idosubaru

I'm trusting your description of "engine noise" is accurate, I don't get how we are even talking about oxygen sensors and compression and pre detonation. Those don't seem possible to confuse with engine noises to me but I cant' drive/see the car so who knows. You used two words in your original title and text - vibration and knocking. Can you say more about the distinction between those two? How much vibration and how much knocking? Where is it vibrating - steering, mirrors, shifter, entire vehicle? Noise - front, under feet and is there any slight distinction about possible left or right? If it's not an engine noise I'm going back to asking about the CV joints and front diff. Are the axles aftermarket? Are they leaking grease? How old are they/the boots? When it's making the noise under load - what happens when you turn the steering wheel as sharp as you are able - is it just as likely/exact same sound as doing this with a left "turn" or right "turn"? CV joints doing what you describe will be inner joint lack of grease or old grease (it'll pour out like water) or bad inner joint wear or just aftrmarket garbage. They seem to have more or equivalent vibration than noise when it happens at high speeds/load. Front diff will start with more noise than vibration under load. But eventually they'll make loud noise before epic failure.

Oh yeah. Strike two for the tensioner. I was even thinking “I bet it’s aftermarket” when I posted it’s the tensioner. I wouldn’t use an aftermarket belt. They do break prematurely.

Timing tensioner - heat is soaking the hydraulic mechanism. Get it hot snd making the noise and then rev it in park with the timing covers off you’ll see it slapping around Inner axle cv joints. usually there’s considerable vibration - like the rear view mirror is shaking if it’s as bad as you describe. And it’s more prominent under load - accelerating or just driving up a hill.

Take a picture with a cell phone, then enlarge it. Or use reading glasses if you have those. After 40 years old a high percentage of men start to loose close up/small detail vision and the percentage gets higher with age after 40. It would be surprising if you haven't lost close up fine detail vision. modern bulbs suck in terms of robustness. I think "higher end" bulbs can have better characteristics - brightness/perceived brightness, clarity, color, pattern, but sacrifice longevity for it. So you might actually be better off buying cheaper ones depending which ones you're looking at. I generally look for ones that favor longevity which isn't always easy to figure out since that doesn't seem to be the dominant concern. I *think* LED's are the preferred option for longevity but even that, I don't know which ones are quality verses marketing hype. I think GD has posted which LED bulbs he installs? Maybe? If so - he's probably installed a lot of them and has a much better view that those of us just replacing a few here and there. A friend designed circuitry to keep power supply consistent to lights on big rig trucks to keep the bulbs from blowing as often. Their lifespan was drastically improved. The electrical inconsistencies - temporary spikes etc are what fatigued the bulbs. I would assume that is at least partially true for automobiles as well. And I wonder if daytime drivings light are more susceptible since they're always on when turning the car on/off and engine start up - etc. They see all the instantaneously loads or electrical changes commensurate with those electrical moments. Just speculation but keep your power supply fresh.

