How much longer will my legacy roll? (Possible bad front differential)

[boobah204]

Since I'm not mechanically inclined, I will write out all of this to include as many details as possible...

 

I bought the 1995 5 speed legacy just over a year ago, it had around 155k miles and the only problems were torn CV boots and lots of rust since it came from snowy Cleveland. (I'm in Atlanta). It ran great other than the clicking from the CV joints. I spent $1300 on it with the intention of driving it for hopefully 2 years while I got my other financial affairs in order.

Maybe 4 months ago, the clutch began slipping and went completely out about a month after that. I had planned on changing that myself (I've lurked here since I bought the car and had done extensive research on the matter) but my parents dissuaded me from that and gave me the money to have a mechanic do it instead. When I got the car back, the clutch was working well, but there was a burning smell coming from under the car after it had been driven for more than a short distance. I went back to the mechanic to ask about this, I swore that I wasn't riding the clutch, and he told me it was normal, since the clutch and pressure plate were new but the flywheel had not been replaced or resurfaced. (That much we weren't able to pay for) This explanation made sense to me and I took his word.

 

About one month ago, the CV joint clicking was growing much worse and the steering wheel began pulling to the right. I had decided to replace the half shafts at that time, but the problem grew worse before I was able to buy new ones, quicker than I wanted much like the slipping clutch.

I had driven not half a mile from home when the front of the car locked up, the steering wheel jerked all the way to the right, and the back end of the car swung around 90 degrees blocking both lanes of the road. Fortunately there were no other cars around to collide with. It felt like the front wheel had fallen off, but when I got out and looked under the car I could see nothing wrong. At that point a car did pull up behind me so I had to unblock the road. When I started the car again, I had to give it extra gas to get it moving. It felt like the emergency brake was engaged. (I disengaged the hill holder months before that)

I was able to drive back home slowly, and by the time I got it back, the resistance I felt had gone away and it was behaving much like it had been before the event. I took a closer look under the hood and saw that the CV boot was completely gone and the grease inside looked like potting soil. So I assumed the joint had locked up, and I left it parked till I could replace the half axles.

 

After I replaced them though, the clicking was gone, but there remained a pull to the right, and at speeds higher than 20mph, there was a grinding noise that would continue until the car came to a complete stop again. (Even if I turned off the engine, and whether the clutch was engaged or not) The noise was independent of RPMs, and seemed directly related to how fast the wheels were turning. I knew these were symptoms of a bad wheel bearing, and thought that either it had been damaged when the front locked up, or perhaps I had damaged it when I changed the half axles. The wheel did not rock back and forth, but I changed the bearing anyway just to be certain.

 

And the pull and the noise are still there. The noise feels like it's coming from the transmission, and I wasn't aware that the gear oil dipstick existed until I had moved the intake to change the half shaft.

 

It turns out that the burning smell was gear oil leaking onto the catalytic converter and burning off before it hit the ground. I didn't know how dry the transmission had been until then. So now I'm thinking that the mechanic (who as it happens, had just closed his shop and disappeared, taking his yearlong warranty with him) didn't properly fix the seals when he changed the clutch, and since I didn't know I was low on gear oil (someone else told me that was the same as brake fluid and I took his word also), I borked the front differential by driving it dry. Or maybe it's carrier bushings or input shaft bearings or something else that would cost more than a new car. Either way, I can't afford to fix the transmission again, and I would prefer to save for another 2nd gen legacy and keep this one for junkyard parts.

 

So my question is, if I keep the gear oil filled from this point forward, and only drive short distances (like 10 miles a day, staying off the highway), can I drive for a few more months without fear of suddenly flying sideways into traffic?

[Kennyfvholla]

Well...

 

Any time an axle starts clicking, it could fail in moments or take two months. Either way, replace the whole unit. Decent used ones got for $70. It's worth it, even if it is hard to swing. Spend $70 and save your self an entire differential/transmission or lose it.... If you can't, don't drive the car.

 

You probably damaged the differential and/or the transmission components. Do not drive the car until you fix the issue. Pick up a used 5MT for $400 to $600. Driving it would be a bad idea in my opinion. You never know what could happen.

[Stang70Fastback]

Don't drive the car. That's my opinion. I had a friend with a Silverado that had a front diff that was slowly eating itself to pieces. One day we were out driving in the snow, and her front end completely locked up in the middle of a highway. Luckily she just came to a straight, dead, sliding stop in the snow. We were able to get the truck going again and drove it slowly back to her place, where it remained parked until a new differential was put in it.

 

Don't drive it, at least until someone opens that diff up and looks at it. All you are risking is it randomly locking up on you again, as it did before, and there are many ways that could end badly. Not to mention the shock and stress it puts on the rest of the drive-train. The car might be perfect after you put a new diff in, but not if you grenade other parts if it locks up again.

 

IMHO, it's not worth the risk of suddenly spearing off a cliff, or being t-boned by an oncoming tractor trailer. Not to mention what would happen if someone else was injured and then found out you knew about this problem ahead of time. It's like playing Russian Roulette.