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I was so excited...i was putting my new (for me) Forester into 4WD for the 1st time.
Ok, so it was only on a small patch of grass in suburban Frankston! Yeah yeah i know...very lame. But it was on a hill! lol
But it was my very 1st time & i was so excited haha.

Disaster! No high range!
Rocked the car in case something to do with gears meshing - i dont really know how it works - but no, there was low range but no high range. The engine just spun with no drive. Low range works fine.

Is this just a linkage thing with high range not being selected, maybe just needing adjustment, or a gearbox internals thing?

Its a '98 Forester, 5spd. Just bought from my bro in law, been well maintained since new, 160,000kms.

i was under the impression foresters were constant "high" range all-wheel drive with a low range added.. which begs the question did you drive to the patch of grass in low range? and if not you were in 4wd high range to get there.. i'm confused as to what you mean by not having high range...

The gearbox is setup with a syncro'd high/low gearset, and there's a neutral in between. If you do not push the low range gear lever all the way down you may end up in neutral.

Get under the bonnet, have a look under the intake ducting on the driver's side, above the diff there should be a little lever. This is the lever that selects high or low range. If the pin for the cable is missing or the cable's adjustment is loose here's your most likely problem. You might have to move it manually to high range, I think this is the rearward position of the lever from memory.

I highly doubt you've done you're high range gearing by selecting low range - unless you've modified something in there like ScubyRoo did - he fried the syncro some how and was stuck in low range - and about 70km/h top speed pulling some crazy revs (L series low range mod).

Cheers

Bennie

woody.t wrote:i was under the impression foresters were constant "high" range all-wheel drive with a low range added.. which begs the question did you drive to the patch of grass in low range? and if not you were in 4wd high range to get there.. i'm confused as to what you mean by not having high range...

I think later models are ''all wheel drive'' but the '98 is front wheel drive unless u select 4WD, either high or low range.

Hi range is normal driving range.. When you need to pull up steep stuff off road you select a low range (surely corretc terms?)
I know some early Libs were poverty packs and only FWD, Imprezas too ? I was under impression al Foz were AWD.

nachaluva wrote:I think later models are ''all wheel drive'' but the '98 is front wheel drive unless u select 4WD, either high or low range.

steptoe wrote:Hi range is normal driving range.. When you need to pull up steep stuff off road you select a low range (surely corretc terms?)
I know some early Libs were poverty packs and only FWD, Imprezas too ? I was under impression al Foz were AWD.

Your right steptoe

All Foresters are AWD not 4WD like l-Series and brumbys. All manual not turbos ahev a low range which can be selected while on the move upto 70km/hr The low range is exactly the same as hi range but just lower gearing for offroad, towing, etc...

These guys are probably right its either A in neutral or B. the something with the linkage cable, thats probably what it is. Try reving the car, going in reverse and driving around abit then stop and try to put it in hi range. I know SKT has this issue with his H6 Forester but after a little drive it slipped right back into hi range.

It would only be FWD then 4WD hi and low if some has swapped it with an L-Series or brumby gearbox.

I have had just once with my forester that it wouldn't go back into hi range but after a little rev in nuetral it fixed the issue. I use hi and low on the goa ll the time now. Like I use low range in car parks and when i need to reverse slowly or even just for fun because it means you have to change gears every 2 seconds just to get upto 60km/hr :P

Regards,
Taza

El_Freddo wrote:The gearbox is setup with a syncro'd high/low gearset, and there's a neutral in between. If you do not push the low range gear lever all the way down you may end up in neutral.

Get under the bonnet, have a look under the intake ducting on the driver's side, above the diff there should be a little lever. This is the lever that selects high or low range. If the pin for the cable is missing or the cable's adjustment is loose here's your most likely problem. You might have to move it manually to high range, I think this is the rearward position of the lever from memory.

I highly doubt you've done you're high range gearing by selecting low range - unless you've modified something in there like ScubyRoo did - he fried the syncro some how and was stuck in low range - and about 70km/h top speed pulling some crazy revs (L series low range mod).

Cheers

Bennie

Its stock standard...no lift kits, HID lights or locked diff. who knows maybe sometime lol.
ok, i found the lever. In FWD mode its in rearward posi, high range middle posi, & low range all way forward. It ''seems'' to be moving as it should but im not really sure as im totally unfamiliar with the workings of subies.
But im learning!

OK, you guys seem to be pretty sure its AWD. I was under impression its FWD but i will accept what your saying.
So does that mean im selecting neutral?

