1996 Legacy Wagon 2.2L 173K miles 5 spd AWD

 

This is new to me by about 2 weeks.

(Read another thread that mentioned tires)

Drove the freeway twice and seems good until 70 mph

then it feels like wheels are out of balance or something.

Seems to be mostly right front, left front was low on air

when I got it and didn't get a chance to air up right away.

 

What is the diagnosis?

Anyone recommend a mechanic in Orange County, CA?

Could most likely be the tires being out of balance or worn out.

worn out tires cause vibration

1996 Legacy Wagon 2.2L 173K miles 5 spd AWD

 

This is new to me by about 2 weeks.

(Read another thread that mentioned tires)

Drove the freeway twice and seems good until 70 mph

then it feels like wheels are out of balance or something.

Seems to be mostly right front, left front was low on air

when I got it and didn't get a chance to air up right away.

 

What is the diagnosis?

Anyone recommend a mechanic in Orange County, CA?

I'm going with wheels are out of balance since something doesn't really kick in until you're going much faster.

Try swapping tires front to rear?

Exactly the symptoms on my car, turned out to be out of balance tire. Check wear, tire pressure and then wheel balance.

IM going with tires/wheels for now. Now if the point where the vibration starts starts dropping, you have to look at wheel bearings or the carrier bearing.

 

nipper

That was my first impression (Wheels/tires), but with this being

my first awd, I wanted to be sure there wasn't something else

to look for.

 

Thanks guys

1996 Legacy Wagon 2.2L 173K miles 5 spd AWD

 

This is new to me by about 2 weeks.

(Read another thread that mentioned tires)

Drove the freeway twice and seems good until 70 mph

then it feels like wheels are out of balance or something.

Seems to be mostly right front, left front was low on air

when I got it and didn't get a chance to air up right away.

 

What is the diagnosis?

Anyone recommend a mechanic in Orange County, CA?

 

I travel upaved roads every day in rural Iowa. When it is real muddy the mud (and sometimes wet snow) will build up on the inside of the wheels throwing the tires off balance. I can feel the car vibrate at highway speeds; sometimes starting at about 50 mph but more often at starting at higher speeds. It seems to depend on how much mud is built up inside the wheels. I carry a large screwdriver in the car that I use to scrap the mud or snow out of the wheels. More often than not this was the problem.

i know that a guy told me once that you should have all four of the same wear (and of course size) etc tires on these subarus. i used to buy used tires for a while when i had no money, so they were of all wear status, all same size, and had all kinds of noise and vibes.

when i finally got around to buying my wonderful michelin hydroedges, all matching, most of the noises went away. now i can concentrate on the really serious stuff.

Yes, check wheel balance, but first check to see there is no crap built up in the inside of the wheels. In winter conditions, I got a lot of buildup in the insides of the wheels. Dirt, mud, water, sand, salt residue coated the inside of the rims, creating a sticky mess. I used the pressure washer at the local car wash to get the stuff out.

 

matt