(LAC) Forgive me father, for I am about to sin

[LL - NY]

Do the regular WRX have the same degree (as in # of units failed) as
STi's, or is this power exacerbated problem? I regularly Autocross the
Saabaru (I agree with your assessment of the power on understeer
issue with WRX's on low friction surfaces, kinda boring) and I'm curious
if I'm setting myself up for a center diff failure. At least the mode of
failure isn't as frightening as Taka has described for DSM's.

LL - NY

On 2/26/07, Roy Wendell <erwendell at mac.com> wrote:
>
>
> On Feb 26, 2007, at 3:42 PM, Taka Mizutani wrote:
>
> > As a follow-up, when you say the VCs in Subarus fail, how do they fail?
>
> The VC unit locks up solid thus making the differential redundant. The
> car hops/skips/clanks whenever you try to turn just like a part time
> non center diff 4wd vehicle. On one I swapped out the center diff (with
> built in viscous unit) to the tune of $500 plus labor. On the second I
> just ripped the guts (plates and fluid) out of the viscous unit thus
> making it open diff like first gen quattro.
>
> > Do they fail in the same manner that DSM xfer cases fail- seal failure,
> > followed by loss of fluid, followed by melting of gears and complete
> > driveline
> > lockup? I've had that happen twice to me, both times I got away very
> > lucky
> > w/o any loss of control of the car, that's one reason why I won't
> > drive a DSM or really
> > any Mitsubishi. That's a fatal design flaw.
>
> Nope, although that's more a matter of an improperly/under designed
> case than the differential itself.
>
> This locked mode of failure of the viscous unit still has me a little
> puzzled as by most accounts it's more common that they fail to lock. On
> the first one I disassembled I found some surface wear of one of the
> plates but nothing like the ball of metal bits I expected to find.
> Quite a quantity of black silicone goo came out as well but I really
> had no way of measuring the exact quantity. As I understand it the
> ratio of goo to air space inside the unit is very critical.
>
> Roy
>
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