I picked up an 05 Outback, (2.5, non-turbo, AT) a couple of months ago. The previous owner had the torque converter replaced to solve the shudder and supposedly replaced the rear diff with a junkyard unit to solve a bearing whine. I took a chance on it. I've never owned a Subaru before.
45 miles later on my way to work, I snapped a rear CV axle and called for a tow. I was suspicious when I replaced the CV as it wasn't a knuckle failure, the shaft snapped in half and there was no rust, showing a clean/sudden break. I checked the rear diff as well as I could through the fill/drain holes and found no chunks, no shavings, etc. Put it back together and before I get 3 feet the rear diff is clunking. OK, so the diff is toast. For the record, it broke at 60mph on dry pavement and the transmission 'sport' light came on.
Knowing that the diff was replaced, I need to verify whether or not it's the right ratio so I know what I need to buy before I break this thing open. Do these have something similar to a GM RPO code or anything that might be able to help me ID the gear ratio in the front? I ran across this post >>
https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/transmission-gear-ratios-and-final-drives-229267.html <<
that makes it look like the previous owner could have easily grabbed the wrong ratio. They're also very close together (ratio-wise) which makes it more plausible that I could have driven and not noticed any binding.