so, i told my brother i had a 97 obw with AWD, and he laughed... " unless you have a lsd, you only have a 2WD car, but i suppose thats better than most, since they are only ONE whele drive."

 

did subaru offer a lsd for the outback? was it an option or standard on some trim package? how do you identify it? ( by the way, i've been up close and personal with a 96 donor car diff and i didn't see any tag or label, but in fact i was pulling the trans, not diff.)

 

is this idea overkill or is there some value in it? oh, and how much do they cost???

 

john

so, i told my brother i had a 97 obw with AWD, and he laughed... " unless you have a lsd, you only have a 2WD car, but i suppose thats better than most, since they are only ONE whele drive."

 

did subaru offer a lsd for the outback? was it an option or standard on some trim package? how do you identify it? ( by the way, i've been up close and personal with a 96 donor car diff and i didn't see any tag or label, but in fact i was pulling the trans, not diff.)

 

is this idea overkill or is there some value in it? oh, and how much do they cost???

 

john

 

overkill. Your brother is partially right. You can get all 4 wheels to transmit power (this is when an automatic is good) by lightly applying the brake pedal at the same time of the gas.

Good lsd's are mechanial in nature, with either a clutch pack or a cone pack and a spring mecahnisim. The sooby LSD is is a viscous coupling, its cheaper lighter and easier to build. It requires the one wheel to spin before it starts transmitting power to the non spinning wheel, and when it does its sort of underwhelming. a mechanical LSD is always engaged unless making a turn, then the clutch disengages allowing for the turn (its been years i think i have it right).

If you have a stick, you have to go this route. If you have an automatic, your much better off with the brake trick.

 

nipper

boy, i dodged another one!! that's more money i don't have to spend.

 

thanks, john

 

overkill. Your brother is partially right. You can get all 4 wheels to transmit power (this is when an automatic is good) by lightly applying the brake pedal at the same time of the gas.

Good lsd's are mechanial in nature, with either a clutch pack or a cone pack and a spring mecahnisim. The sooby LSD is is a viscous coupling, its cheaper lighter and easier to build. It requires the one wheel to spin before it starts transmitting power to the non spinning wheel, and when it does its sort of underwhelming. a LSD is always spinng unless making a turn, then the clutch disengages allowing for the turn (its been years i think i have it right).

If you have a stick, you have to go this route. If you have an automatic, your much better off with the brake trick.

 

nipper

boy, i dodged another one!! that's more money i don't have to spend.

 

thanks, john

 

i'll take the money

 

nipper

I bumped into few rear LSDs on Ebay off JDM legacies.

I always wondered what are those and if they will fit. Never got interested enough to research this question.

I bumped into few rear LSDs on Ebay off JDM legacies.

I always wondered what are those and if they will fit. Never got interested enough to research this question.

 

from what I have read JDM models are the same under the body. different names, same car. you can use the parts from a JDM in a us models. alot of people use the JDM engines and trannys. If I understand it right the tranny is stronger. at least that is what I have read here.

from what I have read JDM models are the same under the body. different names, same car. you can use the parts from a JDM in a us models. alot of people use the JDM engines and trannys. If I understand it right the tranny is stronger. at least that is what I have read here.

 

Japan have weird emission laws and car inspection requirements, i dont really understand them, but the older the car gets, the more it costs to register it every year. After 4-5 years its cheaper to buy a new car. Also they have no used car market.

 

http://www.masterseek.com/p/13/67/Japanese-Import.htm

 

nipper

LSD is awesome in the snow, towing/pulling in nasty stuff and off road. for regular driving...overkill.

You do sort of have a 2wd.

The center differential is a LSD and it is the thing that directs power to the front and rear. However... neither your rear nor your front has its' own LSD. So... if one of your front tires is slipping and one of your back tires is slipping, you are not going anywhere. Either the front or the back must have both tires gripping or the system fails.

 

 

so, i told my brother i had a 97 obw with AWD, and he laughed... " unless you have a lsd, you only have a 2WD car, but i suppose thats better than most, since they are only ONE whele drive."

