anand

Well, it turns out I need a new rear Diff. $1100 bucks. In addition, I need a new Cat convertor which couild have been covered by warrenty (under 80k) but no one gave me any indication so I kept pushing it off. The car has 80,330 miles on it. I think I am going to cry...my way to a Honda dealer.

Well, it is had to determine where the knock/clunk is comeing from. It always felt like it was comeing from the tires - in fact it feels like driving on a flat tire. I am going to call around and see if I can find some other opinions. Thanks!

I wish it was something else as well. Has anybody here heard of torque bind on a manual tranny? The guy seemed pretty sure about it - I even mentioned that I thought that torque bind was only associated with Automatic transmissions (he said that was not true). Handbrake turns? No but I drove the car with the donut wheel for ~40 miles (I never went about 50 MPH) and he said that may have caused it. If that is the case, why would the include a donut wheel in the first place?

Well, thanks to all that replied. At first, the mechanics at the local subaru dealer could not identify the problem when I left the car with them. So I finally took the car to them when I was having an issue. The mechanic said it was a really bad case or torque bind - one of the worst cases he has seen and the first on a 5 speed manual from the original owner. Said it would be a minimum of $1000 to just open it up and it could go from there. Great. Hate to say it, but this may just turn me off to buying another Subaru in the future.

When turning the sound is repetative and dependent upon speed. The sound only comes when going less than 15 MPH. But, below that, the noise is repetative and almost sounds like it is going through a rotation. Does that make sense? This is a reason I first thought about the tires but they seem to be OK.

Thanks again. My fear is the tranny as there is a hot/cold factor. I take it in on monday and will tell you guys what they tell me!

alias20035, thanks for your reply. Sorry if I did not mention it but the car makes the noise when I make a sharp right or left turn. The tire pressure was the first thing I checked and that seems ok. It only happens after the car is nice and warm which made me think about the tires or tranny/AWD system. I have an appointment with a local subaru dealer and will see what they say.

I have a 1999 Outback Sport with a 5 speed manual transmission that makes a terrible clunking noise when making tight turns. This only happens when the car is nice and warmed up. It does not do it when the car is just stated. I did a search of the boards and found the phrase "Torque bind" - is this torque bind? My main concern is how much will this cost to fix. Am I going to be out $1500?