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Old 06-14-2005, 11:18 AM   #1
daveorama
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Post Do it your self Tranny and Diff Fluid Change??

Quick technical tool question? I am about to change my tranny and rear diff fluid for mobil synthetic and I want to know what tool to use to get the rear diff drain plug out. I have an 04 WRX and I know the tranny has a weird sized tool the Torx T-70 which I bought but it doesn't look like the rear diff uses the same tool. So what tool does it use??

Thanks for the help
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Old 06-14-2005, 12:00 PM   #2
mbiker97
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I've used a 1/2" rachet for the rear dif drain plugs. Fits almost perfect.
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Old 06-14-2005, 12:49 PM   #3
daveorama
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Sorry did you mean a half in drive ratchet or a 1/2 inch socket. Also when I look under the car it looks like the connector is a female attachement not a male?? Any thoughts??
Thanks
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Old 06-14-2005, 12:49 PM   #4
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Same here, but I wrap the 1/2" drive with some mylar sheet that I have to avoid scratching up the plug (wow, I guess I never realized how crazy I am).

Now, do your research before dumping that Mobil 1 into the tranny. If you do put it in, don't say that I didn't warn you!
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Old 06-14-2005, 12:52 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by daveorama
Sorry did you mean a half in drive ratchet or a 1/2 inch socket. Also when I look under the car it looks like the connector is a female attachement not a male?? Any thoughts??
Thanks
Use the 1/2" drive ratchet or breaker bar without any socket attached. The 1/2" drive will be the male end and it will fit into the drain plug female end.
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Old 06-14-2005, 12:53 PM   #6
daveorama
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Thanks thats what I needed...
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Old 06-14-2005, 01:54 PM   #7
mbiker97
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whoops.....yup I meant the male part of the 1/2" drive rachet or breaker bar.
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Old 06-14-2005, 03:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jac04
Now, do your research before dumping that Mobil 1 into the tranny. If you do put it in, don't say that I didn't warn you!
+1
M1 should be OK in the rear diff, but as for the gearbox itself, a vast number of people have had syncro problems with M1 synthetic. I'd advise going with something else.
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Old 06-14-2005, 04:48 PM   #9
eltrouble
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Quote:
Quick technical tool question? I am about to change my tranny and rear diff fluid for mobil synthetic and I want to know what tool to use to get the rear diff drain plug out. I have an 04 WRX and I know the tranny has a weird sized tool the Torx T-70 which I bought but it doesn't look like the rear diff uses the same tool. So what tool does it use??

Thanks for the help
as they all said before, 1/2" ratchet should fit perfectly.

and your rear differential can pretty much take any fluid, it's an open viscous type, but I would be concerned about your choice in tranny fluid. I think the best brands imho would be Redline Lightweight shockproof, MT-90, or Uncle Scotty's cocktail.

PS, you will need a long-neck funnel to put tranny fluid into the tranny, trust me, you will thank me for it.
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Old 06-14-2005, 07:32 PM   #10
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A long breaker bar is really useful for the rear-diff plugs. At first I used a 1/2"-drive, 18" long breaker bar - but it didn't budge (I was worried I was doing something wrong for a while). I then added another 18" or so worth of bar (my floor-jack handle happened to fit perfectly over the breaker bar) and applied steady pressure.

Make sure to loosen the top/fill bolt first (just to make sure you can get it out) before you loosen the bottom/drain bolt.


Also, you'll either need a gear oil bottle you can squeeze or a fluid-pump to get the oil into the diff. Oh, and if you have a diff protector (even if you don't) you might want to make a paper funnel and hold it against the drain bolt as the oil is coming out, otherwise it'll just pour down the side of the diff and into the diff protector.
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Old 06-14-2005, 07:33 PM   #11
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I second the notion that a cheap long necked flexible funnel is key. You can run the piping past the turbo and into the fill flute while resting the receiver between the intercooler and the firewall/AC lines.

I have had good luck through 50k with straight dino 75w90 in the tranny with 2 changes.

