Nice writeup of your process, JW. Should be helpful to others down the road. Thanx.

I agree with Olnick on this. Write-up should go into the USRM forum so it doesn't get lost.

have a xt6 5ive speed apart next to the awd trans from legacy the pinion shaft is longer on the xt awd than the legacy one but i can put the 3.90 from the xt 6 into my rx deul range to get 3.90 instead of 3.70 theese trans are very simalar but legacy one is differant

I don't get a lot of time behind the wheel of my Forester; mostly my wife and kids drive it.

I drove it around for the last couple of days and I'm amazed at the difference in driveability since I changed the coupler.

 

I would just add to this thread that for a year or more I thought I was just getting bad at driving this manual. It bucked like mad in traffic and I was on the clutch constantly to keep from rattling my fillings.

 

I guess it had just sneaked up on me over time, but now it's a pleasure to drive again.

 

So, I'm guessing that a symptom of a failing coupler would be this bucking, probably due to the fact that the four wheels are semi-locked all the time on dry pavement.

 

This started happening long before the slow-speed-turn-shudders began.

 

JW

So, if you never get on the pavement, there might be no reason to replace a burnt-out V/C and in fact might offer off-road advantage?

 

absolutely.

 

my job takes me onto unmaintained gravel roads often, and when my vc failed, i could drive those roads better than i do now, with the working vc. however, tight turns on pavement (like into the parking spaces at the grocery) were nasty with the failed vc.