yarikoptic

Just gave Randy a phone call. IMHO over the phone "interview" Randy sounded like a 100% pro in subies imho . He said that AT is highly unlikely (if possible at all) to vibrate like I described. And they seem to do quite a bit of AT work in there... The only secret he didn't disclose to me is how to get subi up to full speed on the lift -- so far all attempts (alone or with the mechanic) -- ABS was kicking it and ruining the speed so we never got any speed -- I guess time to ask the USMB That is really sad that I am quite far from them -- he also recommended me another guy who is half way to Randy from where I am but he could not recall his address: Weddy from Bath, PA area... I could not push him to look for an address or phone number since I already occupied him on the phone for quite a while... I guess all after all I will end up driving to Denver as my last attempt before I either ... (it is better to don't think about that)

Thanks for the reference -- I did go there -- nice guys -- I left a comment in the original thread you mentioned.

To diagnose the problem I have http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=72752 first I called Broadway Automotive and they tried to troubleshoot it with me over the phone. At the end it boiled down to either differential or smth more weird -- it was a nice phone chat. I asked to make an appointment so they could test drive the biestie themselves -- came today's morning, two guys drove it and unfortunately the final opinion was that it is nowhere in the mech. driveline (not even probably a differential since it would sound/behave worse) but rather in the AT. Also stated that it might be a torque converter as the stealership mechanic told me: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=76994 Also the guy said that unfortunately he does not know anyone trustful working on ATs -- just 2 dealerships which he used to deal with, which left a good impression. So -- it seems that they are good fellows and deal with subies quite often -- I saw at least 7-8 subies around the garage which were either on sale or for parts or just chilling out ;-)

Thanks for the hint. I will have 1 more look though I didn't find one when I was looking for one. There is induction valve vacuum hose though which is split with a little plastic connector to connect the two pieces... I guess that is the place which was intended for measuring vacuum unless that plastic crap serves some other purpose. But I felt unconvinient to pull those two apart - so I just disconnected the hose which goes on top form PCV -- I seemed to get normal readings. I just wonder now -- if just one of front catalytic converters is clogged -- would I get normal or abnormal vacuum reading: in my case on acceleration (just in park opening throttle since I didn't have enough hoses to bring it out) -- it behaved ok -- idled at around 16 dropped to 0 and then pressure raised even higher (if that is normal) than 16. But I think I heard on passanger side (whenever I close the valve) smth like puh puh puh (sorry for not desciptive presentation) from down where left catalytic is -- I ordered remote temperature sensor to see if pipe before/after it has the same "regime" when cooling down.

I have found a split flanger on my previous subi... it was slightly bigger than the pipe, so finally it broke off the rest of original flanger and connection was lost. I went to autozone and to my suprise I got slightly smaller there -- it matched perfectly and I never had problem with that one (though it got rusty very fast)

To diagnose catalytics I want to check vacuum level within intake maniold. What is the easiest place (hose) to use to place a T-connector to attach mitty vac?

it is too deep to connect anything imho. Since I never took the intake off I am not sure on its "under" shape and what volume is functional -- At first I just wondered - may be there used to be a plug and the hole was to ease measurement of the pressure inside of the intake... but as I said when I checked it with finger -- I didn't feel any suction while engine was running. I will check it more carefully tomorrow ;-) I wonder if H4s also have it at all... or do all H6 have it simply open?

3) Tighten bolts which hold front exhaust pipe onto cylin- der heads. Tightening torque: 30±5 Nm (3.1±0.5 kg-m, 22.4±3.6 ft-lb) that is for 1995 legacy... and image shows heads, not bolts -- so I am not sure why they said in text "bolts"

Sorry for a silly question -- but what is that hole I have on intake right near PCV (if I am not mistaken) hose which comes on top of the intake manifold. I tried it with finger while reving engine-- no vacuum was felt. So I guess it is not intended for anything -- then what is it for?

Those are gold words to please my ears, but I can't find support documents (and I need to rush since I am at almost 98k miles) -- the only reference so far is at http://www.cars101.com/subwarr.html which says only about "Certain Legacy and Outback 2.5L 4 cylinders sold and registered in CA, CT, NH, NY, MA, MS, RI, VT with California Specification PZEV Emissions Extended defect warranty: 15years/150000 miles" and I have 3L 6 cyl and do not have any extended warranty, and live in NJ (pretty much).

Hi -- I am going to do vaccum check to diagnose if I have catalytic issue as it was suggested in the other thread. But H6 has 3 of them -- 1 in each sleeve of Y pipe and rear one right after Y pipe joint before the flanger to connect rear pipe. Of cause Subaru made it very easy to replace 2 of them -- left front one and rear one are on the same "pipe" whenever the right one is in the separate Y pipe sleeve... So -- no cheap "proper" solution. I am just curious how much OEM piece would cost... anyone has a part #s for 4S3BH806317652768? heh - so, to diagnose, if I get vacuum readings characteristic to clogged CC -- which 1 (or 2 or 3 ;-)) out of 3 CCs would that be? it would be a shame to cut off the working one. Should it be simply a "test" with rubber hammer and look for sounds? should I get 1 Y pipe to disconnect from engine block at a time? what is most common point of failure? can water comming to muffler (when going under "waterline") get all the way to rear cat and damage it? Thanks in advance

today (after I "touched" the car in many places) mentioned also that when I brake with engine after a bit of torque my rpms start to wild from 900 to 1600 rpms or so with 1 sec period... I guess I touched vaccum somewhere... time to find a T connector to connect my mityvan to test vacuum in the intake. I just wonder what would be best/easiest place to get T adapter (if I find any) into on my H6?

