Center Diff Bearings

tylertrend

New member
So after too many months of diagnosing and tracking down noises, I have discovered that the Center Diff Bearings in my Outback XT 5MT are shot. I ran it up on jack stands the other day and the sound it makes is just cringe worthy. After much research it seems as though this happens more often than it should. Never the less, I am going to do the repair myself, the hardest part is finding a shop that can press the bearings but I have a few leads. I am really looking forward to not putting up with that constant howling noise on long trips!

 

injulen

New member
Tell me more about this howl! Our 07 Outback has a crazy howl... high pitched. Thought it was a wheel bearing but zero play and zero change in thousands of miles.

 

drvsdwz

DRiVe SiDeWayZ
Tell me more about this howl! Our 07 Outback has a crazy howl... high pitched. Thought it was a wheel bearing but zero play and zero change in thousands of miles.
i too have an 07 outback, and i may have the same "howl" almost sounds similar to my sti transmission noise with polyurethane shifter bushings

 

tylertrend

New member
Funny how my '04 Legacy 5mt W/ 175,000 mi has no tranny noise. I dont plan to start the repair for a week or so (parts cost), but will post updates when I do. 

 

tylertrend

New member
Quick update. I removed the center diff the other night from the Outback and found that the bearings look brand new and spin quietly.  (Side note-I didn't expect the diff to be as heavy and big as it is, wow).  Anyway, at this point I was somewhat puzzled so I started looking for other culprits. A couple minutes later I picked up the driveshaft and spun the center carrier bearing support and Bingo! That thing is dry and it howls. Finding a driveshaft for a pre 5/05 gen 3 Outback is somewhat challenging as there is a thru 4/30/05 part and a 5/1/05 and up part (and regular Legacy ones are slightly different). I eventually found a decent one and it should be here in a week or so. I'll post another update at that point. 

 

tylertrend

New member
Hopefully this is the last update to this thread. About a week ago I got the transmission all put back together, installed the new (used) driveshaft and fixed an exhaust leak I had at the bottom of the down pipe. Went for a test drive and the noise is gone! Between remedying the D/S squeal and the exhaust leak, it's nearly silent going down the road. It finally feels like the car I always wanted it to be so needless to say, I'm super pumped. Now to just replace these chummy stock bridgestone tires....

 

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