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  #1  
Old 08-30-2007, 07:28 AM
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PROBLEM with Vehicle Speed Sensor 2 VSS2 85082PA010

I want to write a letter to Liberty Subaru and complain about the Vehicle Speed Sensor that I just bought. This is VSS2 that goes into the differential housing. There are parts inside the VSS2 that rotate and a little shaft that sticks out the end that can be turned. It is my opinion that it is way to hard to turn this shaft. The grease is most likely 15 years old and thicker than *hit…….. It is no wonder that the gear breaks off the bigger shaft inside the differential. If I replace the gear in the tranny and put this NEW VSS2 in how long will the gear last? The gear has to turn the VSS2 and this thick crappy grease that might be 15 years old.

So I am just really pissed about this. What did they do? Sell me a VSS2 that was built 15 years ago? What is going to happen in the cold weather when the grease in this thing is thicker? In case you don’t know grease/oil/lubricants gets thicker with age.

This is not a great Subaru part. It just doesn’t have the quality that other SVX parts have. I am very disappointed with that. This should have special low viscosity synthetic grease in this sensor.

Please forgive for complaining about this I’m just really pissed about this part.

Please excuse the following sarcasm……. So I would like to say:

Dear Subaru,

What is up with that poor design of the VSS2 (part number 85082PA010)? It is made so that when the grease inside gets thick it damages the drive gear in the differential? What kind of a design is that? Why didn’t you make the sensor shaft smaller so that it will break off before the gear inside the transmission breaks? How about I make a new smaller shaft for the speed sensor that will break before the gear? Oh if the shaft is too small it will break in the winter time when the grease is thick?

Regarding the new sensor I just bought, why is it so hard to turn the VSS2 shaft? I installed it in my SVX and it worked great when it was 90F. The next morning it was 60F and the TCU gave me errors. The grease inside this sensor is too thick. What is going to happen when it is 20F this winter? That grease inside the sensor will turn to thick mud and nothing will turn it.

Are you making new sensors with new grease this year? When was the last time the sensors were made? How old is that grease in the sensor I bought?

I look forward to your reply,

John McKenna

I will not send this I need to fix it up. All comments and help will be accepted I need to get out of this frame of mind. It’s a crappy letter, not very positive, not what I want to send.

Take care of that SVX,

John
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  #2  
Old 09-04-2007, 04:30 AM
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I am still working on this......
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  #3  
Old 09-04-2007, 06:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by svx_commuter View Post
I want to write a letter to Liberty Subaru and complain about the Vehicle Speed Sensor that I just bought. This is VSS2 that goes into the differential housing. There are parts inside the VSS2 that rotate and a little shaft that sticks out the end that can be turned. It is my opinion that it is way to hard to turn this shaft. The grease is most likely 15 years old and thicker than *hit…….. It is no wonder that the gear breaks off the bigger shaft inside the differential. If I replace the gear in the tranny and put this NEW VSS2 in how long will the gear last? The gear has to turn the VSS2 and this thick crappy grease that might be 15 years old.

So I am just really pissed about this. What did they do? Sell me a VSS2 that was built 15 years ago? What is going to happen in the cold weather when the grease in this thing is thicker? In case you don’t know grease/oil/lubricants gets thicker with age.

This is not a great Subaru part. It just doesn’t have the quality that other SVX parts have. I am very disappointed with that. This should have special low viscosity synthetic grease in this sensor.

Please forgive for complaining about this I’m just really pissed about this part.

Please excuse the following sarcasm……. So I would like to say:

Dear Subaru,

What is up with that poor design of the VSS2 (part number 85082PA010)? It is made so that when the grease inside gets thick it damages the drive gear in the differential? What kind of a design is that? Why didn’t you make the sensor shaft smaller so that it will break off before the gear inside the transmission breaks? How about I make a new smaller shaft for the speed sensor that will break before the gear? Oh if the shaft is too small it will break in the winter time when the grease is thick?

Regarding the new sensor I just bought, why is it so hard to turn the VSS2 shaft? I installed it in my SVX and it worked great when it was 90F. The next morning it was 60F and the TCU gave me errors. The grease inside this sensor is too thick. What is going to happen when it is 20F this winter? That grease inside the sensor will turn to thick mud and nothing will turn it.

Are you making new sensors with new grease this year? When was the last time the sensors were made? How old is that grease in the sensor I bought?

I look forward to your reply,

John McKenna

I will not send this I need to fix it up. All comments and help will be accepted I need to get out of this frame of mind. It’s a crappy letter, not very positive, not what I want to send.

Take care of that SVX,

John
John, I imagine the viscosity of the grease is the problem rather than the cross-sectional area of the square section shaft.

Does the square shaft slot into a nylon drive? I am saying this because I figure if the drive shaft was smaller, it would not have enough torque to turn the cable in "sticky" conditions, and the result might be the square nylon drive getting rounded off.

What might cure the problem is a weak shear section on the shaft that would yield before the nylon teeth in the diff got chewed.

Is there any way you could dissolve out this rubbish grease from the sensor, and replace with a good low temp new grease?

