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Hi I just recently purchased an automatic L series 1991 model. My brother has a manual one. When he puts his in 4 wheel low he gets a light on his display that says that its in low gear. My automatic doesn't do that. when I put my auto in 1st i am suspecting that is low and that 2 and D is high gear?

Can anyone on here confirm whether that is normal or does it mean my Low range isn't working.

putting it in 1 is just that...first gear and 2 is 2nd gear and D is drive or automatically chooses gears according to your speed...i dnt believe that the auto models have low or high range gears for 4wd...just the little button on the gear stick to engage the rear diff...but i know when i go off road i usually take the harder or muddier places in 1 so that the auto gearbox doesnt change gears when the wheels spin...

Calamity is correct, no Subarus have a dual range auto. Your auto is simply locked in 1st when you select 'low'. 2 is second gear locked, and D is pretty obvious.

are the autos still fairly capable off road?

Oh no, one of those questions depends on an individuals interpretation ! You got no clutch pedal to compete with your skill level. When my sedan was equipped with same a few Landbruiser drivers actually admitted they were impressed as to how my beast got where it did, and back out again (they didn't se me bury logs in the last culvert I had to cross )

It was a little short on underbody clearance though
Not sure if it was my auto or all of them should be taken out of 4WD for reverse/turn situations, think it was trying to torque bind the 3.7 rear diff against the 3.45 front ??

I took mine out last night for its first run on what I thought would be mud scarfing and turned out to be swamp bashing. I made it further than my brother's L series Manual both of us are stock with crap rubber. But both of us got stuck and my partner's JLX Estate Vitara got stuck trying to get to me too.

Then it came time for the heavy hitter. My mates 03 navara which got nearly made it to me before getting stuck. Then we found a rock that enabled him to get some traction and allowed him to dig himself out. Then he got in front of me and pulled me out. Then he got the Vitara towed me back through so I could get out. Then towed the vitara through so it was clear then pulled my bros Manual L out.

I guess I am wondering would've low range made all the difference? what could've made mine get further then the Manual L series ( my bro has done 4x4ing a fair bit in the past this was my first time). his has 3:7:1 and mine has 3:9:1 diff gears. I had mine in first and 4x4 all the way through.

it could be the driving style...a heavy foot off roading through swamp can make the difference between no traction and traction...

could have been had it in different gears.

i find that my auto competes fairly well off road as long as i keep it in first she just trundles along never misses a beat over rocks...

but iv driven a later model then mine a 92 model...it was the manual with high and low range...i found if i had it in high range i the wheels were more likely to skid and loose traction...even in low range i had to feather the clutch and throttle...i went back to the auto and have stuck with it since...

that being said though...im not the most experienced off roader...i just find that with the auto there is less to worry about...but i think its all down to personal preference...almost everyone you meet that does serious off roading will have a manual...

ahh ok well that's kinda cool then. Both myself and the Navara driver were shocked I got that far with it tbh. got further un aided then a single cab alloy trayed Navara thats gotta be a good feat then

I was a passenger on a 4wd trip in an auto GT Forester with lift kit.
After only having manuals, I was quite surprised how capable it was.

The torque converter takes out a lot of the slack when trying to crawl over stuff.
ie the engine could be spinning harder loading up the gearbox, but the torque converter is only allowing less power through, preventing the wheels from spinning.
ditto with crawling over stuff while riding the brake with the left foot. Prevents excessive power coming through, which then gives you traction instead of wheelspin.

ahh ok i'll have to try that some time.