New to forum! Thanks for all the great information. I am a new Subaru owner so I am learning much from the forum. I also have my first problem... I have a 2002 Outback Station Wagon, 5-spd Man. Trans, 2.5L with 70,000 miles. For the first couple miles of driving the car each morning, there is a very noticeable shuddering in the car when you let out the clutch in first gear while turning (both left and right). It doesn't seem to happen if I am not turning (i.e. going straight from a stop instead of turning) and it doesn't happen after a few miles of driving. The shaking seems to be coming from the right side of the car although I cannot pinpoint front or rear. The tires are almost new (less than 6K miles).

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Tim

It sounds liike, that when cold the 4wd is engaged. Is the car figting you on hard turns (steering wheel fully locked).

There is (or was) a fuse under the hood marked 4wd. Read under "tonwing" in your owners manual what to do to dis engage the 4wd (inserting a spare fuse in this i think).

Let the car sit overnight then drive it. If the shudder goes away, its your 4wd enganing. Leave the fuse in and get it to a dealer before it chews itself up.

 

nipper

He said its a 5 speed, there is no fuse on these. It does sound kind of like the binding issues some auto's have when they have been running miss matched tires for a long time. It also may just be Subaru clutch chatter but I dont see how that could be related to turning.

AH i didnt catch the auto/manual part.

 

How about mismatched tires, or for a weird longshot, an underinflated tire.

 

nipper

possibly worn tie rod ends.... or bad bearings.

 

jack the car up and check em...

 

(wiggle the wheel, check for play.)

 

Jamie

hrmmmm ... coming from the same side when cold weather turning left or right in first gear.

Have you tried starting off from second gear?

Could it be a motormount going bad? Rubber is hard when cold and soft when warm. ANother possability is a binding cv joint that gets better as the grease starts flowing. Check the cv boots to see if they are cracked.

What ever it is these things do have a way of letting you know exactly what they are with time.

 

nipper

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions! I will attempt some of the troubleshooting and post an update when/if I get the problem solved.

 

Kind Regards,

Tim

I had the same problem with my 02 Outback MT only the shudder was not limited to turns but it only happens for the first few miles each morning. The problem was the clutch, there is a TSB on this. Since I have 40k miles my local Subaru dealership fixed the problem under the engine/drivetrain warrantee.