telpernian

WEIRD - my post, just before yours, talks about my horrible breakdown this weekend in Bridgeport, CT on my way to NYC from vermont. We broke down on Main St near Rt 8/Courthouse. None of the payphones worked, but we found a very friendly Holiday Inn on Main that let us wait for AAA tow. Wish you the best of luck. I no longer have any faith in dealers. Try to get to a place with a mechanic you trust.

Is there such a thing as a "transmission differential" ? My dealership is telling me I've had problems with my Front Differential. They've confused me by first saying the two things were different, then saying they were the same thing. I understand what the F. Dif. does, but not how it works with the transmission. If I were having a problem with "bearings and seals" in the F. Dif, should I expect a massive transmission failure? If you're curious about the background to this question, this is my sad story: I have a 2001 Forester (automatic) that I bought used from this dealership in 2004. It's been in fine shape, considering its current 130K miles. It's a basic country commuter car that's made a lot of 3-5 hour trips. Since last August, any pressure on the accelerator resulted in a whine that grew in pitch as the car sped up. Three separate sources said "it might be your front differential, it'll just get louder, don't worry about it." Three! The sound did indeed become louder, until a new deceleration sound developed. Again, we were told by mechanics that this wasn't a great concern. It's just the front differential bearings wearing out. They suggested cutting the AWD for the summer to quiet the noise. They suggested the following repair eventually: "Will need to remove to remove transmission to determine if front differential bearing are the cause. Estimate $975 P/L to remove transmission. R & R needed bearings and seals in front differential." Two weeks ago, this was the advice we were given by our dealership. We took one long trip with complete success and commuted 50 miles daily for two weeks. On our last trip, we hit slow traffic, and while in those lower speeds (30-40), the car began to buck and shudder. While scrambling to get off the interstate, the front end began to bang viciously, and the front wheels periodically locked. Thus, the "exploded transmission" (their words). What's got my goat is that until now, my dealership mechanic has only expressed modest concern. After towing the car back to them, they expressed great surprise and said it was "incredibly rare." Now that we're taking our repair elsewhere, they say it was what they expected all along. (Naturally.) We've only been given information concerning the front differential. No warnings concerning actual transmission. I'm not a car person. Was I expected to understand they are the same thing? From my limited readings and conversations, it did not appear that a modest problem with a front end differential could result in an exploded transmission. Was I horribly naive? So many thanks for your thoughts: feel free to email me directly at jade.entangled@gmail.com ~Telpernian