Transfer Driven gear bearings

[missmuliven]

Hi!  I have a 2008 Subaru Impreza with 105,000 miles.  About one and a half months ago, it developed a whirring noise noticeable more at low gears.  I took it to my mechanic who didn't have time to do a full evaluation but felt it was a transmission noise.  I then took it to a Subaru dealership who also concurred and said that the entire transmission would have to be replaced.  As such, I decided to drive it until it gave out.  It has not shown any signs of an issue and the noise has not changed with some fairly long distance driving.  Today I had another mechanic look at it as my first guy is gone. He changed the transmission fluid which proved to be clean with no overt signs of metal fliings.  He also stated that he listened to the transmission with a stethoscope and that it was dead quiet except for an area that pointed to the problem being the transfer driven gear bearings.  He said they should be relatively easy to access but that he didn't have the tool for it.  There is also a service bulletin for this part that does apply to my car.  I spoke to the dealer again who said that it was NOT an easy fix and that it would probably be 8-12 hours of work vs the 4-5 that my mechanic felt it would be.  I called a recommended transmission place that also felt it shouldn't be an 8-12 hour job.  Unfortuntately, that place is 3 hours away.  Feeling a little lost, I have always trusted this dealer before but I feel less sure now.  Also, how certain can a mechanic really be about the location of a bearing noise?  The gentleman that stated it was that part felt very sure that it was the case. Any thoughts would be appreciated?

[CNY_Dave]

manual trans? Might be the center diff bearings.

[Fairtax4me]

Transfer bearings... Easy fix IMO.

 

 

Of course, a dealer has to go by their book labor time, which probably includes totally removing the trans from the car. Hence their 8-12 hour estimate.

 

I don't think there are any special tools required to replace those. If your second mechanic has a press he should be able to replace either of the driven gear bearings pretty easily.