How to isolate front vs center diff

[Charlie529]

2012 legacy gt 6mt. Classic center diff failure symptoms. Mechanic says he "feels it in the front, so it's probably front differential and needs a new tranny". I'm skeptical. Is there a way to isolate whether the torque binding when warm is from the front diff or from the center diff, besides removing the driveshaft?

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by Charlie529

[el_freddo]

It’ll be the centre diff unless you happen to have a VLSD up front and it happened to fail. 

Replace centre diff, go from there I reckon. 

Cheers 

Bennie

[Charlie529]

1 minute ago, el_freddo said:

It’ll be the centre diff unless you happen to have a VLSD up front and it happened to fail. 

Replace centre diff, go from there I reckon. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Thanks Bennie, I'm likely to follow that advice. Forgive my ignorance, but how can I find out if I have a VLSD up front that could be causing the issue?

 

 

 

[idosubaru]

1 hour ago, Charlie529 said:

Thanks Bennie, I'm likely to follow that advice. Forgive my ignorance, but how can I find out if I have a VLSD up front that could be causing the issue?

 

 

 

Legacy's never came with front VLSD. Yours doesn't have a rear VLSD either.  You'd have to jack the car up and look for signs of non OEM/Factory parts/work or spin the wheels and see what you get. 

 

I answered you here as well:
 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by idosubaru

[Charlie529]

4 minutes ago, idosubaru said:

Legacy's never came with front VLSD. This says your MT doesn't have a rear VLSD either:

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/legacy/legacy2012.html

 

I answered you here as well:
 

 

That's great news. Thank you very much for clarifying that, and for your clear response on the other page as well. I'll hopefully update a positive outcome after replacing the VC/center diff.