MPtyza Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Yesterday I replaced the right front axle on a friend's 04 Legacy. Immediately afterward, the car has a vibration coming from that corner while rolling, once every tire rotation, enough to give the steering wheel a shimmy. It almost sounds more like something metal is rubbing than vibration, but I checked everything multiple times and cannot see where anything is making contact that shouldn't be. I've replaced axles before, even on this very car and never had this or any other issue. Any help/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 title says "vibration" description mentions a lot about sound - rubbing, metal...etc *** are you absolutely positive the sound wasn't there prior to the axle change? if it was then might suspect tire... we can't see or drive the car so we need a concise description, does it definitely have a vibration - because that's a lot different in terms of suspect items than sound/rubbing. 1. make sure lug(s) didn't come loose, happens more than you'd think this could cause vibration and noise if it was really bad. 2. slightly bent brake dust shield will cause noises (not vibration) under various loads - like around a turn but not straight 3. is it an aftermarket axle - they are known to be problematic and can have any number of issues - leaking, noises, vibration under accel, vibration at idle, blow to pieces internally....aftermarket axles are a waste of time. rebooting the original OEM axles is the best long term solution, or rebooting a used Subaru OEM axle if the original is actually toasted (rare). 4. wheel bearing 5. those axles have a tone ring and a thin metal ring or two behind it...if one of those were bent enough i suppose it could rub once ever tire rotation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 one other thing, did you torque the axle nut with the weight of the car on the tire? It's recommended to torque the axle with the hub in the air. back-up the rotor with a big screwdriver in the 'vanes' and against the caliper. but many people have complained about vibration from rebuilt axles as GG mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPtyza Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 I am absolutely certain that this wasn't present before the axle swap, as it is quite noticeable. It sounds and feels normal until it gets up to about 5mph and above. It definately sounds like something is rubbing, yet the steering wheel "wobbles" a little at the same time, wasn't quite sure how to describe it. I bent back the dust shield thinking it was causing it, and it is definately not touching anything. Lug nuts were definately still tight, I've had loose lug nuts before, so I know what that's like. It is an aftermarket axle, but the one I took out was also aftermarket, and never gave any problems. I know OEM is best here, but she didn't want to spend too much on it. I did torque the nut with the weight of the car on the tire. I thought I did it this way last time, but I could very well be wrong there. That's first on my list of what to try when I head over to the car, torquing it down with the hub in the air yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I am absolutely certain that this wasn't present before the axle swap, as it is quite noticeable. It sounds and feels normal until it gets up to about 5mph and above. It definately sounds like something is rubbing, yet the steering wheel "wobbles" a little at the same time, wasn't quite sure how to describe it. I bent back the dust shield thinking it was causing it, and it is definately not touching anything. Lug nuts were definately still tight, I've had loose lug nuts before, so I know what that's like. It is an aftermarket axle, but the one I took out was also aftermarket, and never gave any problems. I know OEM is best here, but she didn't want to spend too much on it. I did torque the nut with the weight of the car on the tire. I thought I did it this way last time, but I could very well be wrong there. That's first on my list of what to try when I head over to the car, torquing it down with the hub in the air yet probably need to pick up a new axle nut. Hope that's all there is wrong, but you probably need to have a back-up plan, The axle probably has some type of warranty. personally, I've had zero problems with the EMPI axle I put on the wife's car. $10-$15 more than a rebuilt - but new. supposedly, dealerships have rebuilds that are QCed/cherry picked to a higher standard. MWE has soob rebuilds and is highly respected. If it becomes really confusing what the source of the vibration is - try swapping axles left-to-right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPtyza Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Thanks for the responses, but it appears I'm an idiot. No seriously, just got a call from my friend, and she had the wheel off, and there stones lodged in there. She removed them and all is good with the car. Last time I do work on a car when I am that tired to begin with, I should have checked for that at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Really sounds like a bad axle. I would also try an EMPI one as I have heard great things about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Thanks for the responses, but it appears I'm an idiot. No seriously, just got a call from my friend, and she had the wheel off, and there stones lodged in there. She removed them and all is good with the car. Last time I do work on a car when I am that tired to begin with, I should have checked for that at the time. where were these stones? Between the rim and the rotor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 i've seen the stone/debris thing before too, though it's been awhile, i don't recall what Subaru it was (model, year, etc) and i forget where they lodge. rock on for the easy fix! yes a terrible pun... It is an aftermarket axle, but the one I took out was also aftermarket, and never gave any problems. right, but that's not what i said nor all that relevant. it's apparent by your skill set and experience you already know this but i'll continue anyway for future readers. by that logic every car, business, part, TELEMARKETER (LMAO) etc ever would be good since it gave at least one person good service/experience. aftermarket axles are terrible because they have a high failure rate, hands down the worst aftermarket part one can buy for a Subaru. a %50 failure rate means 50 out of a 100 would be fine...so anecdotal folks say "yeah they're great, that one worked for me"...yet 50 would still fail, an absolutely horrendous failure rate. i don't know what the failure rate is but what is certain is that everyone that's done enough axles can tell you it's annoyingly high yet Subaru axles can roll to 200,000 miles without blinking. if you're time is worth much aftermarket axles are a joke. i got hosed so many times and then when i finally got on online boards like this and saw everyone else having issues i finally realized it was aftermarket axles and not just because axles were unreliable as a whole. i have saved much time and grief by switching to all OEM...and probably money - $25-$33 each for used ones and the inner boot and the price is good for a %100 repeatable repair. but i do pay a price in that i no longer get funny stories of axles failing...like the brand new one that spewed it's guts, grease, and balls all over the parking lot literally 20 feet after it was installed. #!*&!((*##!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.