96 Outback bogging when sharp turning

[Satern]

I have a 96 legacy outback awd and it stuters when I have the wheel cut all the way to the left or the right and give it gas. It seems like the awd is kinda messed up, Is this normal? I noticed there is a fuse holder under the hood that says FWD, I installed a fuse there abd the FWD light came on on the dash. The car runs good this way. I read that this means that the car is in Front wheel drive only. Does the fuse belong there??/ Any help please?????

[DBC423]

Satern, I had the same problem with my 96 outback (automatic). After much internet research it came down to the tires. If you have tires with uneven/worn tread wear that "bogging" (thunking sensation?) could happen. I just got new tires and the thunking on turns sensation is pretty much gone. I also had cv joints and bearings replaced before new tires and that didn't help.
Also don't keep the car in that 2wheel drive mode. That 2wd fuse is only designed for use when you use the funky little spare tire(see manual-flat tire section) . You could be damaging the all the awd system with prolonged front wheel drive use from what I heard. Hope this helps.

[kbkaiser]

I have this problem myself on my 96. The dealer says that there is a set of clutches which are involved in the front/rear split which need to be replaced. It's been getting worse. The dealer indicated that the work could be done w/o removing the tranny, but it's quite expensive. Has anyone done this?

[Mr_D]

My 1996 Legacy Outback also developed the same problem with 20,000 miles on it. It would bind and "buck" while turning especially if I was driving slow. Pulling the AWD fuse helped because that disables the drive to the rear, I don't know how long you can drive it that way.

The fuse is normally not used unless you are driving with an undersized spare tire.

In my case the problem was solved by the dealer replacing the "Transfer extension housing and clutches" which had worn groves into some sealing surfaces. This was covered under warranty and there was a service bullletin about it.

[MPtyza]

Be very careful with the car if you have the FWD fuse in. Don't drive it hard at all. Driving hard with the fuse in will eventually destroy the front differential on the car. Basically, if you don't need it in FWD, don't have it in.

[sha_zapple]

A) its not the tires
B) its the torque converter, as the second poster said
C) Don't leave that FWD fuse in.

[SUBARU_TECH]

i did not read all the replies but hers the fault.if the outside dia. of all tires is no greater than 1 inch you are good.the problem is the rear transfer clucth pack.a new housing,clutches,seals will fix the problem.trust me on this,have fixed many of these.do this.put a fuse in the (fwd) spot that is empty in your fuse block.this will put the car in front wheel drive only .this will prove to you that the fault is from the real wheels staying locked while turning.also replace the transfer clucth solenoid and gaskets at same time

[stangaddy]

Originally Posted by sha_zapple

A) its not the tires
B) its the torque converter, as the second poster said
C) Don't leave that FWD fuse in.

How much should this cost, and how long can I operate before repairing?

[SUBARU_TECH]

satern-although these people are trying to give you help they couldnt be farther from the truth.i have repaired this problem more times than i can count.on the viscous couple there is 2 teflon seal rings that that may have worn a groove into the tail shaft housing.if so the housing ,seals, gasket must be replaced.on from there you have to inspect the trans clutch drum for any wear noticable by notches scored across the drums outer surface.these marks are caused by the transfer clutch disc cutting into it.if the damage isnt to severe you can use a file and smooth the notches down.next you have to take the snap ring out of the transfer clutch pack end measure the solid end ring which is the first ring in that pack.visit your local subaru dealer and im sure they will print up the service bulletin that gives you all the part numbers and specs that i have mentioned to be checked.its not a hard repair to do if you plan on doing this yourself.the trans doesnt need to come out for this.

[SUBARU_TECH]

also putting the fuse in will not harm your car.it just keeps the transfer clutch solenoid from applying the rear wheels.

[greenmachineL2.2]

i know its an old post but yes, the subaru is a funny creature and i know people are still having this SAME problem, as I have and others i know.... first, check tire wear.. they must all be within 3/8ths an inch of similar wear... next the tire pressure... then if they are check a-1 put the fuse in the fwd slot under the hood, doing some circles in a lot or something, if it stops, it is NOT the rear differential or anything... then, replace the transmition fluid, adding a bottle of "equitorque" to the new fluid... this is good stuff for the awd... then drive it in a bunch of circles i mean a ton and it should go away.. .if you still have the problem, you are going to need a new transfer case and that sucks but keep the tran. fluid clean and changed you will save all the above steps later trust me

[Trigggl]

Has anyone suggested a front wheel alignment? It would make sense to me, that if the alignment is out of whack, then when you turn, the front wheels could be traveling faster or slower. For instance,
\ /

| |
or
/ \

| |

When you turn,
| /

| |
or
/ |

| |

I know, I'm