MT AWD binding?

[entirelyturbo]

Okay, yesterday, I took a right turn into a bumpy corner, and as I straightened onto the smooth road ahead, the car started shaking and clunking like it had a flat tire.

So I pull over, tire is full. I continue about 3 miles down the road and to test it, started swerving around in my lane. Every time I turned left, this would happen again.

I pulled into a gas station and checked my rear lugnuts, since it feels like this is happening in the rear. They're all very tight. I drive the rest of the way home, about 15 miles, and it does it everytime I take a gradual left turn, like turning left at the intersection of two 6-lane roads.

I get home, jack the car up, and can find nothing wrong in the suspension area. I can't jerk the wheel at all, the strut is good, the wheel bearings seem fine, there are no bent or broken suspension pieces...

Someone suggested swaybar bushings at work, and I also just rotated my tires in hopes that one is having tread separation, but it still seems to be happening in the back, so it's not tire-related...

However, why this is in the Drivetrain forum is because I'm wondering if my AWD is binding. It seems to get worse if I get on the throttle a little in the turn...

Please help, this has me worried and very angry...

[JasonGrahn]

To clarify: it only happens while turning left?

Have you eliminated it being a power steering issue yet?

[entirelyturbo]

It now also happens during engine braking.

I just spent $400 getting the nicest new Michelin Symmetries I could mounted on it today, just a about 15 minutes ago. Even though he is 2WD, for some reason petridish38 remembered that AWD cars can get finicky when theire tire treadwear is uneven between the front and rear. So that's why I got new tires.

But, as you can read in my Misc post, I don't have any more money to fix it nor do I really want to anymore...

[mgjs1]

Did the new tires fix the problem? I am having a very similar problem. Binding (but in the front left corner) while accelerating and turning to the left. 5MT, AWD.

I have 2002 WRX wheels and tires on this 93 legacy wagon, and it seems as though some pretty loud buzzing has started coming from the front tires at the same time that this problem occurred.

Could it be uneven tire wear? (tire pressures are OK)

I have a cracked CV boot which is clicking at lower speeds, but I have had a cracked CD before and never come close to this magnitude of problem... the thing feels like a JALOPY when it happens... shakes the steering wheel as it binds... but goes away when you ease of accel or straighten out.

HELP!

[entirelyturbo]

It wasn't binding at all. As I typically do, I grossly overestimate the problem before I actually analyze it, and then freak out...

I actually experiemented with the shaking when I wasn't crying about it, this wasn't too long ago actually. The car was tracking straight as an arrow, so it wasn't anything loose. It was going straight with the new tires, so it wasn't AWD binding (which I hear does not apply to manual trannies in the first place by the way ). Then it hit me all of a sudden. I got home, jumped under the car, and sure enough, I was able to grab my transmission and shake it vigorously with no effort. Tranny mount was trash.

Swapped for a WRX one for $25 , and has not happened since. I started a new thread about it, read it here...

I'll bet it is your axle that's doing what you're describing. Mine did the same thing after I went muddin with a cut boot. It would shake and cause torque steer and everything. The fact that you say it goes away as you straighten out only helps my theory. As I've posted a bazillion times, get in touch with www.cvaxles.com ... They're simply the best axles you can get for Subies.

But don't worry about binding, as I said, I don't think MT cars can do it.

[mgjs1]

Thanks for the reply...

When you say yours did the same thing after muddin... (which reminds me that mine acts up more in snow and rain than when dry)... do you mean that it shook violently from that corner... enough to feel like the entire wheel was "flopping"... and if it happened at 50+ mph it was enough to make you wanna pull off and putter along with hazards on?

This is what mine is doing. It would be simply awesome at this point if it was ONLY an axle.


Off Topic...
I think I am gonna replace my RE92s on my rims at the same time since the current tires have started buzzing so bad (and have 3/4 tread gone too)... I wonder if I can go to 215 on a WRX rim, or should I stick with 205/50/16s?

[entirelyturbo]

The mudding part only meant that some mud had gotten into the joint through the cut boot and tore the axle to pieces. It was not making any noise before that one jaunt through the glop

The axle will not make your car shake THAT bad... my only guess would be, if it's speed dependant, maybe you have a clump of mud from the snow stuck on your wheel, throwing it off balance? After my same mudding incident, I had mud caked on the wheel and above 50 mph the car vibrated like a... well... you know

[mgjs1]

Unfortunately, it is not speed dependent. It comes and goes.

Comes - when accelerating during a slow left hand turn (~30 and ~55 are where I have noticed it most.)

Goes - when you ease off the accelerator or straighten up.



It is also a stronger shake than an out-of-balance condition. It makes the steering wheel shake too... it is almost like going through a series of potholes, or going over a series of speedbumps... and then getting back on flat road.

Weird. Are the axles from cvaxles.com really good?

[musketeerracing]

I'm not yet a legacy owner, but have had plenty of axles fail on my various AWD and FWD rally cars. This sounds like a failing cv joint, and my guess would be on the outer end of the left front axle. CV joints are challenged when the wheel is turned and the suspension extended, so accelerating out of a LH turn puts all the most difficult forces on it. If the inner joint is slipping off its splined shaft or the outer is somehow binding, it could do what you describe until it clicks back in place. It's like dislocating your shoulder.

jack up the car and grab the axles - see if they wiggle or you get very much rotational play.

ACP
www.musketeerracing.com

[entirelyturbo]

Glad to see you over here musketeer

It is most likely an axle. I was having similar jerking and binding from my axle when I went on my "mudding" expedition with a cut CV boot...

cvaxles.com are the best axles you can can get for a Scoob IMO. They build axles for Subaru rally cars overseas...

[mgjs1]

Thanks for all the input, you guys helped me self-direct the repair a little and in the end the axle did the trick. Cost me about $160 for the job, which I figured is reasonable. They sold me on their part rather than bringing in my own which would have been cheaper but unwarranted by them.

So, maybe unrelated, but maybe caused by my driving around with a bad CV joint for so long... now the bearing on that corner is buzzing like a mother. What can I do with that? The shop mentioned that being somewhat expensive because of unpacking and repacking the bearing... can that be done independently (note... no mechanical skill or tools to speak of). Kind of like, take it out, take it somewhere ... rather than pay someone to do the same?

Just wondering. Thanks again for the axle advice.

Matt

[georryan]

I've never done a front bearing, but I did do a rear one on my GL-10, and it wasn't te easiest thing to get out. In theory yes, it was simple, but if you couldn't get your axle off by yourself, you won't get the bearing out either. It will take the same tools and maybe a couple more depending on unexpected situations.

-Ryan

[legacy92ej22t]

Ya, you'll need a press to get the bearing back in the hub. You could just take the whole steering knuckle (spindle) to a shop and have them pull the old bearing and either press a new wheel bearing in on the spot or take the bearing home repack ect.. then take it back to the shop and have them press it back in. You'll save a good chunk on labor this way but it will be more inconveniant.