2005 center differential gone

At 79,000 miles I started hearing something like card in spokes noise when slowing down/coming to a stop. I took it to Subaru of Dallas and they told me it was my central differential. Long story short and $1,620 out of my pocket, my car is back to normal. The differential was rebuild, not replaced and transmission/clutch (5MT) were good.

 

The service advisor told me that something like that is caused by having too much torque on the differential ex. me doing donuts or racing the car. Now...I don't race the car or do donuts, I'm just a normal driver. I asked them what else could have caused the differential to brake but they kept on telling me that I was driving the car too hard.

 

So..does anyone have any ideas on why this happened?

 

About 1 week before I took the car to the dealer, it was towed from where it was parked. I think it was towed using 2 wheel dollies on the front wheels but don't know if it was left in gear or not (I was out of town and my wife took the car). The day after it was towed I heard a new noise I hadn't heard before. About 4 days later I started hearing the card in the spokes noise.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Does anyone think this may be related?

Sounds to me like the the problem with with the tow. This is exactly the issue that can happen to the car if it is not towed properly (ie - all 4 wheels off the ground). Seen it happen to a friend of mine. His got towed becuase he was illegally parked and the tow truck towed it with the rear wheels on the ground. Hey said byby to the center diff as well. thake the invocie to the tow company and try and work out a deal with them.

I would say almost certainly that is the problem. There are lots of people out there who autox and drag race these cars without a problem. However, being towed incorrectly (in gear or not) will destroy the center differential quickly. Flatbed towing only!

Tow was deff the prob. The real wheels moving and the fronts not created tons of stress on prob all drive line components. I'd contact the towing company for reimbursement and also tell your dealer as well. Never under any circumstances to your Legacy with any wheels on the ground.

 

Owners manuall clearly states that a flatbed is the prefered method.

When I called AAA for a tow and told them it was a subie, they said they would have a flatbed on the way for me in a few minutes. Shocked, I asked how they knew to send a flatbed and they said 1) it's common knowledge that Subaru = AWD, and 2) they have a note pop up in their system anytime an AWD-tow request is issued, that it must be flatbed. I was impressed.

Yep. It doesn't matter whether the car was in neutral or not. 2 wheel towing is a no-no like everyone else said. Sorry about your trouble. Hope you can get reimbursement from the towing co.

Towing...probably.

 

Two other things can also cause this...dissimilar tire circumference (such as replacing 1 (or 2) when the others are well worn.

 

Donuts on ice, mud, wet grass, etc.

Towing...probably.

 

Two other things can also cause this...dissimilar tire circumference (such as replacing 1 (or 2) when the others are well worn.

 

Donuts on ice, mud, wet grass, etc.

 

Good catch opie, forgot that one

When I told the dealer, they said the towing company must have used the wheel dollies on the front wheels and lifted up the back with the mechanic arm, so no wheels were on the ground. So they tried to tell me again that I was abusing the car.

 

I have the same tires on all 4 wheels and have rotated them regularly. I do have a pulling problem though, the car pulls pretty hard to the right. I had my struts replaced because they were leaking but that didn't fix the problem, then I had several allignments done at the dealer and it still pulls to the right. All numbers are within specs.

Most reputable tow truck companies will ALWAYS use dollies, AWD or not. The idea is to put no miles on a vehicle by having it roll on its own wheels.

 

There might be some older towing companies, or ones that do not wish to get on with the program, who still drag cars... But, for the most part, flatbeds are no longer a necessity if the towing company is equipped with dollies (keep in mind most towing companies also repo cars on the side, and to do this they must have dollies as the cars are generally locked, with parking brake on, and in gear...)

 

Research the towing company that picked up your car when it was illegally parked and find out what they use. Demand the records of the truck that picked your car up and see if you can identify it as one that was not properly equipped. They might argue with you that dollies were used and in that case the only venue would be to have those records verified. I still don't know for sure if any company in 2008 would not use dollies, but it is always possible.

 

BTW, I have witnessed what happens when an AWD car is dragged without dollies... It first drags with the rear wheels motionless for a few feet (sometimes about a hundred feet) then you'll hear what sounds like a bunch of marbles being shifted inside a bag, and almost immediatelly you'll see the rear wheels begin to roll... Very heart-breaking.

