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Subaru Vibration at Idle in Gear

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  • #571723
    MichaelMichael
    Participant

      hey all first post here sadly not a happy one though
      I have a 2003 Subaru BE legacy B4 twin turbo Auto 4 speed.
      I have a bad vibration when ever im stop with the brakes on while in gear. Iv asked so many mechanics and they all say the same thing its the engine mounts.

      So far iv Flushed the transmission 5 times and replaced the oil filter. Although the vibration still is present, operations have differently improved allot during acceleration and gear change. When driveing the car is perfect!!!!
      Iv cheeked all engine and transmission mounts and they are in good condition and no movement no cracks.
      No torque binding or duty C issues.
      Replaced front drive shafts with OEM subaru ones still vibrating

      I jacked the car up off all four wheels and done a few tests of my own to try induce the vibration. One thing i took note of was that when accelerating and stopping the wheels with the hand brake, the vibration was completely gone. Done the same thing but stopped the wheels with the service brake and the vibration was back. not sure what that means but seams to vibrate when ever the rear wheels have a positive load on the transmission.
      So far i have really nothing to go on to say that its a transmission issue so im going to move onto the engine now.
      If i had to put it down to something id say the engine is producing too much torque some how while at idel in gear. In the mornings when i put it in gear i have to have the brakes hard on or the car will take off.
      Is anything like this possible ? too much torque while idling? too rich or lean? i dont know much about engines just the basic service knowledge.

      Please help me

    Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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    • #571740
      Rudy WilmothRudy Wilmoth
      Participant

        🙂 I am sorry to read about your trouble with your Subaru. What is your idle speed after cranking the engine and what is the idle with the car in gear with you holding the car with the brake ? You may want to clean your throttle body with a spray cleaner made for fuel injection. I would say that your vibrating could be due to the engine having a vacuum leak on your manifold. Their should be videos on the site to help you with looking for the solution. Good Luck.

        #571760
        college mancollege man
        Moderator
          #571782
          george gonzalezgeorge gonzalez
          Participant

            The engine mounts can LOOK okay and have no cracks, but they can still be transmitting vibrations.

            #574217
            MichaelMichael
            Participant

              Ok im starting to think its something to do with the transfer clutch being that if the front wheels have a greater rotation then the rear, the vibration will go away. this has to do with the center differential right?
              Only other thing i can put it down to is the Sensor and harness assembly which has the Front and rear speed sensors and also the torque converter speed sensor as well ( which might explain the aggressive engine torque on a cold start)
              I also recently done a tire rotation and i got some result form doing it being that the front tires where worn a bit more then the rears. The tires have the same time amount of use age so realy it shouldent of made much of a difference but the fact it did ses to me it might be a wacked out sensor or maybe all of them.
              Im going to try locate the sensor harness and see if it needs a clean.
              Is there anything els anyone could add to this or am i just talking crap? or am i making some scene ?

              #574265
              EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
              Keymaster

                Someone suggested to me once that Subaru idle issues may be caused by the front axles, especially if they’re aftermarket. Personally I have no experience with this but I thought I’d throw it in there. In addition to the article that College man posted, I’ve also done one on solving idle issues that might be of use to you.

                http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-idle-problems

                Keep us posted.

                #574555
                MichaelMichael
                Participant

                  ok im fully ruling out that its the center diff causeing my vibration
                  I just recently fixed a knocking noise that i thought was the new brake pads, but turns out that it was the loose drop link in my sway bar. I discoverer this by turning left to right sharply to get enough body roll. after checking under the car bam! there was a completely loose droplink.

                  Now back to the vibrations at Idel. While doing my investigations of my knocking sound, i happen to notice that when doing these sharp left and right turns, if i stop after doing so the vibration is completely gone. so gone that you would think the engine is off. so i continued to induce this issue by driving over bumpy surface and stop and what ya know the vibration is gone when stopping.
                  so here is what i have discovered.

                  Vibration when stopping on a smooth flat surface.
                  NO vibration when stopping on a bumpy surface.
                  NO vibration when one wheel is elevated more then the other.
                  Vibrations when going over a speed bump and stopping
                  NO vibrations when only one wheel gose over speed bump and stopping.

                  What you think?
                  Im thinking something to do with droplinks

                  #574680
                  MichaelMichael
                  Participant

                    Just removed my sway bar and went for a drive
                    sadly the vibration still exists :angry:
                    Although, the vibration is much more present and is allot harder to eliminate when doing my sharp left and right turns.
                    Also the vibrations are still present when stopping on a bumpy surface without the sway bar.
                    So in conclusion the removal of the sway bar did have a negative affect on the Vibrations but at the same time it did change the characteristics of the matter.
                    Im still not ruling out the front drive shafts being that the left side is aftermarket and has alot more play in it then the OEM shaft, but im still not convinced that its the shafts.
                    Only other thing i can check is the McPherson struts and the front diff.
                    If i was suspecting it was the front diff, what are my actions on checking it? i was told that you can change the pre load and it might solve my problem? is this something i could check out?
                    anyone got anything els to add?

                    #574807
                    EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
                    Keymaster

                      Personally, I’d be looking into that axle, especially based on your additional details. However.

                      http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/42191-vibration-idle-not-due-axles.html

                      Keep us posted.

                      #575258
                      MichaelMichael
                      Participant

                        I found two used Subaru OEM front drive shafts from the wreckers
                        Being that factory shafts cost over $1500 here. Do you think i will get any results with these ones?

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