I'm about to "inherit" a 2005 Impreza wagon with only about 45,000 miles on it. I put "inherit" in quotes because it's former owner, my mom, is quite alive, but has decided (wisely) to hang up her keys for the last time. She bough the car new when she was 78 years old, so it's quite literally only ever been driven by a little old lady.
Anyway, about 2 years ago, it started bucking and shuddering in tight turns. The dealer diagnosed it as the transfer clutch freezing up, with the consensus that given the age and use of the car (mostly local driving), it wasn't worth repairing; "Just keep driving it until it dies." The car is in excellent shape otherwise, consistent with it's low mileage.
The dealer's explanation was that the two metal plates of the transfer clutch eventually warp, so they can't slip... making the car ride like an old Ford 4-wheel drive pickup, kind of crab-walking when in a tight turn.
But I've been wondering. Given that the car has never been driven hard, and really hasn't been driven much at all, maybe the problem isn't that the plates are warped so much as gunked up with 15 years of crud. If that's the case, might a can of Marvel Mystery Oil into the transmission, followed by a few hundred miles of driving and then a transmission flush, solve the problem?
Or would a can of MMO in there mess up various seals and other things, and wreak all sorts of havoc. IOW, should I just leave well enough alone? The car drives just fine otherwise.
So, what's the consensus? Give it a try? Or maybe try some other trick short of tearing the transmission apart? Or just leave it alone and live with what's really a minor problem?
Anyway, about 2 years ago, it started bucking and shuddering in tight turns. The dealer diagnosed it as the transfer clutch freezing up, with the consensus that given the age and use of the car (mostly local driving), it wasn't worth repairing; "Just keep driving it until it dies." The car is in excellent shape otherwise, consistent with it's low mileage.
The dealer's explanation was that the two metal plates of the transfer clutch eventually warp, so they can't slip... making the car ride like an old Ford 4-wheel drive pickup, kind of crab-walking when in a tight turn.
But I've been wondering. Given that the car has never been driven hard, and really hasn't been driven much at all, maybe the problem isn't that the plates are warped so much as gunked up with 15 years of crud. If that's the case, might a can of Marvel Mystery Oil into the transmission, followed by a few hundred miles of driving and then a transmission flush, solve the problem?
Or would a can of MMO in there mess up various seals and other things, and wreak all sorts of havoc. IOW, should I just leave well enough alone? The car drives just fine otherwise.
So, what's the consensus? Give it a try? Or maybe try some other trick short of tearing the transmission apart? Or just leave it alone and live with what's really a minor problem?