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All seem tight. I'm at a loss. CV shafts, joints all seem good, no leaks or tears in boots, new wheel bearing, no excessive play anywhere, no metal in front diff fluid, shifts smooth, brakes not rubbing, heat shields not rubbing/rattling. Off to the shop it goes on Monday, I guess. This is the first time ever a car has had me this stumped.

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I'm still betting it's something rattling and vibrating intensely at certain engine or road speeds. I know on mine I ended up having several of the heat shields that were physically tight, banging on the pipe made no noise, and were not detectable otherwise by 2 different mechanics as well as myself when it was up on a lift. Wasn't until a fluke where it finally rattled while parked that I caught the one, and the other didn't make noise until the passenger rear door was shut hard. Even the weird zinging sound was actually a shield though it sounded NOTHING like a shield (guessing either wind under car caused turbulence, which caused to the shield to vibrate quickly while barely touching the pipe, or the engine/drivetrain is transmitting a certain vibration frequency or something that's caused it ). Even after worm clamping the one, it still made some noise and needs a 2nd clamp. PITA.

 

Just remember, wherever you take it, tell them something like "A heat shield is rattling at speed and you have no idea which one it is". If it's actually the trans or something else, let them figure it out. Would hate to see you go in saying "you think the trans is bad" when it's just a shield and they decide to replace a 40k mile trans that isn't bad and you get stuck paying a couple grand for an unneeded repair. I also wouldn't mention the the stuff you just replaced either. Some mechanics, if they think you are clueless, can and will make stuff up thinking you don't know any better. Largely dependent on how aggressive their sales quota or greed is.

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Any recommendations of where to look for man trans used? Took it in yesterday, mechanic didn't charge me to drive it or anything, he's a friends cousin. The noise has progressed to a loud whine under load, he immediately said its in the trans/front diff, and had another mechanic drive it to double check. I figure he checked it for free, refused to pull it apart and figure out the exact problem due to expense (but thinks the noise is an output speed noise), and gave me a contact for parts, didn't even mention me having to bring it back, he's probably legit. He's not making a dime on it. He gave me a number for a place to price out used trans, just wonder if y'all know of any good online resources to price one out as well.

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That really stinks. Still surprised with that mileage something like that failing. Anyways, try car-part.com. You'll see widely differing prices, of which the actual price doesn't mean one is necessarily better than the other. There's a local yard near me that's been around forever and they regularly charge 2-5+ times MORE than others. Best yards to buy from are ones that do high volume, meaning they get a car, strip it down, crush body, then store parts indoors or under cover. They can afford to sell at better prices than a yard that sits on a car for a year. Other option is get yours rebuilt, though the price may vary wildly depending on where you go.

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Thank you, I'll check it out. I'm calling another friend's Subaru mechanic on Monday, see if I can get some confirmation on this before buying the trans. He's 250 miles away, so it'll all be by phone, but we'll see how it goes. Trying to get the dealership to help with the expense of repairs, but all they want to do is trade it in for me. 3 months after purchase, you'd think they'd be willing to do SOMETHING, but that's what I get for buying from Lithia...

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You only had this for 3 months before this failed? Did they sell it "as-is"? Take it the factory warranty isn't applicable anymore? You might want to look into local lemon laws if the expense to repair/replace gets really high. Did you happen to look at the car fax for this? Has it been in an accident or flooded? Just thinking if it'd been partially submerged at some point, and water was able to get past a seal, or maybe it's not original, etc. Just shooting from hip here, but you never know. Might be worth checking out it's past as it might save you from a potentially expensive repair. If you guys can do the trans swap yourself, it'll be the most cost effective way if you are forced to pay out of pocket. Even if you have to run to Auto Zone and spend $100 in basic hand tools like 1/2" breaker, 1/2" ratchet, 14mm-18mm 1/2" sockets, etc. If it's just a trans swap, it'd be easy to do and can save $1500+. Good luck!