cruising downhill while passing 15-20mph range slowing down or accelerating (due to downhill) in N, as I suspected, didn't even reveal any vibration. Vibration itself btw does not appear with a light acceleration/torque applied, it comes when accelerating medium hard, or going up-the-hill, especially if 20mph speed is maintained for a while. Also a bit of more characteristics of vibration, when it vibrates and I rapidly release the torque (release gas pedal) vibration doesn't go immediately go away -- it is possible to feel 2-3 more vibrations before it is gone (gives me more evidence in "tranny support" version) and btw -- indeed I probably have problems with cat converter -- so I need to unbolt the pipes from the engine block, but I guess I better get replacement gaskets ready first. And test drive it not on a weekend night ;-) Also I could not find a section on exhaust in 3.0L Subi within Subaru repair manual. What I have is seems to be specific to 2.5L -- I have 1 catalytic converter right before the flanger which connects to the rear (or middle) pipe -- right under ending of AT. Also there is smth in each sleeve (left, right) which look like a possible CC. Also I do not see how first CC I mentioned can be disconnected from the left sleeve -- there is no visible flanger or a connector. Is there a diagram anywhere? May be someone could send me a picture from subaru fast? :-)

indeed -- it is relatively at "long arm" so might oscillate quite a bit... I will shop around for it probably (do not have subaru fast unfortunately to list parts for my VIN to get it ordered online) is there any way to troubleshoot it at least a bit? tranny does move a bit with a hand but...

btw -- is it doable to replace them without pulling engine out completely (like service manual says to do)? I guess it should be doable... also a friend of mine has a nice lift which he used to support his VW engine while replacing the clutch -- so I can raise the engine a bit I guess... anyone can refer to some online howto? although it sounds like a part swapping I would not mind doing it ... may be I should check the price on them first though

indeed... to rule it out complete I would need to take the shaft off, and inspect it... actually the best would be replace it or drive without it -- but from another thread where the question was: I am not sure if that is possible to drive with AT's hole (after yoke of shaft being pulled out) patched with smth (and with what? :-)) Did anyone do this?

I would appreciate to have such a contact... if I decide to fix smth and it is a bit evolved procedure so can't be done on the street I would need to go to Philly anyways to a friend of mine with garage...

Thank you guys for ideas. I will try to do "pass through 20 mph" while going downhill, and other things you said. Though I am pessimistic -- since as I said it occurs only at acceleration (kinda half-throttle) as soon as I drop torque vibration goes away. Also left one was changed after problem appeared. and once again -- vibration would be from one side or another... may be bearing in differential -- that would be more like it... motor or transmission mounts is the beast I also suspected -- also weak mounts might result in excessive tilt of transmission so may be propeller shaft also gets out of optimum angle or simply starts amplifying vibration.

I am not sure if I am not a bit off topic, so please pardon me in advance I have very difficult time troubleshooting the source of vibration in driveline somewhere: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=626007. I really need experienced guy to test-drive my car and give his cue on the problem. If anyone could recommend some experienced/reliable mechanic or guru somewhere in northern/central NJ or better at delaware gap (route I-80, poconos) where I am not with my poor 2001 LL Bean. Thanks in advance a lot.

good/bad news -- stall tests (at 2, D, R) showed normal rpms -- around 2250rpm -- service manual says normal range for 3L 2000-3500 rpms. So I guess it transfers torque fine (unless transfer deteriorates while smth vibrating). And lack of power is due to other causes. Also, there is a TC speed sensor but I could not find that in OBD-II tool I am using... anyone knows the request address for that beast may be, so I could provide it to the obd-ii to get it. If I compare engine rpms and TC rpms I should get clearer idea on how well TC transfers torque. Or am I wrong? Can "smth vibrating" be turbine runner together with the tranmission shaft? if I understand correctly, turbine runner and shaft do not rotate during stall test. So they still can be unballanced/loose and do not impact stall test, right? Also just to remind -- I get most of vibration at 20mph -- so it has to be corresponding rpms in turbine/transmission to get it into "resonance". Stop -- don't that rules out TC completely???? TC rotates at engine RPMs. And my vibration is not engine rpm related. DOH -- why I didn't come up with that argument to the "mechanic"... so it boils down again to differential/driveline/supports/etc... if that is differential anyways I am f%%ed even more I guess :-\ Will go read more about TC anyways -- thank you nipper for the link. I remember also reading a while ago "Readers Digest Complete Car Care Manual" which also has quite nice description. Though now I am very hesitant to suspect TC. As for propeller-shaft -- I really do not see why it should vibrate more torque I provide in FWD mode -- it rotates, yes. But I do not have vibration without torque applied. Vibration doesn't change a bit if I switch to FWD mode when propellershaft does not get torque. So -- it is not propeller shaft, neither CVs.

