[PCBliss]

The rear pinion seal on my wife's 98 Forester keeps going. The shop says its because there is a groove and the seals keeps getting eaten up. They tried to get a "sleeve" from Subaru that they thought would fix the problem, but when it arrived it turned out to be an internal sleeve that wouldn't fix the problem. Now they say they need to replace the pinion which they quoted $250 to do. Does anyone know where to get the external sleeve from to fix this problem, or does anyone have any experience with this problem? Thanks!

 

[craigbhp]

I have not seen this problem before but it sounds like it would be best to get a used rear diff.

 

[Woody '04]

Never heard of a sleeve for a pinion for the diff. Probably the best suggestion to pick up a used diff instead of just replacing the pinion. I suppose if it has high miles and you have maintained it very well and want to keep it you could consider a rebuilt unit from somewhere?

It is pretty common on some makes of cars with high mileage to be able to obtain a thin metal sleeve for the crankshaft pulley so the crank oil seal will have a new surface to seal on and not leak. I believe I did this to a late 80s Toyota truck 4cyl and perhaps a early 90s small block Chevy. Not even sure if they have one of those for Subaru. After reading about the rubber damping material turning loose on some folks Subaru crank pulleys I think it might be best to just buy a new crank pulley at some point.

 

[flstffxe]

They were looking for a speedy(speedi) sleeve. SKF Speedi-Sleeve Installation There are a few companies that make them. Before replacing the diff I would do some more searching(call SKF) and see what they have, you may have to know the shaft diameter but they should have some thing.

There may not be a specific one for the aplication but with the shaft diameter they can cross reference their sizes to find one that will work.