 

did subaru offer a lsd for the outback? was it an option or standard on some trim package? how do you identify it? ( by the way, i've been up close and personal with a 96 donor car diff and i didn't see any tag or label, but in fact i was pulling the trans, not diff.)

 

is this idea overkill or is there some value in it? oh, and how much do they cost???

 

john

You do sort of have a 2wd.

The center differential is a LSD and it is the thing that directs power to the front and rear. However... neither your rear nor your front has its' own LSD. So... if one of your front tires is slipping and one of your back tires is slipping, you are not going anywhere. Either the front or the back must have both tires gripping or the system fails.

 

thats why the brake trick worsk so well on an automatic

 

nipper

Yep... you are correct Nipper.

Actually, (if I am not mistaken) Lexus uses a computerized version of this trick for it's traction control. The Lexus rear does not use an LSD, so if the system (probably the same exact wheel speed sensors that are used as feedback to the ABS) senses one of the wheels spinning much more than the other, it applies brakes to the slipping wheel to redirect power to the other wheel. But us poor folks just stomp on the brake pedal.

 

thats why the brake trick worsk so well on an automatic

 

nipper

Yep... you are correct Nipper.

Actually, (if I am not mistaken) Lexus uses a computerized version of this trick for it's traction control. The Lexus rear does not use an LSD, so if the system (probably the same exact wheel speed sensors that are used as feedback to the ABS) senses one of the wheels spinning much more than the other, it applies brakes to the slipping wheel to redirect power to the other wheel. But us poor folks just stomp on the brake pedal.

 

subaru uses it now too, but in conjunction with a LSD

 

nipper

here's what I was talking about.

I wonder if its a bolt on.

As for Japanese used car market - I think majority of used cars are being bought for almost nothing and shipped to Russia, even though those are RHD

here's what I was talking about.

I wonder if its a bolt on.

As for Japanese used car market - I think majority of used cars are being bought for almost nothing and shipped to Russia, even though those are RHD

 

its a bolt on. i wonder what the shipping charges are. Just i dont rerally thnk they are worth it, in 14 years of owning soobies never got one stuck yet (and ive tried).

 

nipper

Are the gear ratios the same as USDM?? I think I remember reading that the gear ratio has to be the same in the front as in the back. I really know nothing about gears and trannys, but it seems logical.

Are the gear ratios the same as USDM?? I think I remember reading that the gear ratio has to be the same in the front as in the back. I really know nothing about gears and trannys, but it seems logical.

 

your correct.

 

nipper

had my dad´s 1997 OBW on a lift the other day and i noticed thad if i turned one backwheel the other would turn the same way, does thad mean thad it has an LSD ?? there is no sticker on the diff so i could not be sure.

had my dad´s 1997 OBW on a lift the other day and i noticed thad if i turned one backwheel the other would turn the same way, does thad mean thad it has an LSD ?? there is no sticker on the diff so i could not be sure.

Yes.

had my dad´s 1997 OBW on a lift the other day and i noticed thad if i turned one backwheel the other would turn the same way, does thad mean thad it has an LSD ?? there is no sticker on the diff so i could not be sure.

 

double yes

 

nipper

double yes

 

nipper

 

yeah i thougt so

That's wierd - my 97 obw limited does not do that.

 

rd

That's wierd - my 97 obw limited does not do that.

 

rd

 

My 97 OBW doesnt do it either, lets go beat him up:D

 

nipper

 

i think it was an option

As far as I recall the LSD was available on the Outback in 2000 as an option with the all weather package. In 2001 it was standard on the Outback Limited and an option on the base model. Before that I think it was only available on the SVX model not any other models.

 

I recall this because when I bought our MY01 the reason I went with the Limited was the side-air bags and the LSD.

I did a lot of research before buying a subie, granted this was 8-10 months ago, but I dont remember anything about LSD being an option in the early outbacks. If so, I would have looked for a outback with one. I am happy I dont have one now, but kinda wish I had an auto for offroad purposes.

This comes up from time to time. In North America, none of the first generation Outbacks (96-99) offered rear LSD to my knowledge. I don't think any car in the Legacys of this period had it.

 

As mentioned above, it started to creep back into the line up with the next generation of Legacys (2000+).

 

Commuter