mwatt Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I'm considering replacing the motor mounts on my wife's '98 Outback LTD (128K miles). I want to do that with the hope that it will solve the throbbing/vibrating from the engine at idle in "D" (NOT a misfire). The vibration stops if you shift to nuetral. Have any of you replaced engine mounts on one of these? Can I simply use my neighbor's engine hoist to lift the engine very slightly and unbolt the mounts or is there more to this than meets the eye? I also noticed in previous posts that the engine "dog-bone" (pitch stopper) can cause vibration if its bushings are worn. Anyone had success in correcting idle vibration by replacing the pitch stopper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Unless the mounts are ripped or broken, I don't think replacing them will cause any difference. Regarding the pitch stop mount. I didn't see any difference in how the car operated with or without it installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 i agree, doubtful those mounts will solve your issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 My car vibrates a bit more than usual when the ATF is low. Have you checked that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wondercow2 Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Mounts are pretty durable, and your main culprit may be elsewhere (a bad sensor or combination of sensors resulting in a poor idle when the car is in drive?), but replacing the mounts can still be a good idea. Rubber gets very hard as it ages and dries out. The mounts are expensive enough that you probably don't want to replace them on a whim though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 You can get a lightly used set from someone who swapped to group N mounts on the cheap (like $40 at most). I have those liquid filled ones and they're pretty soft. I plan to replace them one of these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Did you have a front half shaft replaced recently? I had the same vibration issue crop up after a half shaft replacement last year. They changed it out under warrantly. It's much better, but not as good as it orginally was. The other side was changed recently and again, the vibration went up a bit. Overall, it is still (barely) acceptable to me, so I'm living with it. I don't want to take the chance of having them replace it and it gets worse. Just why this happens, and what is the cause, no one really seems to know. When I had engine work done 4.5 years ago, I had them put in the newer liquid filled mounts. I had changed to a light weight crank pulley shortly before the engine work and the vibration had gone up some. The liquid filled mounts quelled most of it. Personally, I didn't care about engine rock, snappy take offs etc. (the reason for the harder mounts). Heck, it's a 97 auto Outback! :-\ Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwatt Posted September 21, 2006 Author Share Posted September 21, 2006 Did you have a front half shaft replaced recently? I had the same vibration issue crop up after a half shaft replacement last year. They changed it out under warrantly. It's much better, but not as good as it orginally was. The other side was changed recently and again, the vibration went up a bit. Overall, it is still (barely) acceptable to me, so I'm living with it. I don't want to take the chance of having them replace it and it gets worse. Just why this happens, and what is the cause, no one really seems to know. When I had engine work done 4.5 years ago, I had them put in the newer liquid filled mounts. I had changed to a light weight crank pulley shortly before the engine work and the vibration had gone up some. The liquid filled mounts quelled most of it. Personally, I didn't care about engine rock, snappy take offs etc. (the reason for the harder mounts). Heck, it's a 97 auto Outback! :-\ Commuter Yes, I did. Back in December '05 I replaced both axle shafts with Subaru reman parts (got them from Jason at 1stSubaruparts/Auburn Subaru). And before I did the job I knew about the possibility of a replacement axle shaft being a different length from the original might cause "vibration" at idle---so I carefully measured the replacement shafts against the originals and they appeared to be exact. You know the kind of vibration I'm referring to, right? You can feel the engine "throbbing" thru the car as if the engine was sitting right on the cross-member. As soon as you blip the idle up a bit or shift to "N", it's gone. Looking under the car, the motor mounts appear to be fine. but I know that doesn't mean much. Hell, maybe I'll just cheat a little and adjust the "minimum idle speed" stop screw on the throttle body...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I'm considering replacing the motor mounts on my wife's '98 Outback LTD (128K miles). I want to do that with the hope that it will solve the throbbing/vibrating from the engine at idle in "D" (NOT a misfire). The vibration stops if you shift to nuetral. Have any of you replaced engine mounts on one of these? Can I simply use my neighbor's engine hoist to lift the engine very slightly and unbolt the mounts or is there more to this than meets the eye? I also noticed in previous posts that the engine "dog-bone" (pitch stopper) can cause vibration if its bushings are worn. Anyone had success in correcting idle vibration by replacing the pitch stopper? inspect the tranny mount. it seems if there is a mount to go bad thats the mount. i had a vibration in drive, then the tranny mount was replaced (when i had the awd unit replaced) and the vibration went away. Also make sure all the exhaust hangers are tight and functioning. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2X2KOB Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 maybe I'll just cheat a little and adjust the "minimum idle speed" stop screw on the throttle body...... Your engine management system will not appreciate this. This is not how the idle speed is determined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Yes, I did. Back in December '05 I replaced both axle shafts with Subaru reman parts (got them from Jason at 1stSubaruparts/Auburn Subaru). And before I did the job I knew about the possibility of a replacement axle shaft being a different length from the original might cause "vibration" at idle---so I carefully measured the replacement shafts against the originals and they appeared to be exact. You know the kind of vibration I'm referring to, right? You can feel the engine "throbbing" thru the car as if the engine was sitting right on the cross-member. As soon as you blip the idle up a bit or shift to "N", it's gone. Looking under the car, the motor mounts appear to be fine. but I know that doesn't mean much. Hell, maybe I'll just cheat a little and adjust the "minimum idle speed" stop screw on the throttle body...... It's not just a length issue. For some reason, this "happens". It makes no sense that the vibration would occur when sitting still and go away when moving, but that is what happens. My dealer installed the half shaft and yes, it was a Subaru remanufactured unit. It sounds like you did the work yourself, so you can't go back on a warranty. You could try pulling the half shaft and rotating it 180 degrees on the spline. Lots of work, but I seem to recall reading a post years ago where this worked. Other than that, I don't have much to offer you. I find the vibration is not consistent. Almost none at times, noticable at others. I do shift in N on occasion if it is bugging me. Such a wonderful Subaru quirk...:-\ Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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