Ok this is no huge deal,,

 

96 2.2 eat wagon

 

Car runs great.

 

I just notice when im sitting at idle in gear.. like in a drive thru,  The car feels a little rough .

If I put it in neutral,, it goes away and idles quietly/normally.

 

Any suggestion?   Is it normal?   Just wondering what you would do.

 

Thanks

Replace CV axle.

ok that's not what I was expecting...  I know where my cv joints are and the axles attach to the wheels.   but im talking about sitting still at mcdonalds..

Edited February 1, 201511 yr by xdeadeye1

Both CV joints and the axle shaft between each end, are reffered to as a whole as a "CV axle"  or also sometimes a "CV half shaft"  as opposed to a "solid axle"

 

Force is being trasmitted through the CV joint, through the axle, to the wheel......and there being held by the brakes......this keeps the whole system under load.......the vibration of the motor is no longer isolated to the engine mounts rubber, but now being transfered through more components around the whole car (struts, trans mounts, a-arm bushings)

 

this makes the vibration you feel while stopped in gear.

 

Not excactly sure why subarus do it more than other types.....could be steeper CV angles....but I think it's something to do with the equal length axles.

 

New axles can help......or other times the problem developes after an axles is changed.  But for certain the issue is very much related to the axles.

 

I've got a little bit of this in the H6 LL bean.......I just shift to "N" when stopped.

Live with it, put it in "N" if you want.

ok thanks guys.  / end

Sorry bringing this thread back... Subarus do it because the engine sits longitudinally so the engine vibration is transmitting side to side directly through the axle shaft. If the axles don't have much grease in them, the axle will transmit the vibration through the shaft because the inner joint isn't sliding in and out of the cup with each rotation of the engine. Replace the axles with a HIGH QUALITY axle or regrease them. However, the fact it goes away when you put it in neutral tells me you may need engine or transmission mounts.

Could be an engine mount.