keropi12 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Hi guys, I recently bought a 97 impreza a/t awd with 94k miles. Not smart of me as it's my first Subaru, i drove it with a spare on the right rear and i didn't put a fuse on the fwd. On my way home the rear differential started smoking, drove it for 5-10 minutes to get off of highway, and had it towed home on a flat bed Like i said, it's my first Subaru and i didn't know anything about it, so today, i started to notice that the "at oil temp" is flashing. So my problems now are, the rear diff has has a leak at the axle side, cross member rotted, and the a/t flashing 16 times fast at start up. What's wrong? And how much to fix all? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golucky66 Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Putting the factory spare on alongside the factory wheels shouldn't cause issues to your differential. My guess is that the leak that you mentioned is bad enough where a large amount of fluid leaked out and you over heated the differential by driving it with no or little fluid. Not sure if there is a "fix" you might be able to save it by checking to see if there is fluid, if not add some and then drive it around a bit, drain the fluid (or at least some) and check to see if there is metal chips in the drained oil. If there is, time for a new rear end. If there isn't, you might be able to just fill it up to spec and good to go, but the overheated diff might have caused severe damage to the bearings etc, etc. And just making sure, you're sure it was the diff and not a wheel locking up due to malfunctioning brake drum(s)? Not sure about the AT Temp light, sorry. Good luck with the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 (edited) Using the spare will cause problems for the auto trans cars, but generally the damage is caused to the rear transfer clutches in the transmission. (Could be the cause for your AT temp light) But it is possible that if the trans is trying to drive the rear wheels when the spare is on that binding can occur in the rear differential, and that can cause overheating of the fluid, especially if the fluid is old or if the fluid level is low. Next time you need to use the spare, be sure its on the rear of the car, and a fuse is installed in the front wheel drive fuse holder. I would recommend replacing the leaking axle seal and changing the rear diff fluid. Plain 80-90 gear oil works fine. If you can't change the seal right away, at least change the fluid. Takes just a hair over a quart IIRC. I buy the cheapo stuff from Walmart for $13 a gallon. The flashing AT light indicates there is a fault code stored in the AT control module. This means there is a problem with a sensor or one of the solenoids in the transmission. Search around for how to pull auto trans codes. There's a funny handshake thing you have to do. I can never remember the steps off the top of my head, I just search google and find it when I need it. Edited December 25, 2015 by Fairtax4me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keropi12 Posted December 25, 2015 Author Share Posted December 25, 2015 Thanks for the reply guys! And merry xmas! Anyway, how do i know i have a bad diff? I looked at the "handshake" you mentioned, but is there a reader so i can get the right codes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyhorse001 Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Oh yeah, there is a reader, but its a professional unit that costs around $1500. It'll repeat the codes if you miss one. Are you SURE the smoke is coming from the rear diff, not from oil leaked onto the exhaust pipe? Axle seals are pretty cheap, and really not that hard to do yourself. +1 on checking the fluid level, and topping it off. A limited slip would have gotten hot, and maybe "puked" a little fluid from mismatched tires. An open diff wouldnt have cared. What codes do you get from the trans? If you didnt drive more than 100 mi or so, you shouldnt have dome permanent damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keropi12 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 is subaru the only place that has a reader to be sure? will places like monro / mineke / goodyear have those reader? thanks for the reply again guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golucky66 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 The dealers aren't the only place that can read that. They are the only place that is guaranteed able to read that code. my shop has an autel which can read pretty much any car from japan. Just be careful, I've seen a lot of chain places like that read the code and it may or may not even be right, and then they sell you work on something that isn't broken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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