Unknown issue with 98 rear end

[c0r3f1ght3r]

Just got this 98 Subaru Impreza 2.2,auto,awd, 142, 1400$

The rear end feels like its missing gears because when I turn left or right I can feel this lock up in the back while its making this awful sound that almost sounds like an extremely bad wheel bearing.

The Car howls but doesn't make any other sounds when driving in a straight line.

I put a fwd fuse in and now I only hear the howl, there is no rear end locking noise when turning left or right.

I'm sure my rear end is bad, but what I'm wondering is if I can rebuild it or if its easier just to replace it, what years and models will fit?

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

torque bind - at least you know the Duty C solenoid works. That's what the fuse controls.

 

1. make certain all 4 tires are the same brand and within 2-3 32" of wear.

 

2. make sure no one has swapped transmission or rear diff and has mismatched the final drive ratios

 

if the above are good, the wet clutch pack parts are probably bad in the tail of the transmission. On rare occasions, folks have done fluid changes/flush and/or used some Lucas or CRC or other additives and made the problem better.

 

 

As for the howling - sometimes the A/C will do that if overfilled. Sometimes a whooshing noise comes from the engine intake filter box if not snapped in at the bottom properly. Could be a wheel bearing or a belt or ??? Is it from under the hood? can you hear it while stationary?

[idosubaru]

You have torque bind as LT just said.  make sure tires all match in size and roughly tread depth, mismatch is bad for the 4WD components.  change the fluids a few times and that will get rid of initial torque bind.  if it's been like this for awhile then it's likely too late and the rear transfer components are hosed.

 

If the fluids don't fix it, I would install a switch that allows you to switch between FWD and "locked".  Some of us do it even on vehicles with no issues just so we can go full lock for offroad or snow driving.  It only requires splicing in a switch on one wire, it's very simple and documented on how to do it here.

 

The howling is hard to say - normally it would be a bad wheel bearing.  Should be noticeable that it's from "one side"...left or right.  Have someone sit in the rear or trunk area while driving, the'yll be able to tell.  If it's been driven a really long time with torque bind I suppose a rear axle could be damaged but that sounds highly unlikely.

 

Subaru rear differentials never go bad, they're usually misdiagnosed if replaced.

[ivans imports]

Driveshaft ujiont ? try a drive with fwd fuse in

[c0r3f1ght3r]

Driveshaft ujiont ? try a drive with fwd fuse in

 

I put the FWD fuse in as mentioned above and the car drives fine, but you can still hear the howling noise.

 

Passangers and myself believe it is coming directly from the rear end.

 

I jacked the car up and turned the tires on the rear and could not hear any bearing noise and I've replaced bad bearings before so I'm sure this isn't a bearing issue.

 

It definitely feels like torque binding though but I really don't have much experience with AWD or 4x4.

 

The tires are worn, but they have tread left, the side walls are kind of worn but all the tires are exactly the same.

[c0r3f1ght3r]

I took a look at the diff again today. Fluid level was good, but I changed it anyway because it was black.. I'm going to change again in a few days, but I think this poor thing is burned up. This weekend I will remove the cover plate and see whats inside.

 

The weird part in this whole situation is the thing drives fine in after being warmed up in AWD except for when you make a sharp turns, you can still hear the roar from the back but it doesn't bind as much.

 

The FWD fuse is working great though. I don't really think anything is wrong with the tranny but who knows.. Is there any danger using the FWD fuse?

[Gloyale]

My bet is on the "howling" being a wheel bearing in the back.

 

The binding on turns is a seperate issue, problem with the center clutchpack or the Duty solenoid "C"

 

HIGHLY doubt there is anything wrong with the rear diff.  They just don't have issues.

[johnceggleston]

jack up a rear wheel , put your finger on the spring and turn the wheel by hand.

even better if you have a mechanics stethoscope.

see if you feel any thing.

then do the other side to compare.

 

rear diffs rarely fail unless they run out of fluid.

of course any part can fail,

but the failure rate for rear diffs is very, very, low.

almost never.

 

take notice.

Edited September 7, 2013 by johnceggleston

[c0r3f1ght3r]

jack up a rear wheel , put your finger on the spring and turn the wheel by hand.

even better if you have a mechanics stethoscope.

see if you feel any thing.

then do the other side to compare.

