towing a Legacy AWD

Manual tranny (no LSD in the rear) can be towed all 4 on the ground. Mkae certain the tires are all the same with proper inflation.

Auto tranny - I dunno, probably with the DS disconnected as you say. What a hassle.

Carl

My 95 has a fuse that can be removed to disconnect the rear axle. Then you can use a dolly/tow-truck. The manual says something about towing for short distances (under 50 miles) and slow (under 45). I don't 100% recall, since I don't use it as a "toad" and a friend has a car trailer if it was dead.

Obviously it's a manual, if it was Auto, trailer is it.

Sorry to omit that point. It is an automatic.

Thanks

The problem arises from the center differential built into the auto tranny. It's 'default' condition is 4WD, so, without the engine pumping the tranny fluid around and the Duty C Solenoid being controlled by the computer, 'torque bind' will build up in the drivetrain and the easiest place for slippage to occur is the center diff clutch pack. It would likely be destroyed. Even if you remove the driveshaft, things are iffy due to lack of transmission fluid being circulated.

I dunno

Carl

But if the rear drive shaft was removed ???

You only have the back wheels and the dif going round.

Let's see, the fronts are on the dolly right? Should be OK then with the tailshaft disconnected running the rear wheels on the ground. Guess i got confused somewhere.

Carl

Is that related to this?

:"If you have a Subaru vehicle with a temporary spare and an automatic transmission, using the spare requires a visit to the fuse box under the hood. Consult your Owner's Manual, where it explains that the insertion of a spare fuse in the FWD connector defeats AWD to help prevent drivetrain damage. Just remember to take out the fuse once a conventional tire is installed."

Rebecca

They are related in that they are protecting the same device from potential damage - the center differential in the tailshaft of the automatic transmission.

Carl

A thought - if pulling the fuse disables the AWD, could it be the center diff really isn't doing anything when the ignition is off?

Mike

That's a dangerous assumption to make. The opposite could be true just as well. It takes what? An extra five minutes for an experienced tow guy to get the dollies under the wheels that would've been otherwise dragging on the pavement. I did not time mine with a stopwatch, but it felt rather quick three years ago when I had to tow my older Legacy. My recommendation is to use a tow service affiliated with an autoclub, such as triple A. This way if a Luddite with a tow truck messes up a center diff or anything else on your precious set of wheels there is always someone to sue besides the Tows R'Us.

I once saw a 1wd Legacy with a salvaged title that started its life as a 2wd, but something happened with the center diff that it had to be removed somewhere along the way.

Anyhow, all this discussion provided me with a useful insight on the reasons some Subs show up for sale :-[

Thanks.

PLACING the fuse IN the FWD drive position sends a CONSTANT 12V to the Duty C Solenoid, so regardless of any slippage detection no (or very little) power is sent to the rear wheels, so you can drive with the donut spare on. 0V (as when the ignition is off) is 4WD. Under normal conditions, the C solenoid is pulsed to yield some fractional torque split as determined by base mapping and slippage detection(60/40, or

25/75 or 75/25 as conditions demand). If you need it towed ask for a flatbed. You may need to wait longer but the cost should be the same. As for pulling driveshafts, whether or not running the engine while being towed or other weird ideas will work under odd circumstances I'll leave to others to speculate. Check your manual, check the Subaru website or ask the guys at and what they have 'gotten away with' by deviating from the manual's suggestions.

Carl

That explains a lot - thanks!

Mike