GEORGE G Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I have an 04 outback 2.5 auto trans w/87000 mi lately I've noticed jitter at low rpm's when turning or accelerating. I've looked through the forum, and keep coming back to viscous coupler this sounds expensive, can anyone help? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Drain/Fill your ATF three times. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEORGE G Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thank you I'll try that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 what he said, change the fluid. do all your tires match in size and tread depth? does the AT light ever blink 16 times at first start up? there's a FWD fuse holder in the engine bay - installing a fuse in that and telling us if the binding goes away or not is very informative. automatics dont' have a viscous coupler, those are only found on manuals. if you see people talking about viscous couplers you can pretty much ignore it, because auto trans work completely differently. a failing viscous coupler is not fixable - it has to be replaced. so consider it good news that you might not have to get into something that expensive. yours, being an automatic, still has a really good chance of being repaired. it utilizes clutch packs and a duty C solenoid to control pressure to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 2001 Forester 5MT. 109k miles on her. Experiencing torque bind when hot the last 4 months. So I changed the front diff/gear oil just for the heck of it. Had to get on that drain plug with a breaker bar to loosen it, so I know it has never been changed before. I have only very small hopes that this will cure the torque bind (hey, it COULD be the front diff, right?). But it does make the shifting a little silkier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I have only very small hopes that this will cure the torque bind (hey, it COULD be the front diff, right?). But it does make the shifting a little silkier.no, not quite unfortunately. subaru front diffs don't fail like that, you would have other/different symptoms as the front is a front diff - it doesn't do anything to the rear drivetrain. changing gear oil can not help the torque bind on a manual trans. that would be akin to changing your gas and hoping it fixes your transmission because the viscous unit in a MT is sealed, changing the fluid in the transmission does not do anything to the center diff mechanism. once it's failing it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Well, there is the possibility that what I THINK is center diff tbind is actually front diff tbind. We shall see, but my hopes are small. What symptoms arise from front diff failure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Well, there is the possibility that what I THINK is center diff tbind is actually front diff tbind. We shall see, but my hopes are small. What symptoms arise from front diff failure?nah, front diffs don't bind...or, they don't bind without any other symptoms. you're doing good trying something, that's better than ignoring it completely, you'll figure something out soon enough. "binding" front diffs are not subtle - they would have some noise since they are purely mechanical in nature unlike auto's and VLSD's which have fluid/hydraulic mechanisms. they can get very noisy and voilent quickly. front diffs get worse quickly are not considered good candidates for continued use like a traditional binding center diff. this suggests you don't have front diff failure. if the center diff is not the cause then the symptoms would differ. it would be very odd to have the exact same symptoms as torque bind and no others, yet an entirely different cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Has anyone checked to make sure thier tires match and are equally worn and inflated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Yes, my tires all same, same wear, same pressure. I changed my front gear oil/front diff oil (same reservoir) on my 2001 Forester 110k miles on her......I swear to gad it has helped. So maybe I have been experiencing partial front diff bind along with partial center diff bind. I have to do more testing this weekend to see if completely cured or partially.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 (edited) Ok. 2001 Forester 5MT. 110k miles. I got the car good and warm on a hot day in Boston yesterday and I did the tight, slow, full-lock turns in a parking lot, and all symptoms of my torque bind are gone. In my case, the rear wheels never were binding, it was my front wheels that were doing it. Most people say they notice their REAR wheels binding, so my symptom was similar, yet different from the usual torque bind complaint. I only changed out my front diff/gear oil, and that cured it. Hope this helps someone else. Definitely worth a try before you pay for a new center diff. Edited September 26, 2011 by unibrook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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