viscous coupling replacement

C

Chicobiker

Well, I got my viscous coupling (center differential) replaced today
and it seems to have taken care of the clunk when turning sharply. I
did a quick highway drive with no effects. Hopefully that's the last
I hear of that.

The dealer gave me a 2007 Impreza wagon as a loaner for the day. I
was impressed at how much more powerful it felt. It was even an
automatic! The other thing I noticed is how the interior is pretty
much identical to my car (2003 Outback Sport). Same buttons, same
look, same gauges, same location, and even the same flaws! My car's
rotary selector for the climate control doesn't go all the way to the
windshield defrost position, although the system works. I always
figured it was just a misalignment of the cable jacket bracket in the
dash somewhere, and since the system worked I ignored it. However,
the 2007 car did exactly the same thing.

Even though the $1600 bill was enough to make me grumpy, the worst
part of today was that the loaner car ran out of gas on me. They gave
me the car and told me I was responsible for the gas I used. Fine.
Although I would not have had to pay for them to shuttle me to and
from work, it was more convenient for them and me since I work on the
outskirts of town. I started the loaner car and the low fuel light
was on. Hmmm. The needle was above the "E" and I figured that meant
the low fuel light just came on, and I probably have about 9 litres of
fuel left. I drove to work, and on the way home I was going to stop
for a little gas since the car bucked once just as I reached the
office. I felt like I should not have to pay for gas since I was
going to use less than $5 worth anyway. But alas, I only made it
about 200m from my office when the car quit. I had driven 18kms,
which means the car only had about 2 litres of usable gas in the tank
when they gave it to me. They eventually sent a service guy with some
gas after I was halfway to a gas station to buy my own. I was less
than impressed that they gave me a car with 2 litres of gas (half a
gallon).

I know that I am at fault for letting the car run out of gas, but I
feel that I was setup by the situation, and that the dealer is being
extremely cheap. They would have drove double the milage to shuttle
me to and from work, and it would have taken their shuttle away from
the downtown core where most of their customers are probably going to/
from. Giving me a loaner car was a help to them. I agree that any
amount of driving over and above a local drive to/from work done with
the loaner car should be my responsibility, but I think that a loaner
should come with a reasonable amount of miles in the gas tank for a
local drive to and from work.

On a previous occaision, they washed my car after a service, and they
put a large round scratch on my hood in the process. They buffed it
out for me, but it goes to show where their priorities are. They
washed my car again this time (no stratch thankfully!). I didn't ask
for a car wash, but I did ask for a ride to and from work. Instead,
they gave me a free car wash, and wanted to charged me for getting me
to and from work.

There's my rant for now.
 
I'm about buy a new (08) Forester with automatic transmission. My sales
lady is encouraging me to get the 2.5XS which has this viscous-type
differential. However she can't tell me what good it is and the only Subaru
info I can get tells me it only applies to mechanical transmissions.
So for $4500 extra beside alloy wheels and a bit of baling what am I
getting? Can anyone tell me about the 'limited slip viscous-type rear
differential'
Thank you,
Lyle.?
 
First, I see you are in Canada which still has the XS as it was dropped in
the U.S.

The options

Automatic XS:

Subaru symmetrical full-time All-Wheel Drive Type: Electronically controlled
multi-plate transfer clutch

Manual XS:

Subaru Symmetrical full-time All-Wheel Drive Type: Viscous-coupling
limited-slip centre differential

Both automatic and manual come with:

Differential (rear): Limited-slip viscous type

In the automatic version you are looking at, there are two differentials,
one front and one rear. The front is open, meaning the tire on the front
axle with the least traction spins. On the X model, the rear is also open.
On the XS, the differential limits the slippage so that some of the power is
transferred to the tire with traction making it less likely to become stuck.

You also get power driver seat, rear disc brakes, heated seats, cargo
tray/protective mat, tonneau cover(retractable), ignition key ring:
Illuminated, Storage: Passenger seatback pocket (net type), painted
cladding, body colour mirrors, body colour handles, roof rack cross bars,
wiper de-icers, leather wrapped hand brake/steering wheel/shifter.

I got the XS back in 2005 in the U.S. which also had the automatic climate
control, but missed out on the colour matched door handles. To me the X
model looks much cheaper with the steel wheels and black mirrors and
handles.

I really wanted the limited slip differential, heated seats, and rear disc
brakes.

Blair
 

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