I guess you're confident it isn't a wheel bearing ?

 

anyway, no one can say you didn't try!

Edited April 17, 20178 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

Since the clunking can only really be felt on the passenger's side, I removed the spindle assuming the wheel bearings on that side were bad.

Once I got that spindle on the bench, I could not detect any axial or radial play in the bearing and it turned smoothly, without any clunking or binding, so yeah, I assume that is still good.

I felt the driver's side wheel bearings as well while the spindle was still installed, both with and without an axle in the hub.  Turned smoothly without binding and no detectable axial or radial play in the bearing...

Did you check all the suspension bits, especially control arm bushings and strut tower bearings? I'm losing track...

You didn't learn anything if you didn't drive it! Put the new axles on it and drive it.

 

Just this weekend replaced a cv axle and intermediate shaft on my buddies accord because he had a vibration from 45-60mph. It got worse when accelerating. Splines in the intermediate shaft were worn and causing the inner axle joint (which plugs into the intermediate shaft) to wobble when under load. Replaced both, vibration gone.

Monday I drove my wife to her kickboxing class in the Forester.  It shook on the highway and made some popping/clunking noises during a tight 3-point turn in the parking lot.  As I drove home, I got the feeling that something was wrong with the front brakes.

 

When I got the car home I jacked it up and rotated the tires, but before I finished, I had a peek at the brakes.  Passenger's side front caliper had a piston that had locked up and was starting to eat the trailing edge of the inner pad.  I used a C-clamp to drive the piston back in and proceeded to NAPA for warranty replacement calipers and new pads.  No shaking.

 

The wife drove the car for work yesterday and reported no shaking and that the brakes didn't seem to be binding.

Today I will install the new calipers and pads up front and hopefully we can put this behind us.

 

Still no idea what the bearing clunk in the transmission is, or if it is still present (I think it is), but I need more seat time in that car.

Gary wrote:

"When I worked on a lot I always got the 2000+ axles they have better outer boots. Knock the tone ring off and they work in any older 1990s Subarus and 00-04 legacy and outback and compatible Forester and Impreza.

2005+ outback/legacy starts the newer tripod style axles."

 

Gary when youre saying knock the tone ring off you mean with a hammer?
The thing is when Ive been looking around at various locations to get them or brake parts too

I cant for the life of me figure out where the actual ABS ring is located. Do you need to make sure

to get ABS and AWD drive compatible or theyre all pretty much so?

Wondering I need at least one toot sweet.

Oh and one more thing is there a diffrence between the AT and MT shafts?

Thanks

Dan

Edited April 24, 20178 yr by 1997reduxe

Did not drive with the new axle installed, as the clunking had not changed.What has me concerned is that the clunking can only be clearly felt on the passenger's side.  Swapping axles side to side does not change this.

 

I understand that there will be lash built into the diff and can feel that when rotating the axle back and forth.  But the clunks are present while turning the axle through a continuous 400-or-so degrees of rotation, do I'm confident that I'm not feeling gear lash.

 

I should also note that the clunk I'm describing is more felt than heard.

 

The front end is still in the air with the suspension fully extended and the axles at maximum angle?

 

Maybe set the toe-in to zero (straight forward) and see if the clunk changes. If one control bushing was shot, maybe there is another. 

Is there any indication of any flat spot on one tire? I had a car once with loose bushings that skipped every wheel rotation and created a flatspot on the front right.

 

I also have a 99 forester with 200k. 

To close the loop on this thread I installed two SOA-reman'd front axles and this appears to have solved our issue.