Well -- I did not know much about Bajas and I could have misheard about Baja. Indeed it seems that commonly they come with 2.5 (with or without turbo), but at least herehttp://trucks.about.com/od/2006subarubaja/a/baja_epa.htm it list fuel economy for a baja also with 3.5L one (6 cyl), so may be there is some 6 cyl model? and I would not be surprised much if he swapped default 2.5 with 6 cyl one (as the prototype of baja had)... indeed - he said that dealer would charge about 400 for parts and 600 for labor. As I mentioned -- I already swapped CVs quite a bit:1. left one was replaced with new -- problem persisted 1.1 alignment, transmission flush -- problem persisted 2. old left one (regreased) was placed in place of the right one -- problem persisted 3. changed both cv axles with brand new ones (so I am sure that I didn't put any old one on) -- problem persisted Problem was pretty much the same across those actions... only that at some point it evolved a bit. Previousely I didn't feel any vibration at speeds other than 20mph; then sometime between 1 and 2 I started to feel vibration while applying torque at higher speeds (60-70, etc) and it got a bit less wild at 20mph. Problem did not change a bit by doing 3. -- just subjectively I would say that it became a bit "sharper" vibration -- may be due to tighter joints some vibration also got to wheel or smth. But it is really subjective and may be "normal" evolution of the problem. now I am off to do stall test ;-)

unfortunately in my case swapping CVs with new ones didn't help even a bit -- I think even that vibration got felt stronger (may be it just degenerated even more -- need to drive a lot up the hills these days). BTW -- just to share -- to swap a CV it was sufficient for me to take wheel off, disconnect the crossmember, take of the head off the ball joint (at the bottom) and knock ball joint "thread" from the arm, knock off the pin from the inner CV cup and that is it. I guess it should have minimal impact on alignment (if any), and no need to remove the brakes or abs or anything else. with smoking brakes, and alone it took around 2h per CV. The only beast I see is to disconnect ball joint (either at the top or at the bottom). Anyways, after subi mechanic drove my car, he came to conclusion (unfortunate for me) that it is the torque converter clutch. See the follow up thread http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=625899

Hi All. After I cried before http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=72752, and now changed both front CVs to new ones (china made, but AC DELCO "approved") at once, vibration at 20mph remained. And actually within time it evolved into: at 20mph it is very prominent, especially if going uphill; vibration is present at any other speed when accelerating (ie putting more load), even at 70 or 80 mph (though less prominent higher the speed); at 20mph if going up to quite a steep heel you can feel/sound even bang-bang (not too loud but defintely smth hitting smth) if that vibrating condition is sustained for long enough Today, I've "rented" a mechanic from one of the local dealerships, and he 1. 100ft after driving start said "this car has no power" (this is LL Bean so 3L 6 cylinders and he has baja with 6 cyl, he says it flies... apparently I got used to be too gentle). And that the engine sounds fine (I also changed sparks plugs recently... How could they screw up such an easy job to do -- on 6 cyl it is quite a hand twisting task 2. 1mi after driving said "I think I know the problem" 3. after 2mi he said "it is the torque converter". Meanwhile I was blurbing that CVs got changed, that differential fluid was changed and I saw quite a bit of residue on the plug, etc so the first question how viable is that cause of vibration? is there any way to support or rule out torque converter (TC) as the cause? Another part of the question would be how viable is to replace the TC if I find a "friendly" garage with tranmission jack? (I guess I should not try to pull out whole engine assembly on this 3L monster...?) I've done occasional car fixes (now I think I can change CVs shafts with closed eyes): head gasket change on Dodge neon, crankshaft sliding bearing inserts replacement on Nissan, CVs on Subies, wjeel bearing on subi, and less involved ones (brakes etc). Since it was vibrating is there any bearing I should watch out and have it replaced? (I don't think that there is any, and I want to stay as far from taking AT apart -- asking just to make sure) Anything else which should be replaced (ie bought in advance along with TC) along the way of replacing TC? Front gasket (is there any bw AT and engine) I have read a bit on what to watch out and how to seat the converter properly (useful threads Seating the Torque Converter Properly http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=71493 , Torque Converter Question http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=71831, Amount of time/work involved in pulling auto tranny '98 OBW? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=71358) but before I try it remains the "dry knowledge" I'm sorry for too many questions at once but I would really appreciate the feedback.

Here are the pictures from pearlm30 Imho -- NAPA's one has simply deeper sitted axle within the SFJ outer race so the rubber boot is not stressed at all and positioned per instructions within the grove on the axle. non-NAPA's one clearly stretched the boot -- look at the 2nd rubber boot 'circle' (sorry can't find a word to use). Such 'longer' assembly might be benefitial and remove the noise since it pushes axle stub inside differential... I wonder if I should let some air get into my boots while the car is lifteed and they are stretched so they behave this way....

Wouldn't it be prominent then not only during acceleration (which is the problem reported in the thread) -- I would expect that vibration to be present while cruising as well.