by zoidberg99 » Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:27 pm
Hey all,
Ive had this problem for quite a while, tried a few things that didn't work and will be replacing the Center diff end of march if i cant find another solution.
I noticed that the binding only occurred when the oil was hot, so i tried a thicker oil for the diff to no avail. Took it to a few gearbox guys and they all said the same thing, The viscous Coupling had gone and needed to be replaced.
Sadly, as it is only sold as a whole unit (diff with VC inside) its a costly exercise at around $1400 to get a new center diff.
As for a cause, i have heard a few people say that it is caused by running different sets of tires (different size, different make, even different wear rate) which labors the VC until POOF! it goes.
when i bought the car 20 months ago, it had stock potenzas on one side and Yokies on the other.
The gearbox guy also mentioned it was common amongst the 5 speeds, but mine was the first he'd seen it go in a 6.
BTW the $1400 mentioned above is just for the part, ill be putting it in myself (with the help of a subie nut mechanic cousin,) saving me heaps of doh, as it will be a SH*t of a job. I helped him pull the gearbox out of another 3rb 6 months ago, which was a monster job, this wont be too bad.