Front diff cracked
 

So its been awhile since i've been on and I have no good news. I drove through town today to bring the suby out and drove it all day with no problems. When I got in town I drove 3 blocks and coming out from the stop light I hear a grinding/thumping noise. So I drive it verrry slowly about 2 blocks to park it and gear oiled spewed out of it. Just got it towed and jacked it up to only find this................
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/SAM_1291.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/SAM_1292.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/SAM_1293.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/SAM_1294.jpg

Re: Front diff cracked
 

I've seen that happen before. Did you by chance check your diff fluid level (or all fluids for that matter) before taking it for a drive?

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Fluids were full untill it cracked

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Part of the diff let go internally and got smashed against the case?

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Don't know. but it still drives but very slow. Would the diff being f&%ked like it is hurt the tranny at all? It still goes through the gears fine.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

The transmission can still be fine, and you CAN replace only the front differential, but;
It is more work to replace the front diff that the complete transmission,
there MIGHT be something still wrong inside your teansmission causing the front diff to have cracked.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

I'm wondering if i bottomed out in a pothole cause now that I thin about it the one street had some nasty ones. Also could a bad axle have something to do with this? Just a thought....

Re: Front diff cracked
 

You'd be able to see some pretty serious gouging in the aluminum if that was the case.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

A bad axle will not cause that







(with out any damage to said axle.)

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Well i'm going to try and remove the bottom half of the case tonight to see whats going on in there. when the fluids leaked it had no metal shavings in it either.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

ok just pulled the plug off and found this inside.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...1/SAM_1295.jpg

Re: Front diff cracked
 

They look like GEAR teeth..

Re: Front diff cracked
 

IMHO I think that a bad solenoid C, missadjusted TPS, or a broken F/R clutch drum is the reason for most blown up front differentials.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Had no binding/codes before this. Tps was adjusted to spec. mind you this is a 4.44 diff

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Well I got another front diff assembly and can get it put in for $750 which also includes a new rear main which needed done anyways. i'm just hoping the tranny diddn't suffer any damage or i'm f@*ked.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Forgot to mention if it helps the speedo still works.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Binding or codes would not necessarily show,
but you could have front tire spin.(?)

Re: Front diff cracked
 

4.44 almost never grenade.
Do you know how many miles are on your transmission?
If it is high milage you should just get a low milage 4.44 and put that in!
Less labor too.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

No wheel spin and it has less than 150,000

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Yes Tom I agree, its the lack of rear drive that puts the extra load on the front diff. Breaks a tooth off, jams between the gears, forces them apart to break the housing.
This is usually caused when the Transfer clutch stops working or is slow to engage.
I have never heard of a front diff failure on the VTD type of AWD, as it can not loose the rear drive, to load the front diff.

Harvey.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Talked to my old mech at the subaru dealership about it and he said about a year ago when he did all the fluids he noticed a small chunk of metal in the front diff and some shavings. maybe this is the same tooth that sheered off. just a guess

Re: Front diff cracked
 

It doesn't have to spin the wheels to do it. Just dropping a wheel into a pothole will allow the wheel to loose traction, to do a left-right torque transfer, shock loading the gears, enought to break a tooth off.

Harvey.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

About 5 years ago, SVXFiles was kind enough to sell me a front diff which I installed on the tranny of my '92 Claret when the same thing happened to me. The tranny shifted fine after I installed the new front diff, and I drove it that way for a while, but I never determined what caused the diff gears to grenade. I sold it a short time later to a guy who told me the AWD wasn't working (Solenoid C?) I caught up with the car about 2 years ago and the tranny was on the way out. The moral of the story is, whatever you do, don't just fix the obvious problem-- find out what caused it and fix that too.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Should I check the computer for any tranny codes then just to be safe? I'm just stumped on how it happened when it drove perfect all day. And I took another look at the case to see if i can remove the bottom half since its cracked but it ain't coming out:( got to wait till the tranny gets pulled i guess

Re: Front diff cracked
 

As I remember you had talk me into selling it to you.:o
Swapping out the front differential is not that technically difficult, but it is more work/labor than a strait transmission swap.
And unless you are SURE that you are getting the correct shims for the diff replacement, you are quickly borked, and have to do it again.
Doubling the labor/work.:rolleyes:
A true known milage transmission is still a gamble, but usually guaranteed.
If you look closely on the drivers side of the transmission main body there is the original vehicles VIN number stamped into it.
With that VIN you can get a Carfax to find out the last reported milage.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Yeah, well I was younger and (more) foolish then. New to the SVX, I had a '92 pearl with 178k miles and a blown head gasket and a '92 claret with 103k miles a toasted front diff, and I mistakenly thought fixing the diff was the easier repair. If I knew now what I knew then, I'd have just swapped the engines and driven the pearl which was much nicer looking anyway. The claret had a repaint that would have made Earl Scheib ashamed.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

WOW!









Maybe I had something to do with a BRIGHT RED repaint on a 71 Dodge Charger once, that had less shine than dirt!:eek:
:o
I was young once too.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Not kidding... it was awful! It wasn't even claret, more of a metallic dark pink pepto-bismol color that was flaking off all over. I took the gas filler door to a paint shop to have a spray can made to touch up some spots and the closest match was some Ford color from the '80s.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Got it higher to look at it and the case is cracked in a circle around where the axle goes in. I know the axles are bad but could it have popped out and jammed the gear forcing a tooth to break?

Re: Front diff cracked
 

:confused:
Are your axles still in place/in the correct position?

Re: Front diff cracked
 

i'm not sure. I'll take some more pics in an hour or so to show what I seen.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

left side................................
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...1/SAM_1304.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...1/SAM_1305.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...1/SAM_1308.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...1/SAM_1309.jpg

this is the right side which was untouched by the damage
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...1/SAM_1312.jpg


It looks like the axle unthreaded/separated from the diff.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

U R not still driving it R U ? I once blew a piston in my 1979 Subaru Wagon. I was in Canada and the distributor ( remember them ) blew a bearing , the shaft miss fired a cylinder and blew a hole in it, the joke from the people riding in the car behind me was "there are no bugs left in Ottawa" Well that little car got me all the way home 400 miles with its broken motor. Subarus are like rototillers of the automobile world.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

No it's sitting in my garage till i fix it. the diff don't even hold oil.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

If it were my car i would switch it to a 4:44 and have it over with ... JMHO of course.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

It is a 4.44/

The circle is the side plate from the differential. That is what you see the threads for, not the axle.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

I'm just stumped on how it got like this after running all day perfect. And yes IT IS A 4.44 for those who don't know.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Probably already had a tooth missing for awhile or some wear. I had a ring gear missing a tooth and it never made a sound. When I finally removed it because the high clutch was bad, there was a tooth stuck to the diff drain plug.

I've been rough on a front diff and had it be fine. Yet other times, as far as what I've heard from people, they've had diffs grenade under basically normal circumstances. All it takes is one shockload of different sorts to blow up a differential. It really shouldn't but it happens.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

Im just hoping swaping the front diff is all i need to do and nothing else or i don't know what i'll do. Figures i barley drive it now and when I want to take it out for the day AND fill the tank it does this. When I get the money to get it swapped out im going to take pics of the internals of it for "educational" purposes.

Re: Front diff cracked
 

more than likely, similar to this

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...66757018_n.jpg

or this
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._2327691_n.jpg