I have an '03 Impreza Outback manual transmission. It has 125K miles on it. A few weeks ago I had a flat on the rear driver's side while at work. I put on the donut just to get home but after just a few miles it felt like the car was going to fall apart, it was shaking, rattling, and really slowing the car down. I had to stop, pump up the flat tire and put it back on to get home.

The problem now is that ever since then the car has whined while moving. It sounds like it coming from the front, but hard to tell. The faster I'm going the louder it is. I can take it out gear while coasting and it doesn't make any difference.

I checked the rear differential fluid and might have been low (I couldn't get the car exactly level) so I put more in. I also put in more transmission fluid (same story about getting the car level).

Does anybody know what is going on? I'm a little aggravated at this whole situation, it seems like to me I put on the factory spare and it has ruined my transmission. Please tell me I'm wrong.

silly silly, we all know donuts are for cops, not subarus.

In the instruction manual, it says to only use the donut up front, and to put in the FWD fuse if you have the automatic. Means, if you get a flat on the rear, you need to rotate a good front tire back there, and then install the donut on the front axle.

Its in the booklet in your car.

silly silly, we all know donuts are for cops, not subarus.

In the instruction manual, it says to only use the donut up front, and to put in the FWD fuse if you have the automatic. Means, if you get a flat on the rear, you need to rotate a good front tire back there, and then install the donut on the front axle.

Its in the booklet in your car.

 

you got it backwards.

 

Donut goes on the rear.

 

And in this case, it's a 5spd so no FWD mode.

 

IDK, the donuts that come with the 5spds should be a close rolling diameter. Not sure why anything would be wrong. I've run 5spds with a donut before.

My '06 manual, which I have in PDF, does say it is to be used on a rear wheel. However, I did get a flat last year on a rear wheel about 1 mile from home. I put on the donut and drove home. I did notice that if I sped up to about 45 it would do as you described which is why I only did it for a second. When I got home I discovered that the donut had leaked air and was only at about 40psi. I believe it's supposed to be at 70 or 80. Anyhow, it does sound like center diff got damaged somehow.

 

Keith

i might been thinking if the car had LSD in rear diff. or i just wrong.

Front diff is open, rear diff on some closed. not all manuals same i thinks.

Shouldn't have made a big difference. The Center diff is hard to screw up. Though I suppose with extended use a spare could cause excess wear on the bevel gears. Thing is whatever noise those might make would disappear once the full size tire was replaced, assuming that it is of equal size and tread wear as the other 3 tires on the vehicle. Which now begs the question, did you replace it with a brand new tire? Or did you repair the old tire?

I replaced it with the old tire. Which to beat it all, I didn't patch and hasn't gone flat again. All the tires on the car now were bought at the same time and have the same amount of wear.

New question. Any recommendations of who to take it to near Atlanta or better yet, on the northside outside the perimeter?