[stipolice]

Hey guys,

Well I bought my 05 STi about a week ago. The car has 36K miles on it. It was completely stock. I purchased it from a gentleman in his mid 30s like myself. The STi belonged to his wife. He and his friends do autocross. He normally drives his friends race prepped STi. Well apparently my Sti had been on the course a few times, this he told me about. I had no problem with this, considering the car still has the stock pads and rotors. He never changed the wheels, he ran on street tires.

The car is in perfect condition, oil changes regularly performed and such.

Here is the problem. He had never had the Diff fluid, or tranny fluid changed. Well the car is running fine, I dont hear any whine or anything, just the usual tire noise on the highway.

I have ordered the proper LSD gear oil for the rear diff and the sealant, not to mention the washers and oil for the front diff and tranny. They will be here on Friday.

Here is my question, I am paranoid about driving the car on old oil in the rear diff. Should I park it and drive the VW beater to work or can I still drive the STi? I dont beat on the car, I actually drive it like a regular vehicle.

Any thoughts?

Thanks guys.

[Rootus]

Not that big of a deal, really. You could drive it another 30K miles without anything serious happening, as long as it's got enough oil. It's not like the stock stuff all of the sudden goes bad at 30K, it just ain't as fresh as when new.

[lackskill]

Originally Posted by Rootus

Not that big of a deal, really. You could drive it another 30K miles without anything serious happening, as long as it's got enough oil. It's not like the stock stuff all of the sudden goes bad at 30K, it just ain't as fresh as when new.

+1

[V8Huntr]

Yea you'll be fine. Normal driving doesn't put too much wear on the rear diff. If you're beating on it like in an AutoX then the integrity of the fluid will affect the diff performance.

When do you plan on changing the fluid?

[stipolice]

Originally Posted by V8Huntr

Yea you'll be fine. Normal driving doesn't put too much wear on the rear diff. If you're beating on it like in an AutoX then the integrity of the fluid will affect the diff performance.

When do you plan on changing the fluid?

I should have the fluid on Friday and will do the fluid change on Saturday. This will include Rear Diff, Tranny and front Diff.

I think what I will do is, check the fluid levels and if everything is ok, I will drive it to work, but cautously. Then on Saturday I will change everything. Any thoughts?

[V8Huntr]

You don't have to drive it all that cautiously. As long as your levels are ok then everything is lubricated but just with old fluid. Driving another hundred or so miles this week isn't going to hurt it. If you want to rip on it a little bit you should be fine, but it's up to you. You can still drive it tho.

If you need a how to for changing the trans fluid I made one a while ago, but I haven't gotten around to the rear diff yet.
How To: Change your Transmission Fluid (with pics)

[boost_happy]

You don't have anything to worry about, I say drive your new car enjoy it and setup a weekend to change the fluid just to make you feel more comfortable knowing its new oil. That is a real minor thing just as long as the oil level is normal. Enjoy your new car man.

[STI_Mike]

its no biggie i didn't change mine till 40k miles so you should be good.