Bababou Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 This is a FWD auto car I had failed to check the trans fluid levels until now the auto fluid looks ok but will be getting changed since I have no Idea how old it is. The center diff has me worried though, pull the dip stick and the bottom has sludge on it and then oddly clean fluid on the dip stick. I haven't looked it up yet but I assume it takes 75-90 gear oil like my other Subaru diffs have called for but what ever is in the car does not smell like gear oil. I'm going to grab what ever it needs on my way home in the morning to change it but is there a flush I should do to clear out the gunk that likely wont drain on its own? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 write like this and you are going to confuse people ( much like I did when I thought a tailshaft uni joint had a fancy name - constant velocity joint :) confused poor message recipient on a rear wheel drive car ) Does FWD stand for Four wheel drive in your case ? Cos FWD is more often used to say Front Wheel Drive Centre diffs are generally only in 4WD four wheel drives that are constant four wheel drive or All Wheel Drive AWD You forgot to mention a few details of your car. I had an auto FWD EA81 which from memory, ran usual gear/diff oil 80W90 in the front (and only) diff and tranny fluid in the auto section of it. Don't recall it having two dipsticks. Don't recall much about my 4WD auto 3 speed auto and if it had gear oil in the diff and tranny fluid only in the tranny gear change section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 if it's a 1987 automatic, it should have a dipstick for the transmission fluid, over by the brake booster. The gear lube stick for the front diff is on the opposite side closer to center. behind the bell housing. Same for 4WD or FWD. Unless it's AWD, there is no center diff. I've had a couple that were not the cleanest in the diff section, so I ran part gear lube part ATF for a drive or 2, then drain and refill. Run for a week, then drain and refill with the good gear lube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bababou Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 6 hours ago, jono said: write like this and you are going to confuse people ( much like I did when I thought a tailshaft uni joint had a fancy name - constant velocity joint :) confused poor message recipient on a rear wheel drive car ) Does FWD stand for Four wheel drive in your case ? Cos FWD is more often used to say Front Wheel Drive Centre diffs are generally only in 4WD four wheel drives that are constant four wheel drive or All Wheel Drive AWD You forgot to mention a few details of your car. I had an auto FWD EA81 which from memory, ran usual gear/diff oil 80W90 in the front (and only) diff and tranny fluid in the auto section of it. Don't recall it having two dipsticks. Don't recall much about my 4WD auto 3 speed auto and if it had gear oil in the diff and tranny fluid only in the tranny gear change section I have not seen some one use FWD to mean four wheel drive only Front wheel drive which is the case for my car. 4x4 or four wheel drive or in the case of Subaru AWD for all wheel drive. What details did I forget? The parts store has it listed to take 70 or 80 or 90 weight gear oil and Dex 3 for the trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bababou Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share Posted October 13, 2018 6 hours ago, DaveT said: if it's a 1987 automatic, it should have a dipstick for the transmission fluid, over by the brake booster. The gear lube stick for the front diff is on the opposite side closer to center. behind the bell housing. Same for 4WD or FWD. Unless it's AWD, there is no center diff. I've had a couple that were not the cleanest in the diff section, so I ran part gear lube part ATF for a drive or 2, then drain and refill. Run for a week, then drain and refill with the good gear lube. Makes sense that it would be front diff rather than center diff for front wheel drive. The one in the auto 3 speed transmission, that diff. Thanks for the suggestion to clean the gunk out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 On 10/13/2018 at 7:36 PM, Bababou said: I have not seen some one use FWD to mean four wheel drive only Front wheel drive which is the case for my car. 4x4 or four wheel drive or in the case of Subaru AWD for all wheel drive. What details did I forget? The parts store has it listed to take 70 or 80 or 90 weight gear oil and Dex 3 for the trans. it is the fact you asked about the centre diff :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bababou Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 (edited) On 10/15/2018 at 10:37 PM, jono said: it is the fact you asked about the centre diff Fair enough, I learned a new thing. I had always been told the diff in the transmission is the center diff, but I had only AWD Subaru's before this car so makes sense a front wheel drive would be a different name. Edited October 18, 2018 by Bababou spelling error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steptoe Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) I had trouble calling the diff in the back of the gearbox a "centre diff" until I worked out it is central - to the front diff and rear axle diff Edited October 18, 2018 by Steptoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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