May 30, 200619 yr Hi. My 84 2wd 5-speed rustwagon now has reman axles on both sides, plus a new driver-side ball joint. I have 2 questions. 1) still have a vibration starting at 65 mph regardless of wheel/tire choice, increases with more speed.. I swear it's an old-fashioned shimmy (wheels slamming side-to-side) as I can feel it in the brake pedal as well. (NOT warped rotors!) It'll lessen or change depending on steering angle. Can this be caused by bad wheel alignment? 2) I've read in this forum that caster-camber aren't adjustable on these cars, yet I can move the top of the strut around if I loosen the 2 nuts securing the top to the body. Surely this will affect caster-camber? (Nothing in the Haynes manual on this subject) All comments welcome, people:confused:
May 31, 200619 yr I had a similer problem in another car I had.... I suspected that one or both of the reman cv shafts was causing a massive shudder. Short of a leap of faith this is a hard one to prove... On an other front... change the other ball joint. It might not be bad enough to poke and prod with a bar... but it could be enough to make the wheel go off center at times... Happened with my 87 GL. I couldnt prove I had a bad balljoint until I popped it out and checked it. Robert
May 31, 200619 yr The big rubber donuts on the leading rods (that go from control arm to the body near the tranny mounts) get old and allow fore-aft slop, allowing an oscillation to occur. Take a look at these, and replace them anyways if you have never done so.
May 31, 200619 yr Author Car is an 84 1800 cc bare-bones 5-speed wagon. This particular shake wasn't affected by the new driver-side axle and ball-joint. I'll check out the other tips today and report. Thanx people.
June 2, 200619 yr Author OK, toe-in was off some, camber on dr. side is maxed, pass. side in spec. Swapped tires back-to-front. Can't detect any play in leading rod bushings but I may not have wiggled them the right way. Alignment guy said the shake would almost always be tire/wheel related as both ball joints are tight and no looseness detected elsewhere.(All 4 tires are worn on the outside tread, and the rims are very rusty) The shake is much less noticeable now, and not until 120 kmh (75 mph). So I guess I'll live with it until a set of wheels and tires falls into my lap. Any comments?
June 2, 200619 yr Its the 2wd model problems. The front stayed 4x4, the back didn't. Coincidentally I just found a fix for mine today for 5 bucks... same problems. rather than explain check this quick explanation out.. http://93loyale.50megs.com/clock.html
June 2, 200619 yr Author bgd73, interesting tip, but the rump roast end of Mr. Rusto already sits up higher than the front. So I don't think I wanna drop it any more.
June 2, 200619 yr you said your camber was messed up on one side. I'd look at your struts. sounds like you may have bent a strut or a strut tower. I say this because these types of subarus dont have adjustable camber on them, unless you have the adjustable shocks and the bad side was cranked all the way up and the other side was left stock. Even with adjustable shocks your camber shouldnt be that far off. As for checking the leading rod, jack the front off the ground and shake the tire front to back an check for movement. it shouldnt move at all. All subarus tend to wear out the outer edge of the tires first due to IFS. Just like the Ford twin traction beam front suspension.
June 4, 200619 yr Author Thanx to all. It's sorted out about as well as can be with the crappy tires/wheels plus I found an 85 4wd/4speed hatch without rust (imagine !!) that might wind up as a replacement. Time to wheel and deal!
June 4, 200619 yr I've noticed how the front tires like to tuck toe-in on hard acceleration(burnout). That may be why I've worn the outter tread real bad on my '80.
June 4, 200619 yr hey! The 84 2wd has no fix. Aren't I optimistic! The loyale bodys did something a little better, but even then the 2wd wagons around here bent/twisted the body near the shifter (roof too long?). If your lucky the 20 year body is petrified and you can defy Subaru's logic to get what you want for awhile.... Have a great crappy day!
June 4, 200619 yr your camber changes to more positive also causing this wear pattern. under hard acceleration your car lifts the front up and transfer your weight to the rear which in turn allows you to spin the tires(or burnout) easily, if you didn't have this weight transfer and all your weight stayed on the front you would be able to do this very easily if at all depending on your power output. I've noticed how the front tires like to tuck toe-in on hard acceleration(burnout). That may be why I've worn the outter tread real bad on my '80.
June 4, 200619 yr Outside edge tread wear is almost always due to bad ball joints. In a turn the looseness in the ball joint allows the force on the tire to tuck it under slightly on turns - causing the tire to ride up on it's edge. GD
June 5, 200619 yr outside edge wear is not always associated with just bad balljoints, it is also associated with bad tie-rods and also bad alignment.
June 5, 200619 yr sorry, subarus aren't the only vehicles with outer tire wear but bad parts aren't the only things that cause it that. newer subarus with all wheel drive also have outer tire wear issues too so its not just the old ones.
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