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Main event: Parked the car until this morning. O/S temps about 50-55F. Started up to go to work, and wow what a noise! A very loud TAP TAP TAP, concurrent with engine RPM. Engine off, visual inspection under the hood, nothing amiss. Restart, same noise sounding like it was coming from the top end, but now, ever so slightly quieter. Still nothing visual. No bad smoke out the tailpipe. No big bad puddles under the car. All fluid levels WNL. At about 2 minutes, a definite fade in volume. Left for work, and within 6 blocks of home the noise was gone, and did not re-occur on my 6-mile commute, including a brief stint on the freeway.
Now what? Did I not let it run long enough to circulate sufficient oil after my LOF? (It's never been THAT noisy after an oil change before). Is it the dreaded cold piston slap? (didn't think it was THAT loud, from all the stories I've heard) Could it be related to the timing belt/water pump replacement of 2+ weeks ago? (it's been running fine in the interim)
I'm going to try to start it again in a few, perhaps within the editing window of this post. Stand by....
Cheers!
Paul
Edit/Postscript: 2pm, 90F, been sitting 6+ hours, started & idled fine, no untoward noises. The gremlins have struck & escaped again!
pdh
I'm kinda new here and not very car savvy. I have a 1997 Sube Impreza Outback [sport] wagon. When I turn at slow speeds, my wheels slip and I get a loud chugging noise. I've been told I need to have my rear differential re-built. How much will this set me back? Should I go to a dealer for it?
Also when I accelerate, it sounds like Chewbaca is under my hood. It's especailly loud in cold weather. And I have a knocking noise somewhere in the front of the car - can't tell where it's coming from.
I assume these are 3 pretty expensive problems. I just got married and bought a house over the last few months so I'd rather not take on a car payment at this time. And scraping together change for all these fixes is going to be painful.
Any advice?
In advance, thanks!
Common Subaru problem.
~Colin
Just looking for a simple back rack for two mountain bikes that just go right onto the stock rack and rails. Is that possible or do I need all these other attachments?
The Chewbacca issue - just like Chewbacca or is it a squeal? Does it happen any time you increase the speed of the engine, or only when in gear? I guess I want to say maybe a loose belt, but maybe you have one or more idler pulley bearings going out or something...
Knocking noise. Probably not good. It is terribly loud, or more a "ticking?" Is it constant speed, or engine-speed dependent? And, does it get louder with speed?
If all of these require repair, I would estimate that a shop would charge upward of $1,500 or more, but this is just a shot in the dark.
Out of curiosity, how many miles on the car, and is it auto or manual?
-Wes-
-juice
I helped you remove the broken old ones and put these on, and you were nice enough to come to these boards and publicly thank me.
They look like this, do you still have them?
As for the rear diff, who gave you that diagnosis? It's not common for diffs to fail. I would try change the gear oil first, if it's original the fluid is gone by now anyway. It takes one quart of 75w90 GL-5 gear oil.
There are two bolts on the back of the diff. Remove the top one first, that is the fill hole. Then remove the bottom, and the old fluid will drain out. Replace the bottom drain plug, add one quart of gear oil (you may need a hand-held oil pump to do this, I purchased one), and then replace the top fill plug.
It's not as hard as it sounds. I'd try that before agreeing to replace anything.
Isolate one noise at a time, that should make life easier. Do you have a handy dad or boyfriend to help out?
-juice
Cheers!
Paul
LOL. Juice, you should re-read the post. You would find that last question quite chuckle-able....... :P
by then, you probably better replace it before a cam pulley jumps the belt a tooth or two.
~Colin
Cheers!
Paul
This site helped me figure it out. I did this first on my Miata, but the Subaru was nearly the same.
http://miata.net/garage/trans/13.htm
View pages 13 to 17 for the full rear diff fluid swap.
-juice
Nice to talk to you again. The Internet sure makes the world smaller. Yes, my hubcaps are still and looking great. As you can tell from my post, my car has been through a lot since you put those things on. Your rubber mallet really did the trick.
Yes, I do have a husband to help (that's weird for me to say - it's only been 2 months). He's been researching a little online too. In fact, he found that we can add a fuse/circuit of some sort to turn off the AWD so I'm just running on FWD. He consulted with a gear head friend of his to make sure that wouldn't cause damage and they thought it would be okay. Your thoughts?
We already replaced the grease with no luck. It really shudders when I turn from a stop...like my morning U-turn every day. After learning how a rear diff works, it seems like a fitting diagnosis...although one given by friends and my dad, not a professional.
As for the other noises...I think I need to scrape up some cash and go to the garage. My dad thinks the Chewbacca noise is a bad lifter. Not sure how much that will set me back.
Poor Matilda (yes, I named my Sube) is having a rough summer.
Thanks again!!!
-Cory
Thanks for your reply. I just replied to Juice below as well. My car has 115k miles on it. And yes, the shuddering noise is coming from the rear. My husband found some info. online yesterday saying we can add a fuse/circuit(?) to disable the AWD. Have you ever tried that? The Sube website recommends it for when you're running on a doughnut or being towed. I guess some people have tried to do it to improve fuel economy, but without much success. So I guess it wouldn't hurt to try?
My dad thinks the Wookiee under my hood is a bad lifter. Sorry, I forgot that in my first post. Any way around that? If I ignore it, will it cause major damage?
I'll have to isolate the knocking noise. It's not too loud. I notice it more when I'm at highway speeds. I just can't tell where it's coming from.
Sounds like I need to get out the credit card and go to the garage. Ouch! Bad timing with wedding and new house all in the same summer.
Thanks again!!!
-Cory
If that doesn't fix it, and the fluid is new, the diff is probably bad. Was there metal flakes in the gear oil you drained out?
