Center Diff install complete!!: WHINE FOUND!: NOW WHINING!

[skoobywrx]

whine seems to coming from underneath the car....im assuming the transmisson. i cant pinpoint the area right now.

one observation: the sound increases in pitch as the the speed goes up. no change in sound or pitch if a gear changes. even at neutral coasting the sound is there.

sounds like if the car is on a dyno......like a really loud tires...increase in pitch and sound as you go faster....WTF?!

another thing...when i installed just the driveshaft, without the replacement "new" diff (it did not have a whine). (but that center caused the binding....

[fishbone79]

Sounds like either that new diff is no good, or something is mis-aligned. Was the viscous coupling on the new diff discolored? Does it whine more when turning? Did you double check the FD ratios of the transmission and the rear diff just to make sure they matched? Increasing with speed unrelated to gear suggests it's one of the differentials, is there any chance the rear diff is fried and only audible when power is put to it?

It is quite a perplexing problem... I've really never heard of a missing driveshaft for any good reason. It's a long shot, but it might even be worth your while to see if you could find out directly why it was removed. Did the old lady have it serviced at one particularly place exclusively? Any receipts? If she happened to bring it to a local mechanic regularly, maybe you could ask him if he remembers the repair... $10 might help jog his memory (and compensate for otherwise wasting his time).

[skoobywrx]

so when i installed the rear drive shaft it didnt have any wierd sound. but then i had the center diff issue, aka bucking when trying to park in parking lot stalls.

then i installed the center diff from a 94 legacy. looked good, but didnt know if the washer with the roller bearing was to go with the diff. i installed it with the bearing, and it made a terrible sound, and i immediately stopped (car was on jack stands)

then i dissassebled again and removed the roller bearing. it feels find, but the whine! sounds like its on a dyno or something.

maybe something sheered off and gauged the transfer gear? like a circlip?

[n2x4]

How's the bearing that's pressed onto the diff? Is there any amount of play in the race?

[skoobywrx]

How's the bearing that's pressed onto the diff? Is there any amount of play in the race?

when i first installed it, it sounded ok.....i guess i can pull it out again and check.....
tonight ill go under the car, with the car on jacks and see if i can find out if i can find the source of the sound.....

do you guys, does it sound like bad gears? center diff? or something else?

[n2x4]

I'm thinking either bearing or gears - specifically transfer gears.

[skoobywrx]

I'm thinking either bearing or gears - specifically transfer gears.

bearings on the center diff? or the center diff transfer gears...makes sense.

shifting is good, actually better then when i picked it up. after tighting the knuckle and changing the gear oil. i have another tranny on the way .....again for free....lets see tonight where i can source the sound from when the car is on jacks.

[ericem]

Maybe carrier bearing not sure if it was mentioned.

[skoobywrx]

Maybe carrier bearing not sure if it was mentioned.

hmmm

ill check it out..... didnt think that went bad, but ill check. maybe even drive for a few seconds on stands see if its from that area, maybe even try it without the driveshaft installed.

do bad transfer gears make a whine when bad?

[ericem]

Anything can wine. I would think a wine is more of gears though then a bearing. Bearings are more of a hum. I would suggest checking all your tires and making sure they are the exact same size and have equal pressure. Like literally use a measuring tape and make sure there the same.

[fishbone79]

Yes, those transfer gears and bearings will make hella noise if bad... but you'll know by looking at the gears if they are bad. Even a 80um grain of sand will make a bearing whine (or hum, depending on semantics) like a raped ape...

If you do end up opening it up again, I'd flush all those bearings, gears, bushings etc. very well with diesel fuel, blow them off with clean compressed air, goop them up with assembly lube and then put it back together. Try to keep everything as clean as possible, maybe even hose down the bottom of the car near the back of the tranny before you open it up. I botched my first transmission rebuild attempt because I was a little too lax and some crapola got in during reassebmly (and I'm pretty anal). It doesn't take much. My second build I did on the kitchen counter .

[skoobywrx]

ok got it on jacks, and rotated the wheels on the cars own power......sound is definately from the front. def not the rear diff.

all the wheels spin except for the front right wheels.....



bad/dragging wheel bearing?

videos uploading....one sec...

[skoobywrx]

what happens here, is it accelerates and then we turn off the motor allowing the only sound to be the spinning wheels.......

(i know i know saftey )

another video showing the sound underneath the car....coming...one sec.

[n2x4]

Just finished watching your video - WOW that sounds bad, you weren't kidding! I think it's loud enough that you probably can't pinpoint where it's coming from specifically, can you?

[skoobywrx]

another video.....
i shoulda just left fwd....

[skoobywrx]

Just finished watching your video - WOW that sounds bad, you weren't kidding! I think it's loud enough that you probably can't pinpoint where it's coming from specifically, can you?

not the rear for sure......the front somewhere....im thinking its the center diff that i just put in.....


nothing in the car has changed....

[skoobywrx]

any more ideas? gonna take out the center diff again tonight and see if i did anything wrong...and getting another tranny to use that center diff.....