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Yeah, I bought the car on July 31, it had 31700 miles on it. Lithia had a 3 month, 3000 mile "used car warranty" on it, but I was out of miles. It started having issues October 28, 3 days shy of time expiring but the mileage had expired the warranty. I'm still trying to get them to help with the cost of the trans, but not holding my breath. They are notorious for being crappy to their customers (I can say this, I worked for them for 5 years). So far, the only thing they've offered is to let me trade it in on something else, but I have to eat the negative equity. I told them to shove it and try again. For a wheel bearing and transmission to go bad so quickly, and the fact that the carrier bearing in the rear driveline is going bad, I'm doubting they really did a thorough inspection when the car came in to the them. They gave me a carfax, no accidents or anything else on it, all was clear. Waiting on the Subaru mechanic regarding the trans needing replaced, and I'll go from there. Won't be replacing the trans till after Christmas, so the car will sit. If mechanic thinks it might be something cheaper, I'll repair it sooner. Thanks again for all the advice regarding this. I really love this car, but am so disappointed in this. I did so much research before deciding on a Subaru, and most of that decision was based on great consumer reviews and very few common repairs required (unlike Dodge, Ford, etc, with well known expensive issues). Anywho, I do appreciate all the input, and my baby will be back on the road regardless in a month or so! In the meantime, back to driving my fuel guzzling F350...

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I'd seriously look into local lemon laws as you might be able to get a full refund and get out from under it, then look for another identical model w/o the problems. They sold the car with a minor warranty, so it's definitely not an "as-is" vehicle. Considering the low mileage and the severity + cost of the repairs it's needing WAY prematurely, it's possible it's a bonafide lemon, meaning it'll probably have something constantly failing on it. Now a rear bearing is going bad? No offense, but "loving" a car that's racking up a ton of expensive repairs that aren't typically common with a car that's still technically "new" with 30k miles, is a major headache that will only get worse and deplete your hard-earned savings. Maybe it's had wrong or mismatched parts installed in the drive line after a minor, unreported accident and was sold/traded-in before any issues manifested? Maybe it was constantly breaking down for the previous owner and now it's passed on to you..... 

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No lemon law on used cars in Montana, and none of the recalls are applicable to this particular car. Thanks for the research time tho. All else fails, I'll fix it, sell it, and buy something else, NOT from Lithia. I can't afford to take the hit on selling it as is right now. I'm beginning to think the dealer probably poured some Lucas in it or something and sent it on it's way, no way it could've gone from good to bad that fast. Live and learn, I suppose. 2 more months and I can send it on down the road...

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That's really AWESOME! I was wondering about the factory warranty, but figured it wasn't viable due to age or something. That's a long trek to drive, but I'm sure there's a rental car place near there if you are forced to drive it. I had mine towed from the PO's home (about 50 miles south from me) as it wasn't road worthy at the time. First tow truck place wanted $350 0_o to flat bed it to me. Second place I called wanted $150 so went that route. So you can expect to pay a TON of $$$ if they are greedy. Since it'll need fixed anyways, I'd drive it to them rather than get stuck footing a ridiculous tow bill if they won't cover it. Worse case it makes it most of the way and the overall tow would be much less, though I suspect it'll make the trip if it's just starting to fail. GL

 

 

Another option would be renting a small truck/van and car dolly from U-Haul (remember it's AWD though, so find out what's need to make it safe to tow that way, if possible). If you have a vehicle with a hitch, it'd be WAY cheaper as a dolly is cheap to rent and isn't affected by mileage. If the vehicle is more robust, you can rent an actual trailer from them.

Edited by Bushwick
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Luckily, my second vehicle is a Ford F350. :-) I'll make the hubs tow it over to get it taken care of. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. All this craziness trying to deal with it on my own and a 10 minute phone call was all it took. Only experiences I've had with vehicles just out of warranty were dodges and I never got anywhere, so I didn't figure I'd have any luck. The Subaru mechanic I called for a second opinion automatically said definitely the front diff, call Subaru, they'll probably surprise you. He was right!

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An update... Car had front diff rebuilt in 2010, not reported on the car fax. Tech dropped trans, front diff gears completely seized inside the case. Can't even get parts out of extension housing. Trans full of metal shavings and partially seized. New/reman trans is on backorder with no ETA. Dealer had initially talked rebuild, but the tech refused due to the extent of the damage. I am driving a 2014 Forester (provided by dealer at no charge) til my car gets fixed. As pissed as I am that it broke, everything the Subaru of America has done to help has me sold on Subaru for life. Dealer is hoping to get my car back to me shortly after the first of the year, but no guarantees.

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