im stumped just bought a 99 uk turbo and on the test drive it was great but when we got her on the motorway we pulled off to service station for a snack, went to reverse park into space right hand down and the rear wheels jump and a lot of bumping and clunks from under car

so tried a few manouveres forward and backwards in a straight line perfect
start to turn wheel while moving and it stops itself without putting brakes on then on full lock turning right the right rear wheel will spin on the spot, full lock other way left full lock rear left will spin.
the car is perfect when it is cold its only if ive been driving it for about half an hour or so or on motorway for a while it does this.

also when warmed up i was in 4th gear driving along at 40mph and put throttle down ,i have this almighty clanging weird metal noise as if my exhaust has fell off.

any feedback about this would be appreciated as i am now worried about driving the car a distance in case it breaksdown on me

 

Sounds like the rear Diff is Fubared or very low/empty of oil & soon will be if not already Fcuked !!

Has the Diff been changed for the wrong Ratio ?
Dean

 

i have a receipt saying that in january the car was fully serviced and the diff oil changed then. i have had a couple of people tell me that it could be the rear diff or centre diff but i wanted to know if anyone has been down this road before.
ive looked under the car and it doesnt look as if the diff has been changed as everything looks untouched bolts etc

 

this sounds like the center diff is locked. The front wheels turn further than the rears when steering lock is applied as the front end has further to travel, it's called transmission wind-up amongst the 4x4 community, it can be very damaging to the transmission, the rears or front tyres have to skid or skip to equalise the pressure between the front and rear axles....i have no idea why your center diff would be locked......................is there a diff lock on that model of the impreza?????....

if so, never use diff-lock on tarmac, if you have, the almighty bang was probably the result, and you now have a 2wd car.

 

could it be that the centre diff is worn or just faulty and is needing changed as it is driving perfect in a straight line on short journeys but as soon as i take it say along the motorway it then starts to play up.
if so what are we talking money wise and how big a job is it

 

Suggest a call to David at Welcome to the API website

Advice, and parts if you need them and no bullsh!t. They are transmission specialists for Impreza's.

Graham

 

i phoned api but because im in scotland its a bit of a distance for me to take it to them.
yesterday i put the car on axel stands all 4 wheels off ground after a run and bought diff oil and changed that to see if it would make a difference but still the same.
i have been having a weird rattling/metal rumbly noise under load when hot as well for some time and when the car was up on stands we shook the rear wheel at each side forwards and backwards and there was a knocking coming from rear diff,
so what i am really thinking now is its definetely the rear diff and not centre diff, what do you think and if agreed on that i am on the look for a rear diff if anyone has a uk one lying about in good nick.
the rear diff was also very warm after a 10 minute journey along a 70 mph road.

 

Try liam at Glenburgie Subaru, specialist subaru impreza dismantlers up in in Elgin. I personally would go for a rear diff on that. you should get one for about 200 quid i reckon.

 

MMmm, if as you think it's the rear diff, why does turning the front wheels make it spin the rear..??? the centre diff should be allowing 'slip'.. where-as if the centre diff was knackered and it wasn't allowing 'slip', then the situation would be axactly what you're getting.... i would jack the car up again, put the hand brake on, and get someone to hold one front wheel, then try BY HAND to turn the other front wheel, you should be able to do this with a reasonable amount of effort..... if the centre diff is knackered you won't be able to turn just one front wheel if the other is held firm.....


My money's on the centre diff!!!

 

99% it is your centre viscuous diff.
What model and year and where about in Scotland are you?
Replacement centre diffs are relatively easy to locate but obviously you need the right one. Jap cars are 1.0 :1 whereas UK are 1.1 :1. Not as complicated as it sounds.
Swapping the viscuos diff is also relatively easy and the whole job will take under half a day.

 

Certainly sounds like centre diff to me, as Harvey says it can be swapped without removing the trans in about 1/2 a day but you do need to make sure you get the right one!

Its possible the rear diff will have been worn slightly excessively by the axle wind up, but check that after the centre diff is fixed!

Simon

 

Why did it break in the 1st place? Could be the car has the wrong rear diff so whilst the centre is being inspected make sure you check the rear diff is correct.

rear should be 3.54:1, centre should be 1.1:1.

Also check the transmission code on the gearbox to make sure it is a uk box

 

ok ten minutes before looking at these posts i have just bought a second hand rear diff off fleabay
because i assumed it was rear diff, i cant remember what happened when my friend turned front wheels i think he said they were fairly easy to turn but when turning back wheels they were tighter to turn than front, by the way does anybody elses rear diff clonk when jacked up and you move wheel back and forth,

model of car is uk99 turbo and i am just outside glasgow a wee place called alexandria ,

what numbers am i looking for on the gearbox it all looks original under there
car has 93000 on the clock and all fluids are new looking

also what code should be on rear diff.
cheers for the help so far ppl

 

ok just been out and jacked front drivers side up so that rear wheels were on ground with the handbrake on and passenger front wheel was still on ground,
tried turning wheel and it wouldnt budge.
now does this mean i need a centre diff or is it supposed to be like that.
the reason i think it should be like that is why would it turn if the other three wheels are on ground are they not all connected which would then stop the drivers wheel from turning, would a car with lsd not do that which mines hasnt got.
rear diff centre diff that is the question
my brain hurts

 

You need a 1.1:1 centre diff and Alan Garrod who is at Newton Mearns near you may well have such a centre diff or know where you can get one. Alan sometimes posts on 22B and if you cannot locate him send me an e-mail and I will get you his details

 

I have a UK centre diff here if it is of interest to you I can also arrange to fit, same day if that is of interest.
I am in Darlington.