[skoobywrx]

dang i has so much fails!!!!



this is what happen when you #35 washer bearing when its not called out on your car!!!

took me about 2 hours to get this bearing stuck in the transfer case FTL!!!!

got it out, now need a new bearing and get it pressed on....oh, well live and learn!

[entirelyturbo]

Did you change the gearset (#2)?

There's a parts bulletin on this.

The part number of the gearset supercedes to a new number, and if you change to the new gearset, you do not use the #35 bearing.

[skoobywrx]

when i pulled the original diff, it didnt have #35. but i didnt know if #35 followed the diff or the casing...... live and learn. gonna leave #35 off. should be good now, i hope

[skoobywrx]

Did you change the gearset (#2)?

There's a parts bulletin on this.

The part number of the gearset supercedes to a new number, and if you change to the new gearset, you do not use the #35 bearing.

yeah i saw the parts list, but didnt know if the washer bearing went along with the diff, or the went with the case. new diff came from a newer tranny.....whooops

[n2x4]

Did you change the gearset (#2)?

There's a parts bulletin on this.

The part number of the gearset supercedes to a new number, and if you change to the new gearset, you do not use the #35 bearing.

That's info I was unaware of - do you have any more details so I can add it to my center diff writeup?

[skoobywrx]

done!!! center diff OK, no more whine!! thanks guys for all your help and support!!!! i can probably do a center diff swap in 90min!

[entirelyturbo]

That's info I was unaware of - do you have any more details so I can add it to my center diff writeup?

I don't have much besides part numbers, but the early gearset, 33132AA020, has been superceded and replaced by 33132AA030 as of June of 93, and if one is to replace the AA020 with an AA030, that thrust bearing, #35, part number 806550010 MUST be removed.

Edit: Called the gearset the center diff. Part numbers are correct. My apologies for any confusion.

[Legacy Rally Guy]

They're claimed to be good up to 800hp to the wheels

Yeah, carbon fiber is WAY stronger than steel (pound for pound) is, if propery laid...

But what happens when a rock chips it? Seems like spending a fortune to save a few pounds on an inevitably heavy vehicle. Removing the spare tire, taking a massive shit, and getting an Odyssey battery would do better for much less.

Well, all depending on the rock, it's unlikely to damage the shaft, even a small chip wont hurt integrity, now if you were to bottom out and mash a rock into it hard enough to damage the shaft, you're likely to have caused much more damage to other things... Unless you're rock-crawling with your scooby.. hehe

Overall, it being worth the buy depends on your ultimate goal AND pocket book... I'd go for carbon hood/decklid before the shaft. However there is that 1lb rotating mass lost is an effective 3lbs stationary mass lost... If the shaft weighs 15lbs, and you drop 10lbs by replacing it, you've basically saved your car 30lbs worth of drag-down while accelerating... that would be the same acceleration increase as 3HP... Now how much HP gain does one get from a K&N panel air filter for $60?

97 Impreza wagon was way to short, so i got a Legacy 5spd drive shaft from AArons auto and got the shaft in, and all is well, even drove in a circle a few times! No puking, and nothing bad! couldnt push it highway speeds, as my axleback is off!! sounds mean!!

but i think all is well! did some hard turns too! man does this car have a good turning radius compared to my STi!

thanks for your help guys!

**i also fixed my fuel lines, in the engine forum, but still noticed some fuel smell, looked under the car and saw fuel, none of the lines were spilling, but the top of the fuel tank, were the sending lies i guess, were not even finger tight!!! i guess it got loose after years of neglect. **

Ah, now Mr. Watson... this is info we can use...

1. Driveshaft gone...
2. Lines Rusty...
3. Sending Unit's (Lines I'm guessing) were loose
4. Did you mention the filler neck/hoses were loose/bad?

You're missing a drive shaft... I'd put down some money someone dropped the fuel tank and forgot/didn't care enough to replace the driveshaft...

Having a missing driveshaft isn't likely to harm your rear diff.. Albeit it might have an uncommon wear pattern on the ring and pinion... IF it had been trailing along for many many miles, and being that it doesn't have any load on the pinion, it's not likely again to have caused any damage.

So then if you replace the shaft, nothing should be bothered in the rear diff..

Running your AWD trans without a load on the rear output likely to harm your transmission's gearset. As our cars are primarily FWD... Whatever power our gearboxes send through the gearset, will reach the front diff no matter what, as the output shaft is physically connected to the front diff. The rear diff however receives power only through viscous coupling.

I dont see damage to the center diff from the drive shaft being gone, being likely. Basically your center diff would never have a load, so as long as it's seated properly in it's housing, it'll just spin like a mofo transferring power to your rear output. Think of it as revving your engine with an automatic transmission in neutral...

If the center diff is damaged, it's most likely caused by overheating.... be it from lack of fluid/bad fluid/binding/debris/improper assembly... And this might be the case of why your drive shaft was left out... A pretty sad fix if you ask me, but then maybe the mechanic suggested it as the cheapest fix and the old lady didn't mind a cheap fix...