I have seen in the last week or 2, about 10 tow trucks (not flatbeds) lots of wrecks around here when a sprinkle happens, no one in CA seems to know how to drive i swear. But I would say 9 out of the 10 were not using dollies and they all seems to be equipt with them, from my laymans vantage point. None of them were subies though. Mostly hondas (with AWD and not) and toyotas.

When I told the dealer, they said the towing company must have used the wheel dollies on the front wheels and lifted up the back with the mechanic arm, so no wheels were on the ground. So they tried to tell me again that I was abusing the car.

 

Is the dealer somehow to related to the tow company?

 

There's no law that says tow companies must keep all four wheels off the ground, I don't see why the dealer would be so adamant about that. It's a shame that all you have is circumstantial evidence.

a lot of these are popping up recently, crap.

Definitely check into the towing by yourself. Don't go by what they or someone tells you. Unless you saw them tow it with your own two eyes then assume it was done incorrectly until you have real proof not just words.

What would someone do if the tow company told you to get the f outta their office and to f off. How would you prove something like this and get your money back?

A friend of mine named tony tried to get his money back when they towed is AWD talon. His story was a sad yet kinda funny one, two of our friends turned his boost up with his maual boost controller and didnt tell him, well tony had no boost guage(that worked anyway) and when his talon was pushing 24+psi it blew the head gasket. So he left the car for the night and went home, it was towed by a company that the police had called and as we were pulling up to the road where he had left the car we saw it being towed with two wheels rolling on the ground. All they did was not charge him for the tow. Thats all he ever got

+1

And I'd also almost make them think you are not requesting this to follow up with them, but make it sound like you're battling with the dealer. It'll take them off the defensive.

Most reputable tow truck companies will ALWAYS use dollies, AWD or not. The idea is to put no miles on a vehicle by having it roll on its own wheels.

 

There might be some older towing companies, or ones that do not wish to get on with the program, who still drag cars... But, for the most part, flatbeds are no longer a necessity if the towing company is equipped with dollies (keep in mind most towing companies also repo cars on the side, and to do this they must have dollies as the cars are generally locked, with parking brake on, and in gear...)

 

Research the towing company that picked up your car when it was illegally parked and find out what they use. Demand the records of the truck that picked your car up and see if you can identify it as one that was not properly equipped. They might argue with you that dollies were used and in that case the only venue would be to have those records verified. I still don't know for sure if any company in 2008 would not use dollies, but it is always possible.

 

BTW, I have witnessed what happens when an AWD car is dragged without dollies... It first drags with the rear wheels motionless for a few feet (sometimes about a hundred feet) then you'll hear what sounds like a bunch of marbles being shifted inside a bag, and almost immediatelly you'll see the rear wheels begin to roll... Very heart-breaking.

 

 

EddieSpecB - I saw your post about:

 

"BTW, I have witnessed what happens when an AWD car is dragged without dollies... It first drags with the rear wheels motionless for a few feet (sometimes about a hundred feet) then you'll hear what sounds like a bunch of marbles being shifted inside a bag, and almost immediatelly you'll see the rear wheels begin to roll... Very heart-breaking."

 

I am worried that this happened to my car. I believe the car was stuck in 1st gear and the tow truck dragged the rear wheels on the ground for 1.2 miles. I followed the tow truck on my bicycle.

 

During the tow, I heard a loud pop, and the driver told me to keep going. I never got to hear the marble noise.

 

Here's the sticky part:

My pressure plate is bad, which is why I got towed in the first place. But now I need to find out if my center differential is broken from the tow. The good part is that my insurance company arranged the first tow, so since the incident happened during their tow, they're filing an incident report.

 

Do you have any advice on how to determine if my center diff is bad, when my pressure plate is already gone and I can't drive the car?

 

I talked to Stohlman Subaru and they said they could open it up and see some snapped teeth. Does that sound right?

Yes.

Do you have any advice on how to determine if my center diff is bad, when my pressure plate is already gone and I can't drive the car?

 

I talked to Stohlman Subaru and they said they could open it up and see some snapped teeth. Does that sound right?

 

I would say that they should open it up and verify it thoroughly - and since it was done while under control of the insurance company it shouldn't be on your money.

 

If the insurance company chooses to grab the cost from the tow company - that's their call.

So does this mean that driving like an ass in a snowy parking lot can damage the diff?

They're not glass, you should be fine.

Double post

This is good news. No dolly tows