viscous coupler
01-22-2003, 07:23 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
viscous coupler
Hey folks,
I did a search on 'viscous coupler' and came up empty-handed, so here it goes: I'm having this 'binding, lurching' noise from my front end when i'm turning sharply in either direction.. The noise only occurs after the cars has been driven for about 20 minutes.. I've been told it's probably the viscous coupler that separates the front and rear.. it resides in the back of the tranny. I have a manual 2000 Outback Limited with 69K miles... (out of warranty, doh!)..
Anyway, has anyway replaced one of these.. About how many hours should that job take? Can anybody comment on the likelihood that this coupler is in fact my problem???
thanks in advance for any help....
(p.s. more info: the fact that the car has to be driven for a while before it makes this noise further suggests the VC, becuase the silicon fluid in the coupler heats up and then tries to engage the plates as the front and rear change speeds during a sharp turn.... And lucky me, it appears the automatic version of my car has a fancy shmancy electronic torque converter to replace the VC used in manual trannys.... again, DOH!)
I did a search on 'viscous coupler' and came up empty-handed, so here it goes: I'm having this 'binding, lurching' noise from my front end when i'm turning sharply in either direction.. The noise only occurs after the cars has been driven for about 20 minutes.. I've been told it's probably the viscous coupler that separates the front and rear.. it resides in the back of the tranny. I have a manual 2000 Outback Limited with 69K miles... (out of warranty, doh!)..
Anyway, has anyway replaced one of these.. About how many hours should that job take? Can anybody comment on the likelihood that this coupler is in fact my problem???
thanks in advance for any help....
(p.s. more info: the fact that the car has to be driven for a while before it makes this noise further suggests the VC, becuase the silicon fluid in the coupler heats up and then tries to engage the plates as the front and rear change speeds during a sharp turn.... And lucky me, it appears the automatic version of my car has a fancy shmancy electronic torque converter to replace the VC used in manual trannys.... again, DOH!)
Last edited by nickAndHisCar; 01-22-2003 at 07:26 AM.
01-26-2003, 02:14 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 11
Car Info: 1999 Impreza 2.5 RS
I've got the same problem in my 1999 RS. The part from the dealer is $440 ("center differential assembly": that includes the bearing also). The labor quote I got was 7 - 10 hours. They were'nt sure if they could access it by just unbolting the back half of the trans. off, or if the whole transmission had to come out. If the trans. has to come out it will take longer. Also it might be cheaper to replace with a used tranny if the whole thing has to come out. If the tranny has to come out you may as well replace the clutch also at the same time the tranny is out.
Hope this helps, I've been driving on mine for a few months now. Any idea how long a bad diff lasts? I think i'm going to keep an eye out for a low milage used tranny and replace the whole thing since I've got 80k on mine now.
Hope this helps, I've been driving on mine for a few months now. Any idea how long a bad diff lasts? I think i'm going to keep an eye out for a low milage used tranny and replace the whole thing since I've got 80k on mine now.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
paddock
Engine/Power - EJ20T (pre-2006 WRX and JDM)
8
10-28-2005 05:34 AM