"Like I use low range in car parks and when i need to reverse slowly or even just for fun because it means you have to change gears every 2 seconds just to get upto 60km/hr :P"

hehehe

nachaluva wrote:OK, you guys seem to be pretty sure its AWD. I was under impression its FWD but i will accept what your saying.
So does that mean im selecting neutral?

Yes. Let me post a pic of what mine looks like and says.

This is mine and the sticker says how to use it. but since you can't read that it basically says use the clutch when swapping between hi and low. In this picture mine is in Hi Range and when lifted to an 80 degree angle all the way it is in low range. Also when Low range is engaged a Lo orange light will come on on the dash near the fuel gauge.



Taza

taza wrote:Yes. Let me post a pic of what mine looks like and says.

This is mine and the sticker says how to use it. but since you can't read that it basically says use the clutch when swapping between hi and low. In this picture mine is in Hi Range and when lifted to an 80 degree angle all the way it is in low range. Also when Low range is engaged a Lo orange light will come on on the dash near the fuel gauge.



Taza

D'oh. Im such a goose.
I just went out & checked the sticker. Yes its similar to yours but says "full time dual range 4WD".
Dunno why i didnt see that earlier. So always read the label before posting silly questions lol.
Thanks guys

nachaluva wrote:D'oh. Im such a goose.
I just went out & checked the sticker. Yes its similar to yours but says "full time dual range 4WD".
Dunno why i didnt see that earlier. So always read the label before posting silly questions lol.
Thanks guys

Are you still having that problem with it not going into Hi range?

taza wrote:Are you still having that problem with it not going into Hi range?

How do i know if its engaging all 4 wheels?

I think i was just getting neutral with the hi/low shifter...silly me for not reading the label properly. But i just believed my sister who told me it was FWD

I think you are possibly getting confused between hi & lo, not unusual, under normal driving the lever will be all the way down, in lo range for beach/grass etc the lever will be all the way up, try changing it while stationary or on the move as you can drive in either hi or lo on the bitumen unlike most 4X4's any time you like, no need to find grass like in the older L series Subies as your center diff won't bind up.

It won't engage all 4 wheels as you have open diffs but it'll be the same as most others, even my old Landcruiser was really only 2 wheel drive, just one at each end.

d_generate wrote:I think you are possibly getting confused between hi & lo, not unusual, under normal driving the lever will be all the way down, in lo range for beach/grass etc the lever will be all the way up, try changing it while stationary or on the move as you can drive in either hi or lo on the bitumen unlike most 4X4's any time you like, no need to find grass like in the older L series Subies as your center diff won't bind up.

It won't engage all 4 wheels as you have open diffs but it'll be the same as most others, even my old Landcruiser was really only 2 wheel drive, just one at each end.

Really? Happy to hear i wont damage anything if i drive it on bitumen in low range. I guess it makes sense...if it can handle high range on road then why not low range.

yeah i think i was getting confused with the older subies - is that the "L" series? Have driven them lots, esp my bros wagon, i think '81. Really liked that 1, handled well, nice dash, even liked the way it sloped down at the front. I had it drummed into me engage 4WD ONLY on the dirt, with wheels pointing straight ahead & not going 2 fast.
Some great memories.

PS: have you ever seen a subie hit a wombat, then with the wombat stuck firmly underneath the engine we get out wondering what to do, only to watch as the wombat starts moving off, dragging the car with it! Absolutely amazing!

I still marvel at the incredible resilience & strength of this remarkable marsupial

Hope it was ok, I like wombats, like a bulldozer on legs lol.

it must be their high muscle content that makes one of nachas most putrid, far reaching pongs as they start to decay after roadside demise. I'm told humans smell worse still....

Try moving a fox that's been sitting in a sea container out in the desert for about a week, boss gave us a dust mask........Yup that stops the smell, I can still taste it 34yrs later lol.

Yeah was ok. He eventually wriggled his way out from under the car & waddled off totally unfazed lol. Maybe he (she?) thought another wombat was trying to mate hahaha.

I love wombles too...i volunteer at a wildlife carer & have had to feed baby wombats. So cute when they're young but get mighty grumpy as they grow.

Useless bit of trivia: wombats & koalas are closely related & both have backward facing pouches

d_generate wrote:Try moving a fox that's been sitting in a sea container out in the desert for about a week, boss gave us a dust mask........Yup that stops the smell, I can still taste it 34yrs later lol.

EWWW! I can just imagine