Rear diff making whining noise

[still_alive]

I was wondering if anyone had the same problem I'm having now, my rear diff is whining from the previous owner not changing the fluid and water getting in, how long will the rear end go before I absolutely need to change it? No clunking, grinding, or anything just a very high pitched whine from inside while driving, cruising and the like.. Is it fine, or gonna rip apart on the inside and leave me stranded somewhere? Winter is fast approaching and I need to make a decision..any help is much appreciated!

[TGX4776]

9 inch...... oh wait...ummmm not that kind of thread eh?

why not do it now and get it over with? And how did water get in?

[still_alive]

I have no clue, that or they NEVER changed the fluid and it's a '98 so... Well I want to know how long I can go because the new rear diff is $800 so that's a big reason...

[Hocrest]

Have you changed the fluid?

Water can get in through the vent cap on the top of the cover if it get's deep enough.

[green97gt]

well, my sisters 2000 outback has has a noisy rear diff, more of a hum tho since we bought it and put a new trans in it, and she has been driving it around the hills of CA(real flat here in fl) without issue for a couple years now.

i did however drain and refill the diffs with lucas diff oil.

the plug on the diff is magnetic, right? pull it? lotsa shavings?

i am certain her diff noise is related to worn ring/pinion gears.

bearings may/are designed to deteriorate faster that the surrounding metal.

[Dead91silvia]

I have no clue, that or they NEVER changed the fluid and it's a '98 so... Well I want to know how long I can go because the new rear diff is $800 so that's a big reason...

Thats a ridiculous price!

Use this link to figure out were to get one. Most of these places ship as well... If not, hit someone up on the forum for parts...
http://car-part.com/

If worse comes to worse, I'll hunt one down for ya and ship it from WA. I hate seeing people pay WAY to much for parts!
List what you car is and do a post in the want thread.... Auto or MT, 2.2 or 2.5. Someone on here should have a diff for ya!

[harrymaneuvers]

Yea there is a subaru dismantler here in my area that will sell and ship you a rear diff with 3 year parts/labor warranty for $300 or less... and if it happens to go in 3 years... they send you another one and pay the shop of your choice labor @ $65/ hour.

[still_alive]

the guy that does my major work said it seems like worn ring and pinion gear from the water that made grit in there...I've changed the fluid multiple times hoping to find a weight that would quit it down some..and the hard part around here is that it only had 97000 miles on it when I got it a year ago, and all the used rear diffs around here have ALOT more miles on them, so I don't want to down grade and get an older used one..around here I can get a used one for $450, the $800 one is direct from subaru

[Hocrest]

Rear diff's hardly ever go bad, except in odd cases like yours. I have used many junkyard rear diffs and have never really payed attention to mileage but I'm sure some were close to 200k.

[still_alive]

if I get one from a junkyard in to get me through the winter, is there a way I can rebuild the bad one? I've also seen on here where peoples bushings have gone bad but I don't think I got that lucky..

[Dead91silvia]

Dude, the one in my BD has 240K and I have yet to do anything to it. They never really go bad. Last one I got, I paid $56 for it, out of a 97 Impreza OB Sport. You can find then cheep, you just need to make sure you get the right gear ratio. I just saw one yesterday at the same place, 99 Legacy L with a 2.2... Hit in the front with about 179K... They are out there for cheap, so I would not spend more then say $200-300 for a used one...

Rebuilding one is also possible, but most of the time a waste. You will pay out the butt to have someone re-build one and then pay for parts.

Just food for thought....

[Huffer]

Change the fluid. Then talk about a rebuild/replacement if it still goes bang.

[still_alive]

upon further inspection I found that my rear diff outrigger bracket was bent into my outrigger causing the road/whining noise I was hearing, so it was basically bypassing the bushing making it metal on metal...new rear diff from Subaru:$800......4 dollar bracket from junkyard: priceless...for everything else there's SLi :smt023 thanks for everyone's help!

What mine looked like...
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6052/img2011102000125.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/836/img2011102000125.jpg/)

What it was supposed to look like...
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/9672/img2011102000126.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/836/img2011102000126.jpg/)

[Wiscon_Mark]

Fantastic! I love it when it's a cheap, easy fix instead of an annoying expensive one :smt023