Subaru 5-Speed Center Diff Replacement 

Nice work guy. Appreciate the good lighting, sharp focus, and concise narration.

The best explanation I´ve seen regarding this stuff. Regards from Argentina. BTW my Forester has the same issue

Great video. Clean organized garage, concise clear info. Great job, I learned.

Hint: Should have left several loose bolts in the tail piece before using the slide hammer so the part would come off in a more controlled manner. Thanks for the video. Getting ready to do this repair on my Bugeye wagon at 200K miles.

Great video! Thank you! The diffs seem to go bad on a lot of these vehicles. My 2010 Legacy is in the shop for the same issue at the moment.

Just completed the replacement of the viscous coupler on a 2018 Impreza 5spd which was burnt up by the previous owner with non-matching tires. 2 items stand out on the repair (1) the pin on the shifter shaft would not come so after a few hours of frustration I went to O'Reilly auto and bought a $25. chisel hammer and took the punch tool that came with the tool put it in a vise and ground the point off until it was large enough to drive the large pin out ---the small pin came out quiet easily--- the pin was a real bitch to get back in on the assembly but the chisel hammer worked. The other pisser (2) was getting the rear case to split, after a few hours of beating I gave up and used the old standby trick the trusty screw driver both big and small. After removing the case I took a file and cleaned up the bruises caused by the screw drivers which by the way were not that bad---about 15 minutes with a fine file and the repair was made on both faces. The gasket I had bought from Subaru which was ordered to match my vin-- was not even close so Permatex RTV was applied and I only did the case surface with a fairly liberal coating---and did it squeeze out nice when tightening the case bolts. The total repair time including driving the car in and jacking etc all time to complete the repair and test drive with just under 11 hours. Without the chisel hammer and using screwdrivers I would not have been able to do the job. If you have the funds and don't want to deal with the frustrations I would highly recommend giving the job to a Subaru shop. The trans oil used was used was Royal Purple Class GL-5 W75-90. Now that I have done the replacement once and now some short cuts I would do it again---the first time around is always and learning experience and there no bolts, nuts or parts left over.

clicking sound resolved on my 2018 Crosstrek 6MT. Thank you!!!!

Excellent video tutorial 👍

Well done.The bolts are 10mm with 14mm heads.

Excelente video, muchas gracias!

Good video.. thank you sir!

Good vid thanks man

I will attempt to repair the coupler and if successful I will have a spare for when I screw up in the futuere.

I am wondering if you found any torque settings for the nine 14mm bolts that hold the center dif housing to the main box. Also what kind of torque do you give to the drain plug?

Wow, great explanation on the issue. I have the same problem on my forester. is this a immediate fix issue or can it be driven as its not really affect daily drive. thanks in advance.

How do you remove the bearing race that's stuck in the transmission? The race that goes around that little bearing on the shaft

As soon as I have the first line, I knew these were my people 😂😩 #subaruproblems

informative video and well explained symptoms for failed center diff. is the center diff come a whole or components? check with my local subaru dealer, they sold me separate parts for the cylinder and the other components inside. when you got your new is it the whole round thing? thank you.

So I’m having the exact issue on the same car with the same wrecker trans a few months after install. I see you also used the smurf blood and I’m wondering if that has a compatibility issue with the center diff? Or if we are both unlucky!

Why must it not have friction modifiers in the gear oil ? isn't the viscous coupling a sealed unit with its own silicone fluid inside the sealed unit ? Also, with the center diff bearings subject to all that excessive force when the diff was binding... ...why wouldn't you change the other (3) center diff housing bearings too ?

Thanks for the great video. Do you know the torque specs for the 14mm bolts for transfer case?

Do turbo and non turbo 5MT speed has same center differential? Talking about 2004-2009 years

what's the problem with LS additive? You can use it in non LS rear diffs without doing harm. That's why it's in most of the gear oils. So what will it do in a gear box? EDIT: my owners manual doesn't say anything about specifically not using LS fluid. Just says GL5

With very sticky tires I have torque bind even with FWD car. So can I measure if center diff scientifically some how? Eg. jacking one wheel up and measuring the resistance with torque wrench?

I bought a paper gasket for my t case cover, should I use silicone instead?

Would this be the same Center diff as a 2011 Subaru wrx 5 speed?

Do I have to replace the whole diff unit or can I just replace the bearing?

Good vid buddy I like that poster @mightycarmods. My car is doing the same thing after 30min of driving turning pops and binds bad so am guessing this is the problem .

was the popping and binding after you turn the wheel and start to go. cuz i think this is starting to happen on my wagon. i think it’s the cv axles but it could be this too

Is it possible to just overhaul or recondition the center differential? Thanks.

I’ve got a loud banking/jerking once I’m in any gear and give it some beans which sounds like a cv axle but it’s not what could this be?

This may be a bad way to put this but my 01 Subaru Forester locked up during the snow, not the motor but the drivetrain after about 2 hours of driving, tires will spin with the open diff, but going into gear it dies and can not move without being drug, along with tires either spinning in opposite directions or staying in place flat spotting my tires!! Any info? Thanks and much appreciated

great video, I have the same problem with my 2018 Impreza base with 5 spd manual. Can you tell me the Subaru part # for the center dif?

Dear friend, what oil are you using for front diff? LSD gear oil or just gear oil? Thank you

Hello. Planning to tackle this job. Did you have to replace the bearings on the input and output shaft as well? I am having clunking but no whining

can you pull driveline out without draining transmission fluid ???

How long does this take?

replace your power steering oring and hard top hose..

Great video but it would be so much better without the ridiculous music.

My Damn 2020 base WRX needs this..just past 60 k.. what causes this.. binding big time on slow turns.