Front differential problems

[wrongturninwv]

2001 Outback wagon VDC 3.0. Right side front differential leak and thumping noise.Had whole car up off ground and ran it in drive. Can see right cv joint bounce up and down.Is there a way to tighten that play up or do i need to replace trans ??? Also will any front differential from a 2.5 fit that trans or does it have to be from a 3.0 trans also ??? Garry you have a trans sitting around ?

[lmdew]

I'd start by draining the diff and checking the gear lube for metal.

Easier to change the complete trans, as the gears have to be properly shimmed to set the clearance.

[idosubaru]

Checking oil for debris would be a great first step verification as he said.

 

How positive are you it's the diff?

1. How about the stubby shaft, if they pop out of the trans the car will drive with massive clobbering around. I've seen that before. Usually right after some work that involved moving pulling or working around the axle.

 

2. Bad Inner axle joints will thump and vibrate the entire car so bad you can't see out the rear view mirror. I wouldn't think they would cause play in the axle stub shaft and damage the seal though so this seems unlikely. But good to verify.

 

I don't have a spare H6 trans.

 

2.5's have a different gear ratio. 4.44 rather than 4.11.

 

But get a 4.44 rear diff to match and you might be able to use it. Probably interchangeable. The VDCs look like every other 4EAT I've disassembled, though that doesn't mean a whole lot. the VTD and 4EAT MPT rear drives are interchangeable even though they're vastly different. People install H6 VTDs into H4 transmissions for the VTD functionality.

 

For that matter - people swap the VTD into MPT (2.5) transmissions. I wonder if you could just get a 2.5 transmission and bolt the rear VTD stuff to it (easy) and be good to go?

 

No one probably knows the answer to that as frankensteining transmissions isn't common. Could check wiring diagram pin outs, connectors, and solenoids. If they're similar that's a great sign.

 

I'd start by checking the main wiring harness connectors to see if they're the same.

[CNY_Dave]

Could it have been the shaft in the CV joint jumping around? The inner joints can get pretty bad before they really complain!

[idosubaru]

I mentioned that in #2 of my verbose reply but I was assuming vibration and leaky seal are related. But they very well may not be. So that axle probably should be checked more than I originally thought.

 

Maybe a bad enough axle could even pop the stub circlip out of the trans. When they get really bad I wonder if it's the shaft or cup that are vibrating or I guess both?

[wrongturninwv]

Thanks for all the replies. Will check the CV joint. Autozone owes me one at no cost. Checked diff fluid and reads full. Fluid that leaked from seal was thick and silver looking, almost the color of liquid solder. Once I take off the CV I can grab hold the stub and see if it has play up and down. All i can do is hope for the best. Wish all you guys a safe and happy New Year.

[wrongturninwv]

I lucked out. It was the right side inner end of the CV joint. No ripped boot just bad bearings inside shaft causing all the problems.