A month ago I started getting a vibration at higher speeds in my 98 Legacy. At the time it was snowy and super cold so I thought maybe there was some ice build up or something causing it. Has since warmed up and it's still there with a back and forth wiggle in the steering wheel at low speeds. I don't remember anything that would have knocked the alignment out but that must be it? A year or so ago I changed all the tie rods and one of the ball joints, everything still seems tight. I had to get a new knuckle (came from a forester) and it seemed like it was slightly different but they didn't say anything when I had it aligned.

I went ahead and changed the other ball joint and wheel bearing the other day, and am thinking I will replace the wheel bearing in the used knuckle (my press was loaned out at the time so I just left the old one in there) but it doesn't feel like there is play in it. My main question: is there anything else I need to check that could be causing this in the steering/suspension that would be very expensive to replace? The rust is really starting to come through so I have to question every chunk of money I invest. After the wheel bearing I will need new tires and probably some brake work along with an alignment. Would love to just buy a newer one but I think we all know that waiting a little longer on the auto market is the best play if possible with prices and availability.

I just really don't want to put all this money in and then figure out I need a new rack and pinion or PS pump or something.

I had a similar problem and it actually turned out to be tires. Very likely a faulty steel belt. I'd replaced both front bearings and ball joints recently and I could not figure out what the problem was; until I finally got new tires and the problem was completely gone.

at the very least, get the tires rebalanced... you can try rotating them as well, see if the shaking changes location

dont mess with wheel bearings unless you are sure you need to..  doing it "just because" is a waste of time and money.

 

Friend had a 98 Legacy Outback sedan.  She had a shop do a bunch of front end work, bearings, rotors...

Turned out to be the rear disk brakes.  I had them turned and installed new pads.  I made sure the pins were free and greased.  Vibration went away!

 

Edited April 11, 20223 yr by lmdew

Check the wheels to see if a balancing-weight has flown-off. You can usually see some marks on the rim, where the missing weight was once located.

Thanks everybody. I had the front two tires re-balanced but he said they weren't way out, didn't seem to make any difference to me driving it. I wonder if it is a back tire (or brake) causing it, kinda thought about that. So far everything listed is pretty much what I figured would need replaced to get another year of it, and not some horror story about an expensive fix.

And I'm not exactly doing the wheel bearing just because. If I would have had my press handy I would have changed it when I got it from the junkyard. I just didn't like the feel at the time but wasn't going to wait. Now I am going to take it in for another alignment so might as well replace the last wear part on the front end rather than have to get it aligned again if it for sure goes bad in the near future. Since I changed everything not long ago feel like it should come apart easy, and I'll clean the brakes while I am in there too.

 

back tires can cause issues just as easily as fronts.

had a car with a similar vibration once, and it was a back wheel that had lost a weight.. rebalanced and good to go

 

5 hours ago, heartless said:

back tires can cause issues just as easily as fronts.

had a car with a similar vibration once, and it was a back wheel that had lost a weight.. rebalanced and good to go

 

Sadly that didn't work on mine, I tried that more than once. The tire was actually not round anymore due to a faulty steel belt. It was super noticeable under 10mph, but from 15mph to 50mph it was barely noticeable. Then again at 60mph it was terrible.

8 hours ago, laegion said:

Sadly that didn't work on mine, I tried that more than once. The tire was actually not round anymore due to a faulty steel belt. It was super noticeable under 10mph, but from 15mph to 50mph it was barely noticeable. Then again at 60mph it was terrible.

yeah, sometimes it goes that way.. I got lucky with that one.

even more so since i had a friend in the auto shop classes at the community college i think it cost me $5 to get it fixed, lol

the point is, start with simple stuff.. and go from there.

 

Edited April 13, 20223 yr by heartless