Hello everyone,

I have a 97 Legacy GT. I've been through one engine already because a faulty head gasket and at 165k I developed a torque bind issue. Started out the wife mentioned the "OAT" light flashing. I could never get it to repeat. I'll add that the Haynes manual didn't mention the OAT light whatsoever.

 

Anyway, about a month later I was driving it and noticed the torque bind. There was also a rattle coming from behind the front seats. Sounded like metal parts rolling around in a can coated of oil. I inserted the FWD fuse and headed over to a dealer. A new dealer this time, last dealer tried to nickel and dime a 4-wheel alignment up to over $500. I'll add that changed the rear diff fluid before taking the car to the dealer. I think the Duty C Solenoid finally failed about 1 mile from the dealer as the noise came back louder than ever.

 

Between the duty C, some CV boots (up front) and some reasonable misc. stuff the total came to $960. $670 for just the Duty C. I insisted that they check the clutch pack while they had the thing apart. They told me everything was A-OK.

 

Of course, it wasn't the torque bind is gone but there's still a rolling, scaping metal sound when the car gets to about 30mph. Doesn't happen on hard accel, intermittent during decel. May or may not get louder on turns. It goes away completely in FWD mode.

 

Dealer says it's probably something in the rear diff. I'll add as soon as I gave them the impression I knew something about the problem, they lost interest in working on the project. My fear is that the transfer clutch is bad but they know if it is they're gonna end up eating the labor cost if it is. Any thoughts? Thier suggestion is to find a new rear diff assembly and swap it it.

I think it's a transfer clutch as well. If it were a rear diff, it would do it all the time because even though there's no drive to it, it still moves with the wheels anyways (ie the gears inside still turn).

RUN from this dealer. the fact that he did the solenoid and not the clutches at the same time means hes incompetant. See if you can find somone who has used a shop near you, as this is not rocket scienc to fix.

Anytime something goes away with the FWD fuse in its usually the awd unit. Rear differnetials roar when they go bad, as they chew themselves up. rear diffs are fairly robust in any car, and dont die unless they loose fluid.

The fact you drove with a burned out solenoid, and a dying solenoid, the clutch pack should have been condemed, especially with the miles on the car.

They screwed up.

 

nipper

RUN from this dealer. the fact that he did the solenoid and not the clutches at the same time means hes incompetant. See if you can find somone who has used a shop near you, as this is not rocket scienc to fix.

Anytime something goes away with the FWD fuse in its usually the awd unit. Rear differnetials roar when they go bad, as they chew themselves up. rear diffs are fairly robust in any car, and dont die unless they loose fluid.

The fact you drove with a burned out solenoid, and a dying solenoid, the clutch pack should have been condemed, especially with the miles on the car.

They screwed up.

 

nipper

+1

that dealer guy doesn't know what he's doing. Your diff is a bunch of really large gears, they don't go bad very easily. Have you just tried changing the atf a few times? or i bet it's past that point already... :-\

Thanks for the replies everyone. I agree the clutch pack should have been done at the same time. However, I think the diagnosis may be off. I am leaning toward a faulty pass-rear CV joint.

 

I had the wife drive the car while I crawled around the back of the car (it's a sedan) and noted the noise was very specifically coming from the right rear wheel. I also noticed that noise was still occurring with the FWD fuse in place just not as loud. Finally, I drove my parents old Acura this evening and heard about the same sound and degree of intermitency coming from the, thought to be bad, front pass CV joint.

 

Looks like I know how I'll be spending my weekend. I'll check back with the outcome.

 

Local mechanics don't like to work on anything foreign (still). This is Michigan afterall and many mechanics lost thier jobs to the Japanese in the 80s. Not to mention Subaru does things a bit different. Even the hard-core auto people I know are suprised to the Subaru approach. Oh for a decent dealer in W.Michigan.

 

Could still be the transfer clutch, but at this point I am in denial until I have further evidence. Certainly not the differential.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I agree the clutch pack should have been done at the same time. However, I think the diagnosis may be off. I am leaning toward a faulty pass-rear CV joint.

 

I had the wife drive the car while I crawled around the back of the car (it's a sedan) and noted the noise was very specifically coming from the right rear wheel. I also noticed that noise was still occurring with the FWD fuse in place just not as loud. Finally, I drove my parents old Acura this evening and heard about the same sound and degree of intermitency coming from the, thought to be bad, front pass CV joint.

 

Looks like I know how I'll be spending my weekend. I'll check back with the outcome.

 

Local mechanics don't like to work on anything foreign (still). This is Michigan afterall and many mechanics lost thier jobs to the Japanese in the 80s. Not to mention Subaru does things a bit different. Even the hard-core auto people I know are suprised to the Subaru approach. Oh for a decent dealer in W.Michigan.

 

Could still be the transfer clutch, but at this point I am in denial until I have further evidence. Certainly not the differential.

heheh time to tell them that subarus are more american then most fords

 

nipper

heheh time to tell them that subarus are more american then most fords

 

nipper

 

Yeah. That route isn't going to work. I just go off the phone with a local mechanic known for doing quality axle work. They also insist the noise is coming from the rear diff. So the dealership won't touch it, the axle place won't touch it and I don't have the time. Looks like I need to make time to go in search of a rear diff assem.

 

0beron