bluebird Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Hi, I just bought another Subaru Wagon, number 7 over the past 20 years some for me some for my wife. This one is a 1999 Outback wagon Limited with 104,000 with automatic trans. I’m going to be selling my 1992 that has 240,000 miles on it. It is a nice clean car but it has a little vibration when you slightly accelerate. For example if you are in traffic and going about 30 and the traffic begins to move as you gently accelerate I feel a vibration. I can’t tell if it is the engine missing or something in the drive train. Inner cv joint perhaps? Once you reach a new crossing speed there is no vibration at all. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. I have always received good advice here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x_25 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Is this vibration a slight one at around 2,000-2,500 rpm? If so my '99 outback soes the same thing and it has never been a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Little vibrations like that are hard to diagnose. Like you say, it could be a CV joint, maybe some wear on a wheel bearing, maybe needs plugs and wires, or a tire with a minor problem. Sometimes, it is just better to live with a minor problem like that, until it gets worse to the point that it is easy to diagnose, and repair. Like you, I recently bought a '99 Legacy Outback wagon. It ran fairly well, but I didn't know how many miles were on the spark plugs and wires. So, I replaced them myself. Turned out the original plugs and wires were still on the car at 149K miles. Changing these items, made the car run better, and gas milage increased a little. You may want to do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 CV's would be my first guess but there are plenty of possibilities. check the CV axles first. first look for grease leaking or a broken boot (particularly check the inner side - they seem to cause vibrations more than the outer). then try and see if the axles have been worked on or replaced before. ways you can tell: grease from the old axle slung up on the walls/exhaust/back of the motor, one axle looks different from the other, one boot looks newer than the other (if they just rebooted one). in the event that it is the axle boot you do want to replace this as soon as possible. i thought it didn't matter last year either.....of course i'll admit mine was really bad, but anyway it ended up breaking the speedometer gear inside the differential. the nice thing about that little speedo gear is that it essentially requires a transmission replacement to fix...because swapping a trans is easier than rebuilding the front differential. since last year i picked up a 97 Legacy that had the same thing happen to it. keep that 240k legacy for when the 99 looses it's headgaskets. you won't likely find it quite as easy to make 240,000 miles with this one. the last three i picked up all lost theirs - 80,000/146,000/121,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Try and shake the front CV's inner and outer if you notice quiete a bit of play, that can definitely be the problem my 93 is the same way and my inners have alot of play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 A vague vibration can be hard to find. When was the last time the tranny fluid was changed? This might help. Chaining ther tranny fluid can clear up some weird issues that cant be explained. You are also due for a timing belt. If you are absoloutly sure this is an engine vibration and not a driveline vibration, check the tranny and engine mounts. If your not sure, check the CV joints, and carrier bearing and universal joints. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Indeed: These vibrations can be really hard to track down. Mine does the very same as yours. About a month ago shop #1 recommended I take it to a Transmission shop, because to them it felt like, "torque converter." I took it to transmission shop #2 which then looked over and test drove to inform me it was,"in the engine." It spent two weeks at shop #3 where this very knowledgeable mechanic, could not find anything significantly wrong, though he did mention there was some,"play in the drive shaft." And something about the Splines at the end of the drive shaft looked worn. Even this he said," might not be the cause." I had the fuel injectors replaced because they were do for it anyway, moreover, it helped the performance dramatically, but did nothing to eliminate the vibration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Sometimes when one tire gets a little low in airp pressure i get this vibration. (just happened today) nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebird Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Hi, Thanks for all the responses. I checked the tire pressure this morning hoping to find a low one but not to be, all were right at 30 lbs. When I bought the car last week I was given a two inch thick stack of maintenance receipts. I spent some time this morning going over them and here are some highlights which seem to indicate that some of the ideas suggested have already been taken care fairly recently. 80,000 1/10/06 Timing belt water pump etc 83,000 3/26/06 Right axle 97,000 1/05/07 Left axle Also plugs and wires and front and rear brakes 99,000 3/29/07 changed trans fluid used Mobil synthetic 102,000 5/31/07 Head gaskets to the tune of $2900.00 Current mileage 104,000, I only paid $3900.00 for this car so I’m thinking I got a good buy even with my vibration problem. This car has had a ton of work done on it these are just the highlights not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I was heading toward inner cv joints as the cause of my vibration problem but now not sure since both axles have been done within 20,000 miles or so. I have noticed that the vibration seems to be getting worse each day. Any other ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 check the main pully/vibration damper. Make sure its NOT wobbling. Sometimes things have to get worse in order to diagnose them. I have a theory about CV joints/ vibaruion ill share another day, back hurts too much right now to type a lot. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 but now not sure since both axles have been done within 20,000 miles or so. are they Subaru or not Subaru axles? if they are not Subaru axles then it doesn't matter, new aftermarket axles are CRAP. i've seen brand new ones blow to pieces after one week and there's no shortage of threads on here about vibrations/problems with aftermarket axles. but of course there are other possibilities. $2,900 for a headgasket job. most dealers charges $1,100 - $1,600 for that, i would avoid whatever shop that receipt is from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Hi,Current mileage 104,000, I only paid $3900.00 for this car so I’m thinking I got a good buy even with my vibration problem. i agree a great buy.!! my advice, drive the everliving crap out of it. sooner or later the problem will become obvious. no, don't ignore the symptoms, and always check to be sure it's safe. but for the price you paid, ENJOY. it may not break for 20k miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheercr Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 I found my front crank pulley came loose after my wife complained of vibration in the car.When I took it off the key way was egged out half way around the pulley.I went to the junk yard for a used one($50) and the man said he has seen quite a few with the same problem.Torque on the crank bolt is 100ft.lbs. and I used some locktite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmwood22 Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I have the same issue, with the exact same year and model. I have had the car since 28k (it did it at this mileage) and it now has 106k (it still does it), put this on in 4yrs and never a problem. Great buy and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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