1 Lucky Texan

dunno what year you have, but you could back-up from here and dig around; http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b12/type_27/climate/air_conditioner_system/

Subaru gear oil is fine. I don't want to start any 'oil arguments' but the manual specs GL-5 for the diff and people all have their favs when it comes to that stuff. Dunno if you have a stick or auto - but the stick shares fluid with it's diff and you definitely want to be careful with that fluid - might be only 3-4 appropriate fluids for that - again, lots of 'discussion' there too. Subar Extra-S would be great. Front diff on the auto get the same fluid as the rear diff. I used my floor jack on t the end of my 1/2" breaker bar to bust the rear fill and drain plugs loose - cheater bar should work if you have room to swing it. I bought an inexpensive pump from Amazon to fill the rear diffs. I also bought a funnel with a tube on it to help with the front diffs. As said, take your time when filling, try not to overfill the front diff. The rear you fill until the fluid starts to dribble out the top hole. Can't recall the torque values for putting the plugs back in.

could be better than a worn-out viscous unit. I guess I'd want to know more but, the price seems OK.

nvrmd

maybe adapt one from a Mini Cooper S ???? could be an 'interesting' project.

pipe wrenches are awesome!

you might find an english socket that is intermediate between the next smaller metric size. (1-7/16" ???, I dunno)

I think the spec for my wife's 03 H6 OBW was 159 ft/lbs. But my wrench maxes out at 150 so I used that. - hope it's close enough.

I could see a larger 'washer'/shoulder area affecting actual clamping force I suppose. Make certain you are not torqueing with the cars weight on the wheel. I put a very large screwdriver in the rotor vent and let the caliper 'buck up' the assembly while torqueing the axle nut. (I'm sure Ivan knows what he's doing, but others reading here might need that info.)

Anybody got any Taunus pics? An old guy that ran a service station near where I lived as a teen had 2 wagons and a sedan - I think he said he brought them over himself.

A couple folks at ebay seem to repackage it. It isn't cheap with shipping, but not outrageous either. Maybe showing a listing to a local dealer might convince them to sell some smaller fraction? EDIT: a couple on-line sources for Extr-S in qts.; http://www.mysubie.com/question/Where-to-buy-Subaru-Extra-S-Gear-Oil/735 http://www.fredbeansparts.com/index.php/subaru-75w90-extra-s-gear-and-transmission-quart-bottle.html

The whole time I owned it, it had this weird cut-out at full throttle. I could back off slightly and it would pull harder. I found out years later, the trhottle cable travel is set by adjusting a bolt/jamnut under the pedal! probably was loose or misadjusted - DOH! Used to buy stuff from Rally Roadster service when they were just a dead tree newsletter sent to my house ( http://www.datsunroadster.com/ ) One of the cars the owner/instructor of the HPDE school I've run with twice owns is a Datsun 2000. Wish I'd kept mine, but - well, you know, life......

I had a '69 SRL-311 . I MAY have a pic somewhere. Was impractical with kids on the way - sold it to a guy I worked with. It burned up 2 weeks later. One of the reasons I bought my WRX sportwagon is because my 2 most favorite cars were that Roadster and an 81 Civic wagon.

my wife's 03 does (confirmed with test outlined above) - it 'may' have only been in the 'all weather package' and/or LL Bean models - not sure on that. Her's does have the AWP but is not LLBean. And i dunno if any 4 cylinders got it. Is there a way to move the gears over or swap the VLSD unit to get the correct final drive? Anyway - it would be a moderate amount of work to get a 'weak' lsd. Will any Miata rear lsd guts swap in? Or just buy a quaife,torsen or Tochigi Fugu w'ever. but major $$$$$$$ on those.

I don't know how to create the 'quote boxes'. so I use the ******* I would just add that, that entire thread has some good info in it, but it is quite long and many folks there are kinda cranky if you ask questions without doing extensive searching/reading first. One reason why I don't participate there as much as a couple other sites. Plus, I don't have the experience many other folks do. In that thread, you can find folks recommending/trying dozens of 'cocktails' to get improved shifting - while hoping longevity isn't suffering. Even Uncle Scotty uses a different mix that his original. Andrewtech now has a 'mix' they like as well. Also, many people there may already be suffering from a damaged part and are hoping a fluid change will, 'fix' their tranny - so, reports of success, failure, etc. should ALL be taken with a huge grain of salt. Throw into the mix people from Arizona as well as Alberta trying to find a fluid that is buttery smooth all the time - with folks who race, folks with 'dog-boxes', folks with modern 6spds, and folks who daily-drive, etc. it's mind boggling. The op could quite likely have used ANY decent fluid and experienced an improvement if the old fluid was thoroughly 'cooked' from age. (Even my experience could be explained by my just swapping out 35K miles old original fluid.) I might try the Motul next time, but it's more $$$$

that's about the same price as I ran across doing some searches. Dunno where the $55 ones are unless that's a junkyard price? edit; prices and selection look pretty good at partsgeek - I might give them a shot. last time I bought major stuff, it was from Rockauto and everything was fine.