Yes. Cheers! Preach it! That's one reason I've paid attention to these 3 wire alternators over the years, asking/paying attention to comments about them. Why? How does this impact testing? Can they be swapped with 2 wire alts? I haven't heard good reasons for why. 06 but I think all 6 cylinder Subaru's are this way - I think my H6 outbacks are the same. IOW it's a "feature" of the higher end trims. LMAO Your friend is right - The nature of metallurgical grades make it a stretch to act like it's better than steel or offer value for a new truck buyer. He is right, but in the way us engineers are right when we (I have to try hard to be self aware and manage this) complain about marketing, management, business, accounting, law, social matters and other topics where we talk like we can do another persons job better than others and can't see the forest for the trees. Meanwhile all those other departments are complaining about us engineers social skills, designs, attitudes, complaints, critical nature...see previous comments about the 3 wire alternator. Although Aero's generally don't know alloys. Specifically one individual may, but academically they often have one basic materials 101, or none. "Military Grade" or military reference has been used for decades as marketing tools, some more accurate than others. Over zealous marketing works and should surprise no one, particularly well educated people. People today have highly tuned BS meters, marketing is closely aligned with "might be somewhat true" now. We've moved from suggestive to directly disingenuous. Marketing researches how many adds people see, what it takes to get through the sheer volume. My favorite marketing pro comment ever that is never heard outside of board rooms: "The best consumer is an unhappy one". Welcome to 2022. At a minimum the Military does "spec" things to the extent their process doesn't allow a manufacturer to use a bunch of road side cans smashed together to build a rotor. And there are existing generic aluminum grades that are used by the military. So here are two expanded constructions of the phrase "Military grade": 1. military *only* grade 2. Military *uses this* grade This is an over simplification and stepping out of the metallurgical weeds, but at least makes it easier to see. When truncated by the asterisks, both of those sentences say "military grade" but mean different things. Again, over simplification, but your friend is rightfully arguing for a #1 interpretation since that's almost implied, while Ford is taking......(drum roll please) A NUMBER 2! (comedy points please!). (hit the cymbals). Speaking of fun, crushable, cans - the perception most Americans have of aluminum - is crush beer cans Friday night, "my machinist won't touch aluminum, says it's garbage" and "aluminum welds like !)(*)%!", or "i hate aluminum I have to carry two welders" or "remember that bent Iphone ad - I bow down to the competition, that was brilliant!". Ford was wise to make some steps to temper perception of aluminum for new truck buyers. I got phone calls when those ads and trucks came out (by friends who currently own them). And who cares - I don't think anyone believes their aluminum truck will be a military tank, bullet proof, or will surpass steel. If they do, like many over zealous high expectation consumers, they'll just trade it in and move on. If there's a problem there are lemon laws, warranties, recalls, TSB's, and truck body parts and beds are 100 times easier to replace than a Subaru rear quarter panel.

It didn’t take long, I ordered an alt right away. I also wanted to clarify how 3 wire alternator reference voltage issues may differ from typical 4 cylinder 2 wire alts when testing. I realize most people don’t care. Alternator is connected, but output is zero even at high rpm.

This isn’t the one you need?: 20204AG011 https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_2014_Forester/Suspension-Control-Arm-Bushing-Front--Rear/49229111/20204AG011.html https://parts.subaru.com/a/Subaru_2014_Forester/94606990__6025310/FRONT-SUSPENSION--16MY1604/S13-200-01.html Superpro has some subaru bushings. You can also make your own with urethane.

Drove one hour, 30 mile round trip, mountain roads on just the battery today while starting with the NOCO genius boost. Battery showed 12.47 V when I got home.

Yep. Installed a new battery, it was 6+ years old though it did charge back up fine. Used genius boost for starting, pulled day time running light fuse, tried to avoid brake pedal (to limit rear tail light usage). Made it home, put it on charger, drove to work today with no alt. I'll keep doing that until the ordered one arrives in the mail. 6 cylinder subaru's use a three wire alternator (4 cylinders are 2 wire and simpler) with reference voltage the ECU uses to affect alternator charging. In rare cases the alternator will put out less, like 9 volts, due to poor grounding compromising that reference signal. Measure the voltage at the battery posts and ground via the alternator body. If there's a large voltage difference there's a reference wire grounding issue. It's really rare and I assumed it was the alternator, but it was a good opportunity for me to experientially learn to test for it. I've worked on some triple digit number of Subaru's so there's a reasonable chance I'll see it some day and part of my seemingly irrelevant questions.

Measured 9 volts at battery terminals and at alt output. Test more when I get home or take battery in tomorrow for testing Trying to decide wether to make it home I’d rather not try to find a battery Sunday night. I guess Walmart is open, but I try hard to avoid that hole. Lol

Can a bad battery cause a low alternator output? I get 9 volts while running, belt and balancer look fine. Is that definitely alternator or could be battery?

