Hi guys (and girls),

[ScoobyNewB]

New poster here. I own a 1998 LGT Wagon, 2.5L w/AT and I've got about 150K on it. I bought it used at 70K. I have a grinding/catching/grabbing noise/shudder that occurs when the vehicle is warm and I do a tight turn, like pulling into a parking space. It does not happen when the vehicle is cold, only when the driveline is warmed up. When it's cold, I can turn lock-to lock and do figure 8's and it is smooth as a baby's bottom. When warmed up it acts like the driveline is going to fall out on the ground. I have had other cars do something similar and it was usually remedied by changing the diff lube and putting some posi additive. I did that last fall and it seemed a little better, temporarily. I used Mobil 1 synthetic gear lube and GM posi additive. When I drained the diffs, the oil looked pretty clean with a hint of black flakes (clutch mat'l??). Is there something that will work better? Anybody else have this problem? I used the search feature and was not able to find a fix.

[ScoobyNewB]

Well, since you all chimed in at once, you will have to take a number. I have done some more diagnosis. I put a fuse in the FWD thingy under the hood and the problem went away. I had to replace all four tires due to severe damage to one of the Bridgestones. After replacing the tires, I took the fuse back out and checked to see if tire diameter had anything to do with the problem. Still does the same thing. Acts like a problem in the center diff but I can't find much good information on how it works or which version is actually installed in my car. My car has the 4EAT auto transmission as far as I can tell. Is the center diff serviceable? Can I get a replacement without handing my wallet over to the Subaru dealer? I've read that running the vehicle in FWD mode can damage something. Seems like a stretch. Does anyone have any specifics other than second hand information and the canned "Oh, you should never do that" answer. Even though I used the word "thingy" in this post, I am technically competent and can handle most automotive repairs.

[Flanders]

I don't know anything about this behavior. Copy and paste both posts into one and put it in the Legacy Forum on nasioc. You will get instant answers.

 

Or even better, do a search in the leg forum.

[ScoobyNewB]

Thanks for the reply, I'll do as you suggest. Hopefully someone will have some good technical info so I can get this fixed. I found some new information today at the "Ultimate Subaru Message Board". Some good info on the 4EAT tranny. I still have to sift through it.

[ScoobyNewB]

I added 1/2 of a can of SeaFoam tranny additive on Saturday and changed the fluid on Sunday. Added the other 1/2 can and topped off the tranny. Took it out for a drive and did some tight circles with it and the problem seemed to go away. The fluid looked a little darker than I'd like to see. Probably due to overheating of the center clutch from all of the grabbing. Might also be from not doing enough tire rotation. I plan on running it for a couple weeks and changing it again to try to get more of the fluid changed out. I also fixed a rattling heat shield by threading a bolt into one of the holes and jamming it against the exhaust pipe. It works pretty slick. I picked up that pointer from one of the other boards. I took off another heat shield on one of the banks because it was way to loose to fix. Took longer to jack the car up than it did to fix the problem. Wish I'd looked into it quicker instead of just living with it.