carolinaOB04 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Can there be an alternative reason for the front differential in my 04 wagon to be almost empty. Had a CV joint replaced 6mos ago. Today the car was towed to the local Subaru dealer due to a broken front axle (wife was driving-it just happened?) The mechanic told me that someone has drained the differential and therefore the car is not covered under warranty. Would the garage where I had the CV joint replaced have drained the differential to complete this? Transmission now has distinct slop, which was not evident when I drove it 2 days ago. Estimate of $4k does make me want to blame someone. Thank you for any advice or insight you offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Hello, and welcome! It's not necessary to drain the differential to replace the axle half shaft (the dealy with the inner and outer cv joints). However, they may have inadvertently drained it, at least somewhat, if they purposely or inadvertently pulled the stub shaft out of the differential during the work. If the above were the case, they probably wouldn't have pulled the drain plug, so I'm not sure how the dealer is determining that the fluid was drained previously. So the half shaft just plain busted somewhere? Was that an aftermarket rebuilt half shaft that was put in when the work was done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinaOB04 Posted January 17, 2007 Author Share Posted January 17, 2007 Hello, and welcome! It's not necessary to drain the differential to replace the axle half shaft (the dealy with the inner and outer cv joints). However, they may have inadvertently drained it, at least somewhat, if they purposely or inadvertently pulled the stub shaft out of the differential during the work. If the above were the case, they probably wouldn't have pulled the drain plug, so I'm not sure how the dealer is determining that the fluid was drained previously. So the half shaft just plain busted somewhere? Was that an aftermarket rebuilt half shaft that was put in when the work was done? thanks for the welcome. I did not pay too much attention at the time as I thought it would be a routine job and would be good to go, so I am unsure of the specifics of the repair. The invoice does not show any charge for diff. fluid. The garage I had the work done at is recommended and affiliated with AAA. The mechanic I talked to today felt it had been drained because there was a washer missing from the drain plug and there was no evidence of leaking anywhere. How long could this car go on roughly 1cup( what was drained today) of diff. fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Well without proper fluid it won't last a long time since there will be metal on metal contact. If the washer was missing, then either it was missing from the factory, or someone didn't put on a new washer after removing the drain plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwatt Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Can there be an alternative reason for the front differential in my 04 wagon to be almost empty. Had a CV joint replaced 6mos ago. Today the car was towed to the local Subaru dealer due to a broken front axle (wife was driving-it just happened?) The mechanic told me that someone has drained the differential and therefore the car is not covered under warranty. Would the garage where I had the CV joint replaced have drained the differential to complete this? Transmission now has distinct slop, which was not evident when I drove it 2 days ago. Estimate of $4k does make me want to blame someone. Thank you for any advice or insight you offer. have you ever taken that car to Jiffy Lube or a similar "quick oil change" kind of place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 what is the mileage and what exactly do you mean by "slop"? unless something very, very unusual happened, the mechanic did not touch your diff oil while replacing the cv axle. and it is not likely that all of your fluid came out if the stub axle came out with the cv axle. they will take any and every opportunity they can to alleviate themselves of warranty work. they don't make money by giving away as many parts and as much labor as possible. they're looking at a number of possibilities and telling you the ones that don't require warranty work on their end and neglecting to tell you other possibilities. if the car is still driveable, i'd want to refill the front diff oil and keep an eye on the fluid level. if it's loosing fluid then they're theory is wrong and i'm right that they're trying to avoid warranty work. i believe the diff oil can leak internally into the transmission, maybe someone else can verify this. $4,000 is high, i'd never pay that, particularly to that shop if they're not wiling to see if it's leaking somewhere. yards carry these transmissions used with low miles and a warrany for $500-$1,000 and shops will install them for $500 tops. $1,500 and you should be on your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 these guys have one in North Carolina with 100,000 miles for $550: 1-800-617-5460 but i'm not 100% sure what vehicle you have either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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