It's almost always tire pressure or a failing tire sensor. Check to make sure there are no recalls or TSB's about reprogramming the TPMS for your year/model Is there an aftermarket sensor in any of the tires? I've seen good results with aftermarket but it would be expected for them to have higher failure rates. I highly doubt this is the case but if you're speculating 80 mph is a causation and not a correlation: The only physical way I could see speed causing this is if on insanely hot roads with over pressure tires - the heat soak at 80 mph causes the pressure to just exceed the range expected by the TPMS. I think it more likely that a TPMS sensor battery is just at the cusp of failing and performing worse at those higher speeds/G forces.

Can you have the oil test done again or at another dealer?

I use carparts.com for rad support and headlights sometimes. I hit a deer two weeks ago too, glad you got him on the road to getting fixed back up.

Did you search for any TSBs or recalls? Some year FBs have broken valve spring issues. I think it’s just Impreza/Crosstek but I’d check.

How did you figure it out? First post said Legacy, no mention of OB. I thought you meant 05 legacy to an 08 legacy. Were you trying to swap outback parts onto a legacy?

Can’t confirm. Did you check radiator support? If that’s the same in 05 and 08 then everything forward will bolt up if it matches the bumper, fender, grill and undercarriage attach points. Did you check the grill? I’ve seen bumpers shaped differently around the grill due to grill differences in same generation 2005+ Subarus. can’t recall which years/models.

Good find. I’m not picturing how it’s mounted and it’s too hot to go outside and look but I’m wondering why it does it when pushing gas. Seems like Undercover should be steering/incoming air direction or speed related not gas pedal related. Can’t picture any of those fasteners being connected to engine/trans mount that would shift under initial gas pedal torque. Those plastic undercovers and clips get beat. Clips often broken and missing. Hope that nails it. You might have good ears and a quiet car. I don’t think I’d have the luxury of noticing!

No, and a visual inspection will probably strike out if your symptoms are so light. You'd need a pry bar and maybe to get the weight off the wheels. I'm pretty sure it's your heat shields since you keep ignoring those comments and questions. lol Is there a reason you've not responded to multiple heat shield mentions?

Does the "metallic sounding rattle" have any cyclical nature to it like it's something spinning or it's of random frequency or random vibration? Heat shields are the most likely. Usually due to damage from striking something, or rust. That's been said multiple times but you haven't commented on those. They're ubiquitous - I'd guess 50%+ of the 10 year or older vehicles around here have had loose heat shield noises. There's more rust here but it can also be caused by striking debris, etc. checking the aftermraket installed lightbar is a good thought.

I think your car should have a purge valve. Look it up on Subaru website or ebay or image search. It'll be on the intake manifold or possibly the evap canister.

Heat shield. Just the beginning so it's light and hard to find. Does it do it when pressing the gas pedal to *maintain speed, but not accelerate*? For instance when climbing a hill - the gas pedal has to be pressed further to maintain speed up the grade. Does it do it then? Is it ever louder or softer or always the exact same noise no matter the speed? If you replicate the conditions that make the noise (pressing gas pedal a certain amount) - but do so while turning left and right - does it still do it? Does it do it from a stand still, downshifting from any speed, when pressing gas to accelerate to pass or up hill? Have the engine or trans ever been removed?

If they work on Subaru's this is the way to go. They're a beast to remove. Advance and other national chains have free loaner tools, I'd call and ask your local store if they have a steering wheel puller.

Check evap canister, valves (such as purge valve mentioned), and lines. Don’t top off the gas.

I’ve removed a few with no special tools. It’s grueling abs that’s probably an understatement. . Grab the wheel on opposing sides. Literally wear yourself out trying to walk it off the splined shaft. Push one side while pulling the other side, then switch push/pull, and back and forth and back and forth. Do this like hundreds of times when it seems like the wheel isn’t moving at all and you feel crazy even trying while it seems impossibly seized on there. Eventually they come off. If you can direct any heat around the splined shaft without damaging anything do it. But I’ve never used heat on a steering wheel.