Joe
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  #4  
Old 09-04-2007, 06:31 PM
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Hello Joe,

The drive shaft for this in the transmission is metal. I have read posts that say the gear that attaches to this metal shaft is plastic or brass. This is the gear inside the transmission. I haven't seen any pictures or discription from someone that has taken it apart.

The square part of the little shaft that broke goes into some type of non-metal bushing that spins inside the VSS2. The smallest part of this little shaft broke inside the bushing. I think the bushing is ceramic and about 1/4" in diameter and about 1" long.

Yes it is a grease problem. Yes I am "trying" to get the grease to thin out. I put some special lube into the VSS2 and have it sitting upside down in the SVX. This should let the small amount of air inside the VSS2 expand and contract with the heat of the day and cold of the night. It should pump the air out and oil in. So I will check again this weekend after the heat/cold cycles a few times

Does your car have this same VSS2?

The sensor is electronic and there is no speedo cable.
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  #5  
Old 09-05-2007, 04:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by svx_commuter View Post
Hello Joe,

The drive shaft for this in the transmission is metal. I have read posts that say the gear that attaches to this metal shaft is plastic or brass. This is the gear inside the transmission. I haven't seen any pictures or discription from someone that has taken it apart.

The square part of the little shaft that broke goes into some type of non-metal bushing that spins inside the VSS2. The smallest part of this little shaft broke inside the bushing. I think the bushing is ceramic and about 1/4" in diameter and about 1" long.

Yes it is a grease problem. Yes I am "trying" to get the grease to thin out. I put some special lube into the VSS2 and have it sitting upside down in the SVX. This should let the small amount of air inside the VSS2 expand and contract with the heat of the day and cold of the night. It should pump the air out and oil in. So I will check again this weekend after the heat/cold cycles a few times

Does your car have this same VSS2?

The sensor is electronic and there is no speedo cable.
That's right John, they are all electronic for all markets. I meant the sticky grease not allowing the sensor shaft to turn of course rather than a cable.

Would you not try to speed up the process with a hot air gun or a hair dryer? You would expect the grease to soften with heat, and in its normal environment plugged into the diff, this sensor generally has to cope with quite a bit of heat.

I have both types of car/gearbox. The UK ones don't have your type, the VSS2 sensor is inside the gearbox measuring rotation of the forward output shaft. In this case I think VSS 1 and VSS 2 are of the magnetic pickup type, which is why I suggested they are similar. They are similar in output type, I'm not certain they have the same part number or look the same.

The JDM cars do have the same type as yours, and so far I have had no trouble with that end of the machines, knock on wood.

Joe
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  #6  
Old 09-05-2007, 05:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by svxistentialist View Post
That's right John.............Would you not try to speed up the process with a hot air gun or a hair dryer? You would expect the grease to soften with heat, and in its normal environment plugged into the diff, this sensor generally has to cope with quite a bit of heat..................................The JDM cars do have the same type as yours, and so far I have had no trouble with that end of the machines, knock on wood.

Joe
You know this puts a big smile on my face. YES I have thought about using a heat gun or hair drier to speed up this process and and and I decided NOT to do it becasue I will get so damn impatient that I will most likely burn up the sensor or freeze it when I drop it in the freezer.

Thanks for answering my post. I am trying to keep the interest going in this thread. I think this problem can be avoided. Well at least the problem of pulling the differential. I would have have taken the sensor out last year and ltried to lube it then if I was more aware of the problem.

I also put some lube down in the sensor hole. There is a rubber seal down there that is most likely dry and taking some shaft power.

Oh yes the UK gearbox is pretty nice! Real AWD
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  #7  
Old 09-05-2007, 05:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by svx_commuter View Post
You know this puts a big smile on my face. YES I have thought about using a heat gun or hair drier to speed up this process and and and I decided NOT to do it becasue I will get so damn impatient that I will most likely burn up the sensor or freeze it when I drop it in the freezer.

Thanks for answering my post. I am trying to keep the interest going in this thread. I think this problem can be avoided. Well at least the problem of pulling the differential. I would have have taken the sensor out last year and ltried to lube it then if I was more aware of the problem.

I also put some lube down in the sensor hole. There is a rubber seal down there that is most likely dry and taking some shaft power.

Oh yes the UK gearbox is pretty nice! Real AWD
Heh, heh

Yes they are the dog's b in a way. I've never had a spin in the US type, which SFAIK is the only market to get the electric clutch rear drive. In one sense this makes the gearbox more like the rear-assist that Honda CRVs have, and they[Hondas] handle like crap.

However, in fairness, the Honda is tall and a wagon, not really designed for handling or racing. I think the fundamental chassis in the SVX is low and properly suspended, so it is a good car to throw around either in front drive, or in rear assist, or in AWD.

Because of the computer controlled traction in the full-time awd box anyway, the handling is strongly biased towards neutral, and unless you are holding low gears and hammering it, power understeer tends to dampen enthusiasm. Without a gearbox giving more rear bias, there is no way the SVX will ever handle like a Skyline type R. It is just not set up that way to do that.

It is plenty safe and plenty fast though, the way we like it.

Joe
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Last edited by svxistentialist; 09-05-2007 at 05:31 AM.
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