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Old 06-14-2005, 07:44 PM   #12
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breaker bar? bah...unsprung torque wrench is good enough for me.
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Old 06-14-2005, 07:48 PM   #13
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Another tip for the rear diff:
If you've never taken those plugs out before, they've been torqued down by Godzilla at the factory and might be tricky to break loose. I put a jack under the rachet handle and broke the plugs free without even breaking a sweat.
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Old 12-09-2005, 08:26 PM   #14
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I was trying to change my 80 wt. differential fluid today on my 97 Legecy Outback. When I tried to loosen the square plug bolt, I nearly got a hernia. I was using a 1/2" drive end on a probably an 18 in. breaker bar. I don't think it has ever been changed. God I hope someone didn't put lock tight on it. I finally got the lower drain plug loose but I could not break loose the fill plug. This is not a left hand thread by any chance. Any suggestions.

Also---my manual says "If your equipted with a limited slip differential, add friction modifier" Does anyone know if my car is equipted with this or how I can tell if it is.

Also---When you change the auto-transaxle fluid is their a filter to change. My book just sounds like you remove the plug let it drain, put the plug back in and refill.
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Old 12-09-2005, 09:14 PM   #15
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I ran m1 in the tranny and rear diff for awhile. For the rear diff it was fine but I didn't like 100% m1 in the tranny at all.

try "uncle scottys cocktail" or some variation of that.
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Old 12-09-2005, 09:17 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sierraSubie
Also---my manual says "If your equipted with a limited slip differential, add friction modifier" Does anyone know if my car is equipted with this or how I can tell if it is.
Highly doubful. IIRC, rear LSD was only standard on the '00-'01 RS & all '02+ WRXs. And even then it's a sealed unit so friction modifiers are not necessary.

I recently swapped the gearbox & rear diff oil on my TS and replaced with cheapy NAPA (Valvoline) 80w-90 in the box ($2.19/qt) and Valvoline 75w90 Synthetic in the back. *shrug*
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Old 12-09-2005, 09:48 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by garie
I ran m1 in the tranny and rear diff for awhile. For the rear diff it was fine but I didn't like 100% m1 in the tranny at all.

try "uncle scottys cocktail" or some variation of that.
Supposedly M1 is death to our transmissions, but the rear diff can take pretty much anything you put in there.
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Old 12-10-2005, 01:14 AM   #18
sierraSubie
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After making a post asking how to break loose the differential plugs, I saw your technique using a jack to apply steady pressure. It worked perfect. It acually slightly raised the car before it broke loose. It was a real pain in the neck getting the oil into the hole with such tight quarters. I finally used an old oil can that you squeeze to squirt the oil. It took only a couple of minutes after using this method.

Do you know if the regular maintenance for a transmission oil change does not include changing any filters inside or outside the tranmission. This is on a 97 Subaru L. outback.
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Old 12-10-2005, 12:21 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peterex
Another tip for the rear diff:
If you've never taken those plugs out before, they've been torqued down by Godzilla at the factory and might be tricky to break loose. I put a jack under the rachet handle and broke the plugs free without even breaking a sweat.
I used an impact wrench! Bust loose the top bolt first, that way you know you can replace the fluid before you drain any. I bought a little pump at the auto parts store to do this job, as it is very difficult to pour or squeeze the fluid in.

Oh yeah, think twice before putting synthetic in your gear box. The Subaru synchros are finicky.
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Old 12-11-2005, 10:42 AM   #20
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just did mine recently. used a 1/2" like everyone has said already.
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Old 02-28-2006, 03:04 PM   #21
basman
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Does anyone know if there is a specific torque that the filler and drain plugs on the rear diff. should be torqued to?
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Old 02-28-2006, 04:03 PM   #22
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Considering how tight they are from the factory, as tight as you can get them. (yes, there is a spec but I don't what it is)
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Old 02-28-2006, 04:23 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by basman
Does anyone know if there is a specific torque that the filler and drain plugs on the rear diff. should be torqued to?
Rear Diff = 36.2 ft-lbs (from the '02 Subaru Service Manual)
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Old 02-28-2006, 04:35 PM   #24
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We run NEO Synthetic Gear oil in our shop cars and there are no problems with the synchros or diffs. We used to be a big fan of Motul Gear 300 until we tried this oil out. With NEO, we can shift into 1st gear during low speed rolls and it runs really quiet. I believe it primarily has to do with what was mixed into the oil to give the synchros problems. Some Synthetics are good and some are bad from what I have been hearing.

Regards,
Gary
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