Fair enough - I really just brought up the 'cocktail' (which DOES seem to have fallen out of favor for a different 'cocktail' in that same thread) to point out that mixing MAY not create a 'panic' situation. maybe just change it at 15-20K or if it feels like it is 'degrading' or causing a problem. Soob trannies are odd - trying to get a fluid that plays well with the diff and the synchros.... can Extra S be bought in quarts now? used to be a 20 liter bucket from the dealer.

There are hundreds of happy folks at NASIOC running the 'cocktail' and or Redline LW Shockproof. It may not be the best in very cold climates, but even some transmission repair techs have posted with no issues after 60K miles. EDIT: here is one post from some tranny rebuilders/soob performance gurus; ******We were first turned onto Lightweight Shockproof when Pfitzner Performance Gearbox recommended that we use it in all of their Subaru 5MT synchro gearboxes. We have been using it ever since without incident. Subaru requires the use of fluid that meets GL-5 requirements due to the design of the front hypoid gearset. GL-4 fluids cannot withstand the pressure created by ring and pinion, providing insufficient film thickness between the gear teeth. This causes the gears to directly contact each other and deteriorate very quickly. We have actually seen GL-4 fluids in Subaru transmissions return with less than 500 miles and a completely destroyed ring and pinion. The metal of the ring and pinion will suspend in the fluid and act like liquid sandpaper that can potentially damage the other gears. Redline's Lightweight Shockproof is not API rated, however it is recommended for rear differential use. The front differential in a Subaru 5MT is designed and subject to the same stresses as a rear differential, as they are both hypoid gearsets. The capability of shockproof to withstand such high pressures as experienced in a differential is likely the reason that the Cocktail doesn't immediately chew up front differentials. If you have grind issues, it is not a pure indication of a bad synchronizer. It CAN be indicative of incorrect fluid choice. There are no bandages over bullet wounds here. From personal experience, Redline's 75W90NS is the "by the book" replacement fluid Subaru's SHOULD use. I've used it on that basis. From the get-go, the shifting the transmission sounded like I was shaking a bucket full of sea-shells. It was awful, and a perfect case of the "right" fluid simply not allowing the transmission to properly do its job. The balancing point is finding a fluid that provides adequate front differential protection and synchro operation while still providing lubrication for the bearings. We deal with an enormous amount of Subaru transmissions. With the exception of one, every grinding transmission we see and put shockproof in, the grinds go away. The one exception had a shattered 3rd gear synchro. It’s a fluid that, time and time again, has made Subaru transmissions shift more smoothly than with any other fluid. We have never seen a fluid influenced failure from Shockproof, and will continue to use and recommend using it until we find something better. In our opinion it is the best fluid to use in a Subaru 5-speed transmission. The Andrewtech Team Andrewtech Automotive ****** anyway, I won't argue with your experience, but folks could read some in the thread there if they want; http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23068677&highlight=failure#post23068677 I thought the idea was it wouldn't sling off the gears. (and, from wht I've read, the 'yogurt/gel issue with the Redline was fixed 9-10 years ago, but maybe it's temp dependent also?- Uncle Scotty is in Houston) Anyway, I don't think Extra S is bad, or Motul, or almost any quality gear oil. I was just looking for something a little better. Since I do my own maintenance, I try to upgrade fluids. YMMV

well, what you did may not be 'ideal' but hey, you swapped in fresh oil and should be good to go for quite a while. And if you have no issues with those weights in winter - you should be fine in summer. I just put Redline Lightweight Shockproof in my wrx tranny and rear diff and my wife's outbcak's front and rear diffs(last spring I think). It seemed to slightly quiet some whirring in the outback's front diff. I haven't quite decided if I like it in my WRX - though I haven't detected any clashing or missed any shifts - it just feels different/notchy. The stuff some folks use at NASIOC is called Scotty's Cocktail or Uncle SCotty's Cocktail if you wanna search for it. As long as your synchros are working and there's no shifting problems - I'd leave it alone.

I suppose it's possible..... have you used an infrarred therm to try to find a consistently warmer hub on one side vs the other? Or lifted the front end to try 'wiggling' the wheels at the '12-6 oclock' positions to check for ANY play? I had a bearing go out after a repair from a wreck and it was REALLY loud by the time I was suspicious enough to turn off the radio and a/c to listen. And it was about the same regardless of how I drove it - but I was afraid to get on the highway! Even that bad - it only shifted about 2mm with the 12-6 test.

I wouldn't change it unless I experienced bad shifting. Many folks use a 'cocktail' of 3 oils over at NASIOC with good results.

dunno about the parts, but if the pan got dented, be sure to inspect the pickup tube. If it took a hit, it could be bent or cracked.

lol! OK, makes sense. I didn't mean to imply you didn't know what you were doing, just confused on the fluid amount. What type of fluid do you use? If it's the same you've had luck with in the past, doesn't seem like that could be a problem. Is it possible the tranny had the wrong fluid to begin with and the 2 types don't play well together? maybe 2 more drain/filss would help.

you're checking the level while idling right? I was under the impression a drain/fill would be close to 4 qts. Could you be low on fluid?

could it be #1 here? http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b11/type_30/automatic_transmission/at_transfer_and_extension/illustration_4/ also, read here; http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75577&highlight=31942aa090