if Duty C is the problem, but it will certainly cost a lot less if it works.

[tofu_boi13]

the fuse is a diagnostic tool subaru incorporated b/c they like being able to have normal people fix their cars. go get a fuse from auto zone, dont take it out of your fuse box. i think it takes a 15 amp, but i might be wrong. if the problem goes away, you have your answer, if not let us know.

also "If it's the clutch packs, it's a very easy fix of draining and replacing the trans fluid and dropping in a bottle of Lubegard ATF protectant (red bottle)." - i will try this, as my wife's car is having binding issues. how do i know if its the clutch packs and not duty solenoid c? or do i try this b4 replacing the solenoid, or simply do both. also, is that solenoid readily available :smt017 ?? dont mean to hijack, but this could help us both :grin:




:smt020

GOOD SHIT MAN! NO PROB ON THE HIJACK, LOL AND WHAT I DID TODAY WAS GO BUY A PACK OF 4 ER 5 1OA FUSES AND I DROPPED ONE IN THE FWD SLOT ON THE FIREWALL. IT ACTUALLY WORKS LIK A CHARM. ONLY ABOUT 4 DOLLARS FOR A PACK. I LOVE IT! NO MORE THUMPING, NO MORE THUNKING, NO MORE BULLSHIT YA KNO? NOW I GOTTA SAVE SOME MONEY TO REPAIR THE CLUTCH PACKS... OR DO I JUST SAY SCREW THAT AND JUST REPLACE THE FLUID WITH THE TOP OFF RED STUFF? IF I TAKE THE FUSE BACK OUT AFTER CHANGING THE FLUID, WOULD IT BE FIXED? WELL SO FAR SO GOOD. YOU GUYS HELPED ME OUT A LOT. THANKS :smt023

[Reuben]

I'll be the annoying shit who points this out. BG5 is the chassis code for the raised-roof-wagon-2L. Your car is a BD something.

The more you know!

[Huffer]

GOOD SHIT MAN! NO PROB ON THE HIJACK, LOL AND WHAT I DID TODAY WAS GO BUY A PACK OF 4 ER 5 1OA FUSES AND I DROPPED ONE IN THE FWD SLOT ON THE FIREWALL. IT ACTUALLY WORKS LIK A CHARM. ONLY ABOUT 4 DOLLARS FOR A PACK. I LOVE IT! NO MORE THUMPING, NO MORE THUNKING, NO MORE BULLSHIT YA KNO? NOW I GOTTA SAVE SOME MONEY TO REPAIR THE CLUTCH PACKS... OR DO I JUST SAY SCREW THAT AND JUST REPLACE THE FLUID WITH THE TOP OFF RED STUFF? IF I TAKE THE FUSE BACK OUT AFTER CHANGING THE FLUID, WOULD IT BE FIXED? WELL SO FAR SO GOOD. YOU GUYS HELPED ME OUT A LOT. THANKS :smt023

1. Please don't type in all caps. If you can take the time to type, do it properly.

2. Change the fluid out - all you have to "lose" is about $25 in fluids and an hour of time. It's always good to have fresh fluid in the tranny.
If you do go that route, make sure to give the trans at least 100miles of time to refresh the clutch packs - just normal driving is fine.
On my old BD (check it out in the MR1 section, under my username) my problem was solved within 25miles of normal driving. On my friend's BH wagon, it fixed the problem before he arrived home, literally 5 miles. On another vehicle that I fixed for a colleague, they had been driving it with torque bind for over a year, nearly 25,000 miles (they commuted from PA to downtown Cleveland...go figure!). The problem was gone within a week of driving.

When you do change the fluid out and refill + Lubegard, you have to remove the 10A fuse from the FWD holder.

[tofu_boi13]

thanks for advice. One more thing, should i get the flush er no just change it? :arrow:

[Huffer]

no flush, just change it yourself.

[JunkerXL]

word! thanks huffer, your my transmission hero :roll: . if it works all the better. the sedan is getting a bit of 1st gear slop, so i hope it's not too late :smt017




:smt020

[tofu_boi13]

shouldnt be too late bcuz my trany had really bad 1st into second gear thunking er even slamming it sounded like. as soon as i put in the fuse it was as if i had put in a new tranny. pretty awesome i kno! :arrow:

[tofu_boi13]

Alrighty then... well, what i did today was i went out to the better of the few jiffy lubes near where i live and i got a transmission fluid change and toped off with some lucas (good stuff). I took out the 10 amp fuse that i had put in a couple of days ago to see if the new fluid helped me out as far as the shuddering and thunking goes. shuddering isnt as bad as b4 but i can tell the fluid change in that region didnt do so much. Also the thunking from 1st into second continues to do the same thing as b4 just as bad...What does this all mean? what else must i do now? duty solenoid? lemme kno subie junkies!!!! :arrow:

[Huffer]

You didnt do anything i said to do.

