bewm Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Hey all, NewB here, I've been in possession of a 2001 Outback VDC in good condition and have just recently been trying to catch up on some of the maintenance. I've done some research but there seems to be a grey area with the VDC transmissions. If someone can help steer me in the right direction or clarify a few things, I would greatly appreciate it. First, the "VDC" transmission. I guess it was introduced in 01' to the Outback, and incorporates yaw sensors and other related sensors in conjunction with sophisticated braking algorithms to prevent uncontrollable skids, etc. etc. Just wondering, this "VDC" specific transmission, how much torque split is available, and how is the torque split distributed? Is it still the typical 90/10 F/R split up to 50/50 via the "transfer clutch" similar to the "MPT" system in all automatics with the pulsed Duty C solenoid? (that either fails or develops torque bind) I do understand that this VDC system is different then the later model VTD transmissions which offer greater rear torque split and better manipulation of torque. The Outback I have is somewhat lower mileage for it's age @ 89k, however maintenance history is unknown so I have been doing some basic maintenance. It seems the previous owner wasn't quite the mechanic or took it to someone who didn't know what they were doing. Like, for instance the coolant was OILY in the overflow reservoir .. so I was like WTF, headgasket! However, I replaced the reservoir, drained/refilled the coolant and it hasn't come back yet. *cross fingers* Anyway, the owner's manual specs the typical GL-5 80W-90 for the Front and Rear Diffs, no problem however I am unsure if this VDC model has LSD's of any kind in the front or rear. I drained and refilled with regular non syn Valvoline 80w-90, non-limited slip type for now, since the previous owner did not supply any maintenance records anyway. I'm kind of annoyed because I drained what appears to be ATF from the front diff ... I've had the car for a year or two and did check the fluid, but I guess I failed to notice the faint reddish hue to the fluid. So.. I guess i've been driving .. ahem.. "hooning" a bit for a few thousand miles, just with ATF in the front diff.... hypoid diff.. that needs EP additive.. Awesome! The level wasn't HIGH, so I don't really suspect the front pinion seal causing ATF/Gear oil intermix between sections. I'm inclined to drain/refill the front diff again to flush out whatever ATF was left in a few hundred miles, as well as confirm if the front pinion seal is somehow toast too.. which probably means I need to sell the car.. So yeah, my bad for the long post but if anyone can confirm if I should be putting friction modifier anywhere, that would help a bunch. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Transmission, which is ATF Dextron3 dipstick is located on the drivers side near the firewall Center Diff which is a combo differential and transfercase, dipstick is on the poassenger side - 75w90 Gear Oil Rear Differential - 75w90 Gear Oil You can use LSD gear oil in any non LSD differential but you can't use it in a manual transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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