Subaru vibrations in drivetrain

Flywheel, Clutch, Transmission, Axles, etc...

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SubOnno
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Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:01 am
Location: Netherlands

Subaru vibrations in drivetrain

Post by SubOnno »

There is still something wrong with my car,

It vibrates at all speeds from 50 to 200 km an hour. Only when driving 50 it doesn't seem to feel hard but it's the same vibrate.

I changed my:
- Rear subframe,
- rear diff,
- rear driveshafts,
- center driveshaft,
- front drive shafts,
- New engine DOHC :-D
- Front brakes
- Rear brakes

Also different wheels make no difference.

What could possibly be wrong accept the front diff and center diff ?
Wich is 1 part (the gearbox) ??

What could cause my car to vibrate?
Subaru Legacy MY94 2.0 AWD
SiCkSTi04
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Location: St Pete, FL

Post by SiCkSTi04 »

its going to sound dumb but did you get an alignment after wards? any play in the wheel bearings, tie rods or ball joints?
-04 WRX STi - Java Black Pearl - Cobb Stage 2
-02 Forester Type S premium - Platinum Silver Metallic - Stock
-92 Legacy Sport Sedan - Onyx Black Pearl - Stock
SubOnno
First Gear
Posts: 116
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:01 am
Location: Netherlands

Post by SubOnno »

No wheel alignment yet,

To many changes were made in a short time to the drive train and suspension. But the problem was allready there before all the changes were made. I hoped my upgrades would solve it but not yet!

- Wheel bearings are ok! Checked all wheels and felt them with my fingertips when I changed drive shafts.
- Rods and ball joints seem just fine.

But the car vibrates not only the steering wheel, I can feel it in my seat and in my legs on the floor.
Subaru Legacy MY94 2.0 AWD
log1call
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Post by log1call »

So what is the frequency of this vibration?
Engine revs? Clutch is unbalanced perhaps.
Wheel revs? Axles or wheels are bent, unbalanced, got play.
Approximatly four times wheel revs? Drive shaft to rear is missaligned.
SubOnno
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Posts: 116
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:01 am
Location: Netherlands

Post by SubOnno »

log1call wrote:So what is the frequency of this vibration?
Engine revs? Clutch is unbalanced perhaps.
Wheel revs? Axles or wheels are bent, unbalanced, got play.
Approximatly four times wheel revs? Drive shaft to rear is missaligned.
Maybe shivering is a better word to describe it,
The car "shivers" not in a certain pattern. So there is not 1 special frequency, it changes with speed not revs.
Gears don't make a difference 100 in 4 or 5 is the same shiver.
50 in 3 gives a slight vibration it increases when driving faster.

Also when driving 120 and put it in neutral, 't gives almost the same result. Somestimes i can notice that the shivering feels harder when i slightly accellerate.

- tried 2 sets of wheels, no difference.
- Drive shaft to the rear and center bearing has been replaced by a good one that came from a car without complaines. no difference.

I don't know if you can align the center drive shaft because it has a center bearing and mounting place and you just stick it in the gearbox (the oil seal is still fine and there's oil in the gbox)

What is:
Wheel revs?
Approximatly four times wheel revs?
Subaru Legacy MY94 2.0 AWD
log1call
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Posts: 390
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:22 am

Post by log1call »

Well, if you get a hunk of wide sticky tape and put it on your tyre and go for a drive you will hear the tape slapping on the ground with a bit of luck. That is at wheel revs. Four times faster that wheel revs is about how fast your driveshaft spins.

The driveshafts normally have a bit of room around their centre mounts mounting bolts and it is often possible to align the two halves and to put a bit of endwards pressure against the diff end by positioning the mount carefully. This sometimes stoppes shudders which sometimes happen on acceleration. Not your symptom but perhaps...

So, could there be a bit of body work somewhere that vibrates in the wind? Under engine cover for instance?
log1call
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Post by log1call »

When you had the driveshaft out did you check it's universal joints for play or stiffness?

The "shiver" discription gives me the impression it is quite fast. The drive-shaft turns quite fast, and, if there is a stiff universal cross it will give a vibration that is even faster than the drive-shaft's revs.
SubOnno
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Posts: 116
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:01 am
Location: Netherlands

Post by SubOnno »

Body work can't be (i don't have an engine cover top/bottom, i don't hear the shivering i only feel it.

When you had the driveshaft out did you check it's universal joints for play or stiffness?

The "shiver" discription gives me the impression it is quite fast. The drive-shaft turns quite fast, and, if there is a stiff universal cross it will give a vibration that is even faster than the drive-shaft's revs.
The universal joint moves freely in every direction and doesn't have play in the u-joint. The centre bearing has some play but that's needed. I bolted the shaft to the Diff with the normal bolts and i had to pull it a quarter inch to the diff to mount it.
When that was done i secured the centre bearing bolts to the chassis. They didn't look out of place.

I'll check if the shivering frequency is something like the wheel revs with Duct Tape!!

Thanks for the input!
Subaru Legacy MY94 2.0 AWD
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