I didnt tell you to go to a jiffy lube.
I didnt tell you to get a flush.
I didnt tell you to use Lucas additives.

Did you read anything i told you to do?

[tofu_boi13]

I nvr said i got a flush man chill...whats the difference if i change the tranny fluid or i just have someone else do it anyways? and as for the lucas product, i only put in whatever i had left from the original fluid. (not much at all) So yea im pretty sure i did. lol i just need to get that red bottle ATF stuff.

[Huffer]

The lucas stuff is not good for your transmission. You'll need to be aggressive now and drain + refill the fluid 2 or 3 times to clean it out properly. *sigh*

[Subaruandy]

I've read your posts here and I'm impressed that you seem to know what's happening.

I've got a question about your fix.
I'm having that thunking problem and I'm pretty sure it's the AWD problem (I have a 96 Legacy, 2.2l).
While viewing the situation, I found a torn CV boot; oddly it was the inner one. So I took that to a mechanic and he replaced it; the thunking problem is still there.
He said this was pretty common not only with Subarus but with other AWD vehicles; he said that often a change of trans fluid would fix it.
His recommendation is to flush the trans and refill it with synthetic stuff and, per your recommendation, add the Lubegard ATF Protectant.

So here's my question: Should I stick with your recommendation of drain once, refill and add the Lubegard? Or will the flush, synthetic fluid and Lubegard give me a better chance of a fix?

Also, what's the price difference of the two? I assume your fix is maybe $20 and the other is maybe upwards of $100? I don't know.

And, of course, there's the question can I run with the FWD fuse forever? The car is 15 years old so a major, expensive transmission fix might not make sense.

Thanks for your input on this board.

Andy

[Huffer]

quote="Subaruandy"]
I've got a question about your fix.

*** its not MY fix, i'm just letting you know about a product that has worked for me very well. :)

So here's my question: Should I stick with your recommendation of drain once, refill and add the Lubegard? Or will the flush, synthetic fluid and Lubegard give me a better chance of a fix?

*** heres the thing. A "flush" is simply a multiple drain of transmission fluid via a machine. Its just more aggressive and less time consuming. I dont recommend them because they can contaminate a transmission with the wrong grade of fluid if its not cleaned properly between vehicles. My recommendation is drain it yourself and refill, then redrain and refill. If the problem isn't gone by then then its a more serious problem. But you've only wasted a couple of hours and about $50.

Also, what's the price difference of the two? I assume your fix is maybe $20 and the other is maybe upwards of $100? I don't know.

**** see above. Its going to be $50 vs $150.

And, of course, there's the question can I run with the FWD fuse forever? The car is 15 years old so a major, expensive transmission fix might not make sense.

**** honestly im not sure on this one. The owners manual says the fwd fuse is a temporary fix and thus is likely to be used mainly to get you home

[Subaruandy]

OK, I did it. I went to my guy who flushed the AT, filled it with synthetic, and added the Lubegard.

I've driven it 100 miles and checked it on slow, sharp turns and it seems to be fixed. I say, it "seems" to be fixed because I'll probably be waiting for a shudder every time I make a sharp turn for the next few hundred miles.

But so far, so good.

FYI, the flush and all cost me $144.

In doing all this, a question came to mind: how often are we supposed to change the AT fluid?

I'm an old guy who keeps cars for quite a while but I've only recently noticed people talking about changing brake fluid and AT fluid.

Andy

[JunkerXL]

i want to say every 35k for the trans flush, i think its 60k for the coolant and something similar for the brakes. im prolly miles off though, call subaru and ask the service manager they'll let you know for sure

[Huffer]

In doing all this, a question came to mind: how often are we supposed to change the AT fluid?

I'm an old guy who keeps cars for quite a while but I've only recently noticed people talking about changing brake fluid and AT fluid.

Andy

Hey Andy,

It should be in your owners manual. If you don't have one, I strongly suggest dropping some $$ and buying one - especially seeing as you keep your cars for awhile.

[jey]

Or you can get your maintenance schedule for free on Subaru.com:

https://www.subaru.com/my-subaru/mainte ... e1996.html (https://www.subaru.com/my-subaru/maintenance-schedule1996.html)

[Subaruandy]

I asked about how often the transmission fluid should be changed. "Jey" sent me to:

https://www.subaru.com/my-subaru/mainte ... e1996.html (https://www.subaru.com/my-subaru/maintenance-schedule1996.html)

And that told me that the transmission fluid should be "inspected" every 30 thousand miles. So, inspect it at 30, 60, 90, and 120 miles. Note 4 says that under "severe conditions" it should be changed every 15,000 miles. Great!

Since my Subaru has seen pretty mild service, I would be led to believe that it should be good for a long time.

Since I've had this problem, I'd like to recommend to EVERYBODY that the transmission fluid should be changed every 60,000 miles. No matter what.

It's a small price to pay for longevity.

Just my two cents.

Andy