Centre Diff Binding

[DevPro]

...?

[Robbks]

try and avoid turning on full lock wherever possible.
i found mine only made clunking noises on extreme lock,
but now i've had it fixed, it was evident when turning more than 120' off centre (just the feel of the car is now different)

[DevPro]

What do you mean by the feel of the car feels different?

[Robbks]

when you turn a reasonable corner at speed (50kmh+) you can feel the car pushing (understeer) through the corner. as the front wheels are being forced to turn at the same rate as the rears and vice versa
(the rears usually travel less distance and turn slower) so the car pushes through the corner from the back, hard to explain until you drive one that's not binding.

I'd put the understeer feeling down to the different balance from mr previous ride (which has 60% torque bias to the rear and stiff STi suspension, braces, etc)
but now it's not binding, it points its's nose in nicely.
when i had it fixed, i had them give it a wheel alignment to factory specs (1.5mm toe in on the front and just a hint, 0.2' neg camber)
i've since had a good alignment to my specs, 0mm toe all round and almost 2' neg camber in the front (maxxed out) and 0.75' neg camber in the rear (not adjustable)

and it hooks into corners and turns very well now, not having the toe in makes it wander a little more at speed on uneven roads.
but overall it's a nicely balanced machine now

[Dropz]

Ok, so I think mine is on it's way out too.

I have had this Subaru for only a month, my first Subaru, and I tell you, it will be my last! I've lost all faith in Subaru!

So, mine only occurs after having driven for a few hours at highway speeds. I don't notice it at all during my normal commute to work....my question is.....

Will I do more damage by leaving it as is temporarily? (ie - a few months to scrounge together some funds). I have all new tyres fitted and aligned, so I'm not running uneven treads.....

Just because there is a problem with the car doesn't mean you should lose faith in the manufacturer. Ok yes this is a common issue after some kms have been done, but ALL cars, no matter what make and model have recurring issues specific to that car.

No car is ever going to be perfect, there is always something that will wear out more often than expected, it may be because the design is slightly off, the driving conditions may not suite that component or driver abuse. There will always be something, no matter what car you get.

[davidg]

Hey guys, i own an '09, 3.0L H6 with the exact same issue as described. Ive even noticed the understeer as described above and the excessive heat coming from the gearbox.

So question. With only 50,000km on the clock, do i really want to replace it with exactly the same unit? Surely it will just do it again in another 50,000 k's, or is this problem a common but not "across the board" issue, that is unlikely to occur again if replaced with a factory unit? Also being under warranty do i really have a choice? I must say it is a little dissapointing given the exceptional standard of every other component in the car.

Thanks in adavance for any help offered.

[Dropz]

I haven't found it to be an issue across the board, and if it were it would have been a warranty recall by Subaru when the first cases were reported.

It should be ok with another factory unit, and if its under warranty ask them how long the parts warranty is on the unit, incase it does reoccur. In which case I would be asking, why has it happened? Maybe aftermarket wheels changing load distributions and cornering effects, or upgraded brakes changing the brake bias, things along those lines can cause bearings to fail prematurely.

[matt_3.0rb]

Digging up an old thread, but I think my diff has done the same.

I have some of the same symptoms, strange feeling on hard lock turns after a while of driving (once the car is warm/hot)

However the locking feeling seems to be coming only from the back. The front seems to be doing everything normally. Is this a separate issue?

And more importantly, my 200,000km service is coming up in March 2014. Am I going to do any damage to anything else if I leave this until then? Does it bind up and affect other parts of the drivetrain, or is it one of those things that once its gone, its gone, and it will just continue what its doing without affecting any other part of the car? (other than a slight annoyance to the driver)

[Robbks]

once it's gone it's gone, but won;t directly do damage anywhere else,
Although the binding may be putting a little extra pressure on the diff's.

Can anyone confirm if the 3RB rear diff has VLSD or is open?

[alessandro132]

once it's gone it's gone, but won;t directly do damage anywhere else,
Although the binding may be putting a little extra pressure on the diff's.

Can anyone confirm if the 3RB rear diff has VLSD or is open?

R160 is VLSD

[Robbks]

And on further inspection of the Service manual,
both 2.0T and 3.0 Pre Facelift models have R160 VLSD

[Dropz]

Centre diff binding puts extra shock abd stress through the CVs

[matt_3.0rb]

Centre diff binding puts extra shock abd stress through the CVs

Is that all the time or only when its bound? Or only when turning and getting the wheel skipping?

Generally im only driving around town and shorter trips, so its normally ok. Probably once a month i get a long drive in where i feel it after that.

[Dropz]

When you do tight turns and the wheel skips

[matt_3.0rb]

Yeah cool. Thanks for that.

Im going overseas in a couple of weeks until christmas, so ill get it sorted in the new year when i get back.