Subaru Outback Vibration

CruisnGrrl

CruisnGrrl

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I get a lot of vibration with my 2001 Subaru in 3 speed ranges. around 50-55km/h, 65-80km/h and then 102-125km/h.

2.0L 4 speed auto.

210,000km on the car, it had done it mildly through one range when I first got the car last year with 190,000km and didn't think much of it but it's gotten worse. During summer months the car sat a lot being used about once or twice a month to pull the bike to the track or to toronto.

I've eliminated the transmission and engine as the problem by putting car in neutral and turned off engine to make sure it wasn't the engine/transmission and it still vibrated like a jack hammer.

Also if I accelerate quickly the first two vibrating ranges don't vibrate but there is no change in the last range. If I'm braking through those ranges the vibration increases. The tires are all the same size.

I also put the car in to 2WD mode for a couple days to see if that changed anything, it didn't, it's back in AWD mode.

there don't appear to be any oil leaks from anywhere.

Any ideas?
 
Does your steering vibrate?
Could be a dented rim.
 
99% of the time vibration comes from wheels. Snow build up (for example) dent/warp in wheel or you lost a wheel weight...

It's hard to eliminate the drivetrain since it's still connected regardless of clutching or neutral but, anything wrong there would be noticeable. Check all the shafts and boots to make sure nothing is loose or cracked. Even with the engine off the shafts and prop still spin.

Doubtful but possible given your KMS is the pulley on the crank or the engine mounts/transmission mounts.

The pulley is a two piece harmonic balancer. Two big metal rings separated by a rubber center ring. If it's starting to come apart it vibrates a little but that's not my first guess...

Engine mounts can be inspected. They were pretty weak in those model years. If they are shot they would lead to increasing any vibration in the drivetrain.

The later making minimal contribution to vibration so if it's excessive it's wheels or shafts.
 
if your pretty confidant you've eliminated engine/trans as culprits, it gets worse as you slow down and brake I'd be looking at wheel issues first, very unbalanced tires, bent rim, possibly badly warped rotors.

Do you feel a pulsing on the brake pedal when braking and does the steering wheel give any feedback by getting a bit of a shake? Do you drive in a lot of mud and gravel roads?
 
CruisnGrrl said:
the steering shakes with the rest of the vehicle, it's not like when i had a bent tierod on another vehicle where shaking was caused by the steering.

on the outside i don't see any bent rims will have to look under the car for the other sides.
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I was going to say, could be any number of suspension components as well..worn tie-rod ends, ball-joints etc. You could also have a damaged tire..check for bulges or weird tread wear. I assume wheels are balanced? Obvious I know, but the questions have to be asked.. :-)
 
Check for worn out or seized u-joints? Also they balance drive shafts with welded on weights, many times on higher milage vehicles they end up falling off and can cause vibrations.
 
My Grand Cherokee had a similar vibration issue. Turns out the salt had corroded the alloy wheel and hub face to the point that they didn't mate evenly, causing run-out and vibration at speed.
 
lucky2 said:
just to confirm its not the back half of the transmission, you can put a fuse in the fuse box that says AWD and turn the power off that drives the rear wheels.
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Just curious what kind of diff does the outback have in the middle?
 
daught said:
Just curious what kind of diff does the outback have in the middle?
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Depends on the model.. It's generally a Torsen-type viscous coupling. In newer models it's electronically controlled to some degree.
 
invictus43 said:
Depends on the model.. It's generally a Torsen-type viscous coupling. In newer models it's electronically controlled to some degree.
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Wait... I thought torsen is purely mechanical. Totally different than viscous. I know I have a torsen and there's no way to disable it.
 
daught said:
Wait... I thought torsen is purely mechanical. Totally different than viscous. I know I have a torsen and there's no way to disable it.
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Yes, you are correct. The Torsen is a mech unit only, like a mech limited slip diff. Most Subarus have an electronic viscous coupling that is controlled electronically to vary tourque transfer.
 
lucky2 said:
its not the diff you're turning off. it the clutch pack in the back of the transmission that is electronically controlled.

in the fuse box under the hood there is a space with no fuse in it that says AWD. look at the cover and find which one it is. if you put a fuse there, the section of transmission "END CLUTCH" that drives the power to the back will be disabled. this will make it a FWD car.
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If the car is an automatic...

If it's MT it doesn't have the 20A fuse port.
 
get your wheels balanced...if the car sits for a while with little use, the brakes may have rusted up a bit...you may require an alignment, but check the wheel balance first, that was the most common problem with my old '99 sub...your tires may have developed some flat spots from the car sitting for a while, those just need to be driven out of the car, this happens with one of my cars that gets driven maybe once or twice a month, but after driving for a bit and warming the tires up it goes away after half an hour...
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