 

rear diffs rarely fail unless they run out of fluid.

of course any part can fail,

but the failure rate for rear diffs is very, very, low.

almost never.

 

take notice.

 

OK. I did the above and the drivers side rear tire was easier to rotate than the passanger side rear tire. I also noticed some resistance on the passanger side so I took the drum cover off which was kind of hard so maybe the brakes are sticking on that side, but I didn't see any brake fluid residue or anything.

 

Yesterday I changed the auto trans fluid and added some lucas conditioner and I now theres a noticable difference in awd performance so I'm going to continue to change the fluid and will do the filter this week once the part comes in.

 

The tires on this car are pretty worn out but they are all the same... The front have a bit of camber wear, and the tread on all of the is pretty low. So this next week once I get some money together I'd like to put a decent set of tires on the thing.

 

Should I try to get a decent used set or spend the money to get a new set?

 

I also wanted to know if theres any danger in leaving the FWD fuse in? I'm only really using this thing for work and don't go above 45mph on the roads I take.

Edited September 8, 2013 by c0r3f1ght3r

[c0r3f1ght3r]

Driveshaft ujiont ? try a drive with fwd fuse in

 

Just out of curiousity I did a search for ujoints and cannot seem to find them.

 

It seems to me that you have to replace the entire drive shaft.

 

I think the carrier bearing on this one might be bad because even with the FWD fuse in there is this roar coming from where the drive shaft is that changes the faster you go and when you get to about 55-60mph it causes very subtile vibrations that travel from side to side depending on the angle of the car.

 

I live in Columbus, GA and pull a part in Atlanta has quite a few foresters, legacys, and imprezas so I think I'll make a trip up there and see if I can get lucky and find one in there with lower miles.

[luko]

If you had ran different size or brand tire tires, or even tires with incredibly different tread wear, or tried to tow it the car it hay have messed up the viscus clutch which allow your front tires turn at a different speed than the rears when turning could be bad. The dark fluid in the tranny could be from that viscus clutch if it burnt out and leaked (because even though it is located within the tranny it is a sealed unit with special silicone oil in it) Unfortunately viscus clutch's are very expensive to buy new and cannot be rebuilt, but if you find a used one that would be the route to go. 

If it is the viscus clutch it would be just a matter of time before the wheels lock up on you

[c0r3f1ght3r]

If you had ran different size or brand tire tires, or even tires with incredibly different tread wear, or tried to tow it the car it hay have messed up the viscus clutch which allow your front tires turn at a different speed than the rears when turning could be bad. The dark fluid in the tranny could be from that viscus clutch if it burnt out and leaked (because even though it is located within the tranny it is a sealed unit with special silicone oil in it) Unfortunately viscus clutch's are very expensive to buy new and cannot be rebuilt, but if you find a used one that would be the route to go. 

If it is the viscus clutch it would be just a matter of time before the wheels lock up on you

 

There was no dark fluid from the transmission that was the differential I had mentioned having drained black colored gear oil from. The transmission fluid was red but its definitely old.

 

This sucks because the rest of the car is pretty sold. The differential itself looks new.. no leaks, no nothing on this car. I guess at one point in time it must of had some really bad tires on it.. I don't see how the current set could do damage since they are all the same tread/size/manufacturer..

[c0r3f1ght3r]

Its been a few days since the first transmission fluid change and I'm definitly noticing a positive difference, but I take this is only going to be temporary before the transmission starts to have issues again huh.. Attempting to sale car now and cut my loses..

[johnceggleston]

temporary is a relative term.

 

if you mean the duty c may still act up, yes that is possible if it is bad.

 

but if you mean that the binding comes back as the fluid ages,

probably not, if you replace it on a regular basis and keep it fresh.

btw, it improved with one drain and fill, how about the other two, are you going to do those?

 

as a matter of fact, i remember one recent thread where the clean fluid eliminated the duty c issue.

the only thing i can figure is that the duty c was ''stuck'' or gummed up due to the dirty fluid.

clean up the fluid and the duty c is free to operate.

 

but i don't really know.

Edited September 11, 2013 by johnceggleston

[c0r3f1ght3r]

Oh ok. Well thats good to know if I ever buy a automatic subaru again which I probably won't do again anyway. I managed to sell the car today, some mechanic bought it for 1500$, I was really surprising I would get that even though it was in really good condition aside from the trans issue.

Edited September 11, 2013 by c0r3f1ght3r