The FWD fuse trick will not help you - that's for automatic transmissions only.
I would not recommend doing that for long-term use anyway. It's meant for temporary, short-term situations like when you get a flat tire.
-juice
Would it be okay to do that until I can save up some $$?
We'll try the Figure 8. However it's been like this for years. I just dismissed it until it got so loud that passengers started to comment. I'll ask about the metal flakes. Hubby changed the fluid for me.
THANKS!!
-juice
-Cory
~Colin
In the Subaru Crew threads we once shared recipes for hash browns.
-juice
Did you cook the hash browns by the heat of your engine?
I'll be around. As my car gets older, I learn more and more.
Happy Wednesday and thanks again!
-c
So, you mention the problem as most noticable when taking a tight corner and from a stop. So, I have to ask more questions (ugh, one would think I could actually be helpful once in a while!). Does it cause a grinding and/or squealing of tires, or is it a "thudding" sound that eminates from under the car? If the first, then differential, if the second, then it is the main bearing on the drive shaft... and that is a MUCH simpler repair! The part consists of the front half of the drive shaft with an attached bearing and bushing (about $400-500 new, half that used) and takes about 2 hours to replace (and is very simple). I put a used one on mine (had the problem at 83K miles) and no problems since (at 213K now).
The lifter - a tough one to reach, as you have to remove the camshaft to get to it. And, to get to the camshaft, you have to tear the front end of the engine down like you are replacing the timing belt.... plus a little. The good news is that if you have NOT replaced the timing belt yet, then that is past due so you have just double-up efforts which is always a good thing. The lifter itself is a snap to replace, just have to look beyond the 3-5 hours of labor surrounding it!
I should probably note that if yours has the 2.5L DOHC and a lifter really is bad, you will likely want to replace all 8 of them on the offending side of the engine unless you can isolate the bad lifter to more precision...
-Wes-
Yes. This is quite fun. I sorta feel like I'm on Klick & Klack or something.
The thudding only comes from the back of the car. No squealing to report. Feels like something is slipping. In fact, in the beginning I just thought I bought bad tires. So that means it could be the bearing on the drive shaft?? Interensting. First I've heard of that possiblity.
For the lifter, that sounds yucky. I did have the timing belt replaced a few years ago. Didn't have the dough to take care of the water pump though so if I have someone go in the fix the lifter, sounds like I should get the pump taken care of too. What happens if I ignore the lifter? Am I going to blow up? :P I'm pretty sure I have a 2.2 litre engine.
Sounds like I need to start looking for recommendations for a good auto shop. Haven't used one since I moved back to Milwaukee...
Thanks again!
-Cory
-juice
Brenda
-juice
SoifyouwanttolearntotypeFASTlikeBren,showuptonight!
Phil
True, even though I was the one that passed on the advice from the Subaru techies. LOL
-juice
Craig
I just had the 90k service done on my reliable 2000 OB Ltd Wagon. I hope to keep this car for quite a while and was wondering about the following. Living in sunny California, the sun beats on the rubber seals around the doors/windows. Since the Soobie has frameless windows, it is imperative that these rubber seals remain supple and close well against the windows. Anybody here have any suggestions on what to do to keep the rubber 'young'? (I guess I have the same question for our 2002 Forester)
Any Bay Area Subaru owners have positive experiences with a non-dealer maintaining their Subaru? Although I was able to cash in a lot of Subaru bucks, the 90k service was pretty expensive. Esp. considering that they don't really replace/fix that much. It's a lot of 'check this/check that'.
Thanks!!
I ordered it from one of the online Honda parts dealers, and it was less than $10 for a large tube.
Craig
I'd love to hear anyone's ideas for where the water is coming from.
THANKS!
-Dave
Just read an article in the WSJ this morning about the Fisherman in Montauk NY who had horror stories about the sludge this stuff creates in engines.
Of course it is politically correct to buy it and a tremendous boondoggle for the farmers (who need another subsidy like a hole in the head). Plus it kills mpg.
I frequently drive to NY and Florida and would be interested in knowing if this is the case everywhere. Is E-10 being jammed down everyone's throats?
I found this forum and am writing as my subaru outback llbean edition 2001 3.0 ltr wagon was just diagnosed as needing a new transmission. the repair will cost 3500. i am still in shock. the car has 133k miles on it but both my father and i have been religious in caring for it with regular servicing and repairs for relatively minor sounds/issues.
i noticed a soft hmming sound during accelerateion. end of June, took it to the dealership and an independent shop and both said the noise i noticed was minor, they would check again at a later time. the check engine was on, then went off on its own, came back on briefly for 2 days (after repairs for oil leaks) then went off again. The sound became louder and the car was not driving well, brought it in, and need a new transmission.
is this to be expected (mostly highway miles)? is there anything i can do limit the expense (both dealer and independent service came in with same estimate?). im really disappointed and frustrated and would appreciate advise.
independent place suggested that by not draining the pan when changing transmission fluid, you increase likelihood of transmission problems as sediment stays in system. said that this draining is not normal part of dealership maintenance.
also noticed there was a recall item related to transmission and my dad said that this recall was not performed on this car, unless it was done without his knowledge.
thanks for your help.
I also have tried using non-ethanol premium a few times (you can find it if you look) and noticed no appreciable difference in MPG.
-Brian
As to killing the mpg, there's some truth to that, but that's temporarily. It's like cold turkey treatment for the engine running on only MTBE [that were jammed down our throats, so to speak] and then suddenly deprived. The ECU eventually adjust.
-Dave
By the way, the only recall I know of was for the park-rod (locks the car in place when in park) but that probably has nothing to do with your current issues.