samlo Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 hello! I have a 2005 legacy GT wagon with the 5EAT transmission. I recently went through the process of replacing some corroded drive train components as well as making the switch to bilsteins, and during the process my mechanic noticed that the rear differential is pretty corroded and needs to be swapped before too long. We both assumed it would take an R160, but when they went to check it out, the told me the installed diff doesn't look anything like the R160 you typically see on the sedan/outback. I searched and was unable to find conclusive info about rear diff compatibility -- can we use a standard R160? If not, what part do I need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 yes, its a standard r160. Case rust is normal. pull of the back plate and check the gears. if its clean inside and not making noise, dont replace it, just service it.. If you do replace it, you can use any late model VLSD r160 with the 3.92 gears. IIRC all 5eat trans cars use a FD of 3.92. besides corrosion, what makes you think its not a R160? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samlo Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 hey thanks and good to know! the mechanic just told me it looks nothing like an R160 externally. it's corroded pretty badly and he was worried that if he pulled it to confirm, it would be damaged in the process. I'll try to get a picture from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samlo Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 update and more information! got a photo from the mechanic, the difference is the cooling fins in the back, which looks like the rear differential in the 2006 outback also you can see how badly corroded it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfulwaffle Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 That's not too bad to my eye - I've pulled a much worse looking, perfectly functional diff off of a parts car a couple years back. Still have it in storage as a spare. The diff in my wagon doesn't look much better - has 200k on it and I've been piss-pounding it for 50k of that, nary an issue. All he has to do to check is pop the rear cover if you really want to get a look at the gears. That said, if it's not making noise, just change the gear oil and run it like WhiteTiger said. I'd also either replace the diff carrier bushings, or get a lockdown kit into them to help tighten things up. I will say that the ones I've seen don't have fins on the cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 yeah, thats not bad at all. service it and drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samlo Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 awesome, will do! thanks for the sanity check folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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