Low Speed Steering binding/plowing

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- Dave_Frumkin
  
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posted
19 years ago

Sat, Nov 20, 2004 7:41 PM

I have a 99 Legacy Outback wgn, 5spd 121K miles it has recently started to plow/bind when doing slow speed tight radius turns in forward or reverse, clutch in or out. Some times it worse than others...I think it has to do with heat. Literally seems like I am driving a 4wd on drive pavement. No steering issues at higher speeds no sign of CV joint problem. I have read a couple of AT posts and replys but don't know if they would be the same issue as standard.

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- Rob Munach
  
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posted
19 years ago

Sun, Nov 21, 2004 11:42 AM

It sounds like the viscous coupling in your center diff is going south.

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- Dominic Richens
  
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posted
19 years ago

Tue, Nov 23, 2004 2:40 PM

The viscous-coupler in your center differential is wearing out, like the one in my 1995 5spd Legacy with 175k km. I was quoted 1200$CDN to replace it. I generally notice it after driving for hours on the hwy then trying to pull into a parking spot at "Tim's". The car will stop if the clutch is in, or stall if I leave the clutching and don't give it some gas.

The other thing I learned to watch out for was doing a U-turn on a back country road, where you finish the turn on the far side gravel shoulder. The car will plow into the ditch if you are not careful.

I was told by my Soob mechanic that if I leave it, the "problem" eventually goes away, in that the VC will never be engaged and you'll have an AWD with an open center differential.