Today I did the drain and fill on the front and back.
These are for the XT model the non-XT is very slightly different (tools needed drain plug placement etc)
Car was at 29600 miles, 2 years 2 months old.
it was refilled with HP diff life 75w90
theoretically 75w85 would be fine too as the owners manual allows
subaru extra MT gear oil which is a GL-5 75w80
Both fill and drain plugs are on the passenger side of the rear differential.
the fill plug is 17mm socket torque spec 36.9 ft/lb
drain plug is 10mm hex. torque spec 36.9 ft/lb
They use a reusable gasket. Both these gaskets are the same if you need a replacement.
The rear gear oil was gross "silver paint" and underfilled by 15-20% 22-23oz vs the .8L
there was a normal amount of magnet fuzz on the drain plug.
No oil leakage was evident.
I was on a slight side slope towards the fill plug side and couldn't reach gear oil inside with my pinky..
so I knew it was low before draining.. and measured it fairly accurately (funnel and jug vs drain pan)
Front diff you drain from the bottom
Drain and Check plugs are located in between the CVT Pan and the oil drain plug.
These are infamous for people draining the CVT and not the gear oil.
The check level plug is 14mm socket. torque spec 25.8 ft/lb
the drain plug is T-70 Torx torque spec 51.6 ft/lb
They take 2 more sizes of reusable gasket if needed.
I did not use the fill plug.
Purchased a 10$ "gear oil pump" from HF.
It is definitely MUCH easier to pump the fluid up the level check plug hole/tube than to get to the fill plug on top.
Gear oil was aprox the correct amount when drained. Discolored but not bad.. no silvery paint.
The check plug tube was full of crusty carbon chunks(normal for this car).. I flushed it with a couple pumps. Let drain then
refilled with 1.5qt through the check level plug and let drain until it stopped.
Drain plug with a large magnet had almost no fuzz.
The Job:
Was not too bad all the plugs came free immediately with no drama.
the most annoying factor was 4 different plug types 14mm socket. 17mm socket, t70 torx, and 13mm hex.
and re-tightening with the appropriate adapter to my torque wrench.
It is suggested to use a torque wrench as over-tightening can destroy the reusable gaskets.
Watching a youtube video on your specific subaru before doing it might be a good idea as it is very possible to drain the wrong fluid up front.
TLDR: Rear needed it.. front was probably ok for longer.
The rear I will likely change again in another 15k miles.. Front will go another 30k-50k miles
These are for the XT model the non-XT is very slightly different (tools needed drain plug placement etc)
Car was at 29600 miles, 2 years 2 months old.
it was refilled with HP diff life 75w90
theoretically 75w85 would be fine too as the owners manual allows
subaru extra MT gear oil which is a GL-5 75w80
Both fill and drain plugs are on the passenger side of the rear differential.
the fill plug is 17mm socket torque spec 36.9 ft/lb
drain plug is 10mm hex. torque spec 36.9 ft/lb
They use a reusable gasket. Both these gaskets are the same if you need a replacement.
The rear gear oil was gross "silver paint" and underfilled by 15-20% 22-23oz vs the .8L
there was a normal amount of magnet fuzz on the drain plug.
No oil leakage was evident.
I was on a slight side slope towards the fill plug side and couldn't reach gear oil inside with my pinky..
so I knew it was low before draining.. and measured it fairly accurately (funnel and jug vs drain pan)
Front diff you drain from the bottom
Drain and Check plugs are located in between the CVT Pan and the oil drain plug.
These are infamous for people draining the CVT and not the gear oil.
The check level plug is 14mm socket. torque spec 25.8 ft/lb
the drain plug is T-70 Torx torque spec 51.6 ft/lb
They take 2 more sizes of reusable gasket if needed.
I did not use the fill plug.
Purchased a 10$ "gear oil pump" from HF.
It is definitely MUCH easier to pump the fluid up the level check plug hole/tube than to get to the fill plug on top.
Gear oil was aprox the correct amount when drained. Discolored but not bad.. no silvery paint.
The check plug tube was full of crusty carbon chunks(normal for this car).. I flushed it with a couple pumps. Let drain then
refilled with 1.5qt through the check level plug and let drain until it stopped.
Drain plug with a large magnet had almost no fuzz.
The Job:
Was not too bad all the plugs came free immediately with no drama.
the most annoying factor was 4 different plug types 14mm socket. 17mm socket, t70 torx, and 13mm hex.
and re-tightening with the appropriate adapter to my torque wrench.
It is suggested to use a torque wrench as over-tightening can destroy the reusable gaskets.
Watching a youtube video on your specific subaru before doing it might be a good idea as it is very possible to drain the wrong fluid up front.
TLDR: Rear needed it.. front was probably ok for longer.
The rear I will likely change again in another 15k miles.. Front will go another 30k-50k miles
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