edcooley

I got a used 3.9 diff locally for $75 on Tuesday afternoon and put it in Wednesday afternoon. I drove it Thursday and Friday, and it seems to be cured. Thanks for your help.

Maybe the diff problem has been festering since I briefly used the 2.5 transmission mistakenly 7 years ago. Do you think it is repairable? I think the axle splines look good. That was one of the first things I looked at. The axles look good as far as I can tell.

I did drain the oil and there are metallic swirls in the oil and even some grains that can be felt when rubbing them between fingers. Some of the metal is attracted to a magnet, but most is not. The drain bolt has a magnet on it, and it had metal on it. I took the axle nut off, but cannot budge the axle out toward where the diff was. I hit it pretty hard using a 3 lb hammer and an oak peg. Tire and brake drum are off. My drawing seems to show that it should slide out.

I got the diff out by just disconnecting the driveline and removing the bolts holding it in place and letting it down to let the axles slide out. Will the axles come out now by just removing the axle nut?

Sorry to have misled you. I thought those later details were not very important because they occurred over seven years ago--some 100,000 miles. I actually think that the original transmission had a bad bearing near the rear output shaft and could have been fixed by replacing that immediately and not putting in the wrong Outback transmission which only got driven with the wrong ratio for a short time--mostly trying to figure out what was wrong. I did get the proper diff for that transmission almost immediately--but not before ruining the center diff. I repaired the original transmission and replaced it and the original rear diff soon after and got several years and many miles out of it. I did remove the rear diff today and didn't see anything obviously wrong. It did seem a little loose and the seal was shot on the driver's side when I reached in under the car while it was parked. After putting it up on blocks and removing it, nothing seems so obvious anymore. What can I do to see if the diff or the axle is the problem. Actually, I don't have the correct diff on hand as a replacement--it is a T2 which is apparently for a 2.5 manual transmission--mine is a 2.2 MT.

The rear axle on the driver's side is loose at the diff and leaking oil. That looks like the place to start. I think I have a replacement diff and will look at the axle for damage. This car was bought with a bad transmission, and I got a used one from a guy that (I found out later) thought I had an Outback. I put it in and found out that the ratios didn't match up. So I ruined the center diff on the Outback transmission not knowing what was wrong and being stupid. I changed the diff to match the Outback transmission, but it was too late. So I replaced some bearings in the original transmission and got by for several years. When it went out I got another used one from a reputable wrecker and have been experiencing this current weirdness infrequently ever since. I really don't think it's the transmission because it runs right most of the time. I don't know why this bad axle could be intermittent, but hope that this axle/diff malfunction will fix it, and that I haven't damaged the center diff. Back when I was having that problem, I found out they were about $900 new and there weren't any used ones. I have had some bad experience with all-wheel-drive cars, but they really work on the gravel road we live on and in the snow. A Vista and now this Legacy have both had issues with the transmissions. I was pretty relaxed about keeping the tires all the same on the Vista and its center diff (in the driveline) went out, but now that I do I still have problems.

A broken axle is a good thought--better than a bad transmission. I drive it about 10 miles every day, but I guess it could still make that trip if it wasn't completely loose. I haven't noticed any smell. I will check out the axles and get back. Thanks.

I think my 99 Legacy 5-speed has a slipping differential--front, center, or rear. How can I diagnose where the slipping is happening? When my Legacy is going up a hill, and I give it more throttle, the speedometer reading increases (it's a Brighton so no tach) and the engine get louder, but the speed doesn't seem to change. So I think I can rule out the clutch as causing the slipping. Also, if I can't get up a hill in first gear, I can shift up to second gear and it will go up the hill better...but with some noisy complaining. It was an intermittent problem--going months between slipping, but recently it seems to have become chronic.

My Legacy does the same thing sometimes. I had a shop put in a used transmission and new clutch about a year ago. The clutch started slipping so I took it back, but the clutch stopped slipping before I got there. The mechanic guessed there may have been a rock or something in there keeping the clutch from making full contact--we live on a gravel road. It has happened twice more--the clutch slips for a couple days and then heals up. My driveway is up a steep hill so I can tell when it's working and not working. Actually putting it in 2nd gear going up the hill makes better progress than 1st gear, but with a growly noise. Normally trying to go up my driveway in 2nd gear would lug it.