Legacy 2.5GT Center Differential Bearing Swap

Well this is my write up for swaping all the bearing inside the transfer case. I am not really considering this a DIY because its not as detailed as it should be but it has a good base to work from if your already mechanically inclined. I am not a trained mechanic but I love getting my hands dirty whenever I get the chance so myself and others can learn from it.

I am a garage guy at heart but every opportunity I have the chance to not work on the car with 3ft of clearence I take it lol. A close friend of mine co-owns a shop nearby and he decided the best way to do this is with a lift and power tools.....I could not say no. Though you can do this with hand tools and a jack with jack stands it would probably add another 2 or 3 hours to an already 3 hour job. To start off I would get everything you would need for the job, OIL and any special tools. I decided to do the oil change so I went to O'Reilly and picked up 5 gallons of Shell Rotella 5W-40 Synthetic for $85 with two free Bosch oil filters, YAY! Also I picked up the Transmission Cocktail Gear Oil I will be using for the swap. 2 Castrol Hypoy C, 1 Pensoil Syncromesh, and 1 Redline Shockproof. I have seen great results from this mix but I will be switching to Extra-S next time.

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These are the 4 Bearings you will have to purchase from Subaru, I bought everything for $175. You will also need some Hi-Temp Silicone Liquid Gasket and a T70 Bit for the transmission drain plug. When You get everything put the LGT on the lift (or Jackstands)

Ball Bearing 806230170

Radial Ball Bearing 806255010

Roll Bearing 806322080

Roll Bearing 806330120

$175

T70 $5

Liquid Gasket $5

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Remove the top mount intercooler and the turbo heat shield from the turbo. There are 5 bolts that hold the downpipe to the turbo and two spring bolts that hold the downpipe to the exhaust, you can unclip the the 02 Sensor plug and leave the sensor on the downpipe. Also remove the the heat shield as well the sits between the downpipe and driveshaft.

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Drain the fluid from the transmission and then disconnect the driveshaft. Make sure you check the plug for any crazy chunks of metal and it clean it if necessary. There are two driveshaft career bolts and 4 bolts that connect the driveshaft to the rear diff. Once all of those are removed you can slide the driveshaft out of the tail snout.

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Remove the Transmission Crossmember. There are 6 bolts that hold the crossmember to the car and 2 bolts that hold the crossmember to the transmission. (This would be a good time to install new whiteline crossmember bushings).

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Disconnect the shifter linkage from the transmission and knock the roll pin out with a hammer and punch. (This would be a good time to install some Kartboy Shifter Bushings or if you already have them regrease them).

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Remove the 3 bolts that hold the downpipe hanger off the tailshaft cover and then remove the 9 bolts that hold the cover itself. Make sure you have a pan ready to capture the remaining transmission oil that will come out.

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When the cover is removed the transfer drive gear and the transfer driven gear will most likely be attached to the tail cover. The center diff will also slide out with no issues as well. In the transfer case up toward the top there is a ring called a Bearing Race that needs to be removed.

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When looking at the Tail Cover the transfer driven gear can be a removed easily and you will have to remove the bearing race from that as well, make sure you pay attention because there is an adjusting washer that sits under the bearing race. The bearing races will be replaced with the new roll bearings but the adjusting washer will not be replaced and will have to be placed back underneath the new bearing race. the transfer drive gear will need the 4 allen head bolts removed before you can remove the shaft. On the transfer drive gear there is a snap ring that sits on the on the cover side of the bearing, this will need to be removed before the bearing can be pressed off.

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Bearing splitters and a press are key to removing all of the bearings safely. I do not recommend anything else. The 2 Roll Bearings go on the transfer driven gear, the Ball Bearing that is attached to the cover with allen bolts goes on the transfer drive gear. The Radial Ball Bearing is pressed onto the center differential intself.

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CLEAN EVERYTHING! The diff, transfer gears, and the case/cover. Use scotchbrite where the case will mount. Make sure you install the new bearing race back into the transfer case up in the corner and also in the tail cover with the adjusting washer. Place the center diff back into the transfer case. Install the snap ring back on transfer drive gear and install the gear back on the tail cover using the allen bolts.

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Now use the liquid gasket (HONDABOND LOL) and make sure you install a nice clean bead around the case. Bolt back the 9 bolts to hold the cover to the case and the 3 bolts that hold the downpipe bracket. Punch the roll pin back in and also install the shift linkage back on. Attach the crossmember with the 2 bolts to the tranny and 6 bolts to the car. Slide the driveshaft back onto the snout and bolt on the 2 bolts for the center driveshaft mount and 4 bolts to the rear diff. Install the heat shield and bolt the downpipe back onto the turbo and exhaust. 5 bolts to the turbo and 2 spring bolts to the exhaust. Plug the 02 Sensor back in and make sure everything is tight!

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Now for the Transmission Gear Oil. Use all of the Redline, Pensoil, and 1 Castrol. Now use the last Castrol until the transmission is full.

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One thing to understand is Subaru updated their bearings over the years so dont get scared when you open the case up and notice that the 2 roll bearings are different. the roll bearing themselves are smaller and the bearing races are bigger but everything is a perfect fit I assure you.

I did this swap because my transmission was getting louder and louder during accel and decel in all gears. While cruising it sounded like marbles were loose in the transfer case. NOW DID THIS HELP!? Yes! The transmission is still a little loud in 1st and 2nd gear but I hope this will help prevent my 5MT from exploding until I get an upgraded gearbox.

Excellent write-up.. I have the bearings, just waiting till spring and I'm really hoping to find a lift.

Yours look fine, mine are going to be bad I'm guessing.

Edit: or maybe those are all pics of the new bearings?

Nice writeup. I was too lazy to do one when I did this on my 05. Uncle Scotty's Cocktail is not a good idea, though. Use Extra-S.

I'll try Extra-S next time

That is a great write up; it looks like the pictures kept away the TLDR posts, too.

Thanks for the continued contribution.

That is a great write up; it looks like the pictures kept away the TLDR posts, too.

 

Thanks for the continued contribution.

Thanks man, I am working on a new write up for all of the Samco stuff too

Bookmarked. Thanks for the write up.

Good, if you have any other questions please ask

Well then, MAYBE I'll try it out on ramps and jack stands...

This is doable with jackstands BUT I would only do it if you had a whole weekend to work on it. With the lift and power tools it took around 3 hours with lunch and smoke brakes.

The other issue is, the RTV on the tailshaft needs to cure for 24 hours before you put in gear oil. So you probably couldn't have it on a lift for a couple of days, anyway.

You are right, I would wait safely for 24hours just to make sure you dont break the seal.

I am tackling this myself over the weekend and I do not have access to a press. From nasioc, it appears that you can remove the bearings with hammer and punch.

My question is does anyone have a photograph or link to what this punch or punches look like? I'd prefer to have everything I need before I take diff apart.

Buy a press, or take the stuff to a shop. You don't want to use a hammer and punch to put the new bearings on. It will ruin them. And even if you take the tailshaft casing and transfer shafts to a shop, they probably won't charge more than an hour of labor. I took mine to the bus shop where I work, and the mechanic there was finished in about 30 minutes.

Good idea.

Sounds like two of the bearings are fairly simple to remove and two are a little more difficult - Sound about right?

I got the big punch set from Harbor Freight. It has like 20-30 punches.

I can't wait that long for them to ship. I managed to get the center one out with my neighbor's punch, but its too small for the outside larger one. Hopefully my local hardware store will have what I need tomorrow.

All in all, not too hard so far. The hardest thing so far was removing the seized bolt at very top of diff cover and the fact that there are a lot of pieces to remove just to get to diff cover.