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  #1  
Old 08-10-2006, 09:32 PM
phaux phaux is offline
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Unhappy Been driving in FWD, Bad stuff happened

So the AWD was binding and until I had the time I had no other choice but to drive the car in FWD. I took others advice and drove it gently and never spun the tires. Then one day it started making a terrible clunking noise. Drove it about a mile to work one day and the car started making the most wretched noise ever and sorta hopping. Called the wrecker and had them take it to the shop. As we were starting to pull the tranny this afternoon we drained the front diff fluid and out plops a what seem to be a few teeth

Ne idea what they belong to and what I'll need to be replacing??





p.s.- driving in FWD=bad
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  #2  
Old 08-10-2006, 10:10 PM
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SSSVX SSSVX is offline
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If that stuff looks like "teeth" from the diff fluid, then it could be the gears inside the front diff? Did the fluid look very dirty and some metal shavings?

What did the shop say? Perhaps the cheaper way to get her back to the road is to swap in a used tranny.
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  #3  
Old 08-11-2006, 08:10 AM
nysvx10 nysvx10 is offline
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That's why driving in AWD mode is for diagnostic purposes only.
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  #4  
Old 08-11-2006, 09:41 AM
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Driving it in FWD mode did not destroy the front diff, it's just a coincidence that it went out while you were running in FWD…..basically saying your tranny was in poor shape to start with, which is WHY you had it in FWD mode…

I have run Subaru 4EAT trannys for months at a time in FWD, only in AWD in inclimate weather, to try to net better gas mileage (Might have netted 1-2 mpg increase….but could have just been conditions ), and have had NO ill effects from doing this.

The 3.54’s in the SVX are over stressed as it is, from being too high, and pulling around a heavy car, which is why 4.11’s, or 4.44’s will hold up better in a SVX than the stock gearing….amplify that by owners running mis-matched tires on their AWD cars, which causes premature wear on the diffs, and you get lots of diff failures.

This is my take on it anyway….
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  #5  
Old 08-11-2006, 11:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phaux
So the AWD was binding and until I had the time I had no other choice but to drive the car in FWD. I took others advice and drove it gently and never spun the tires. Then one day it started making a terrible clunking noise. Drove it about a mile to work one day and the car started making the most wretched noise ever and sorta hopping. Called the wrecker and had them take it to the shop. As we were starting to pull the tranny this afternoon we drained the front diff fluid and out plops a what seem to be a few teeth

Ne idea what they belong to and what I'll need to be replacing??





p.s.- driving in FWD=bad
Unfortunately, they are likely from the ring gear and you'll need a new tranny. But it sounded like you needed one anyway. Like Huck said, good time for a 4.11 or 4.44 swap.
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  #6  
Old 08-11-2006, 11:26 AM
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I drove for a year with a bad transfer clutch and had no ill effects on the diff... although it was previously rebuilt before I bought the car. I as well was very careful... you're mileage may vary (no pun intended)
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  #7  
Old 08-12-2006, 11:53 AM
phaux phaux is offline
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Popped it open yesterday, low and behold there were giant chunks of teeth missing from the ring gear and pinion gear. I'll tryin post some pics later, pretty horrible. Anyone know where I can get a used tranny in the Dallas area? Can't seem to find any junkyards that have SVX's.
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  #8  
Old 08-12-2006, 01:35 PM
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look for an impreza or legacy 4.11 ratio tranny. much easier to find and much better performance too.
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  #9  
Old 08-12-2006, 06:21 PM
phaux phaux is offline
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Exactly which models are interchangeable?

What all has to be swapped?
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  #10  
Old 08-16-2006, 09:44 PM
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It's Just Eric It's Just Eric is offline
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Seems to me the 4.11's fail jsut as prematurly as the stockers. Might want to go right to a 4.44 out of an outback. If you want to do this, youll also need to do a little switching around with the rear diff. Svxfiles has a great write up on how to do so
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