Ben (93 spfi auto fwd) had a bad drivers side axle. Rebuilt an old one I recently replaced on my GL and swapped that in. I've got a left/right wobble in the steering wheel now. Anybody got any ideas?

Key points;

My GL did not exhibit this wobble when this axle was being used.

Ball joints and tie rods/ends were replaced a year ago. They are still in good condition.

I matched tire pressure on every corner to 30 psi. Wobble still there but a little less evident.

This is a low speed wobble. Haven't been on the highway yet to see higher speeds.

Steering wheel stops wobbling under heavy braking.

Car tracks straight.

Idk! I'm lost on this. I'm thinking either my alignment is off or the axle is causing it.

Fix one thing and something else happens just to keep me on my toes, oh Subarus lol

Thanks for any ideas. Happy Christmas folks!

By grabbing the front tire and attempting to twist it, does it move?  Wait for the vehicle to be stationary before attempting this procedure. 

By twist you mean push on one side pull on the other right? No abnormal play there. Tie rods nice and firm, ball joints also. No wheel bearing slop. Everything is good. Makes no sense :/

Still have quite a shimmy. Bumping for ideas

Your tires may be out of round/balance.Or even unseen tread separation. You can try rotating the fronts to the rear. Happy Christmas and good luck!

Edited December 24, 201312 yr by 81EA81

 hi,

  i usually suspect tires but you can do a couple of easy tests, check that the big axle nut has remained tight since the axle replacement, sometimes they seat-in and need a retighten.  if that  does not do anything for it,  swap the front tires for a different pair to see if that does anything,  if neither of these have effect , then i would begin to suspect the axle you put in has a spot that is binding  a little as it rotates.  

Coming back to this thread to confirm;

Bad tire on the front driver's side, as suggested twice above. $30 on a used tire and problem solved.

No more wobble! (it was BAD too!)