Forester TR580

[NazForester2016]

I am having issues with noise coming from the front diff. The noise has been building up since last year, when it was involved in an accident. It was a minor one, front drivers side fender, control arm, wheel, and axle were affected. It was all replaced, but I started to hear a small rumble like if the front drivers side bearing was going bad. I replaced the bearing along with the axle shaft. It has not changed the rumble sound. After inspecting the undercarriage I found that the transmission mount has a center pin in it which has a rubber bushing held in by a nut. That center steel pin was bent, so I am assuming that the accident actually pushed the transmission via the axle enough to bend the pin, but not break the trans mount. Makes sense, since the control arm and axle were damaged. I am leaning towards the front diff bearing or bearings having some damage on them. I am going to change the diff oil today and see how it looks, and if there are any metal pieces in there.

Lets assume there is some damage in there, then I am looking at a TR580 swap. I have found several 2015 Forester JDM ones for sale at reasonable price. What differences are there in these CVT's and is it possible to perform a straight swap with minimal changes. I know that the engines have several differences with left hand vs right hand locations of several parts, does the CVT have the same issue. I also read about final drive considerations.

Can you guys help me out and give me the rundown on what I am looking at, if it's even possible to accomplish?

Thanks, I would really appreciate your help!
Pete

 

[Grumpy1950]

From what I can tell, 2015 to 2017 TR580 are the same. The problem is going to be that front differential. Different models of Subaru have different final drive ratios. They may even be different depending on the trim in some cases. You may need to get a rear differential as well as the CVT to complete your swap. The front and rear differentials must have the same final drive ratio. Your best bet may be to go to https://parts.subaru.com and print out parts lists for your current and intended replacement transmissions so you can compare line to line to find differences if any. Depending on the year, the TCM may be mounted under the dash instead of on top of the CVT as in some newer models, but this probably isn't an issue if you are putting a 2015 unit into a 2016 car

 

[bmart]

Just look them up on Subaru parts site and see if they are the same p/ns.