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Legacy rear differential troubleshooting

5 messages,  Last post on Sep 04, 2012 at 3:18 PM

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What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Transmission, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 2 of 2

#3 of 5 Re: Legacy rear differential troubleshooting [dcm61] by pella2

Sep 03, 2012 (9:44 am)

Replying to: dcm61 (Sep 03, 2012 9:13 am)
Yes I did. Sorry for not mentioning that earlier. The brakes and rotors are new as of a couple of months ago. I removed the rotor and inspected them. All OK there.
 
Thanks for the reply.

#4 of 5 Re: Legacy rear differential troubleshooting [pella2] by ateixeira

Sep 04, 2012 (11:56 am)

Replying to: pella2 (Sep 03, 2012 9:44 am)
On an open diff, if you spin one wheel forward the other will spin in reverse.
 
With a limited-slip they move in the same direction.
 
At least that's how it is with viscous LSD and open diff Miatas. That's the test we'd used to see if a diff was limited-slip and still worked.

#5 of 5 Re: Legacy rear differential troubleshooting [pella2] by xwesx

Sep 04, 2012 (3:18 pm)

Replying to: pella2 (Sep 03, 2012 8:22 am)
What I did notice was that the right rear intermittently engaged slightly while the the left rear was rotating.
 
Okay, so that's a problem. If you had both wheels blocked with no resistance, both tires should spin with equal momentum on any differential. If it is an open differential, any resistance to either tire will transfer the power to the other tire. On a limited slip differential, the axle should resist any efforts to stop one tire while the the other is spinning.
 
If yours is only intermittently engaging (slightly), then it sounds like there's a problem in the differential. When's the last time the fluid was changed in there?

Messages Page 2 of 2

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