I need the experts help on this one

[turbonator]

My problem is similar to these binding topics

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=14619

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=1441

Everything has been checked by my mechanic and the previous owner had this problem looked over by the dealership both had no clue.

I will try my best to describe it to you.

The problem only occurs once a day when the car is completly warm sometimes it will skip a few days with no apearance.

It starts with a little shimmy through the whole car almost allways in 3rd gear around 3000 rpm.

I can usually avoid the problem by accelerating to 4k or 5k rpm but if you let of the gas it starts to shake violently then I get thuding coming from the rear diff.

This is when I pull over for about 2 minutes then all signs are gone
car is completly normal after a 2 min break




This is how my problem differs from the other topics.

My thudding is so loud it can be heard from 15 to 20 feet away I know this cause I see people staring from bus stops and such.

My thudding is so jaring that it really feels like the rear end is hopping off the ground and draging.

This might offer insight

TODAY when it happened

I pulled over shut the car off put it in netural and tried to let it roll back But it would not.

I was on a steep hill and it would not budge, so I started rocking in my seat and it made a big thud and started rolling and kept thuding.

Then I stoped started it and drove off with no problems

One other thing when the problem occurs in snowy weather I lose all traction in the front end it's like I am driving on ice.



My big Q??? is what is causing my rear wheels to seize up like that.

Thanks for any info

[ciper]

If it was me I would put the car on 4 jack stands in and have someone shift through the gears and such while watching the underside. Have them pull the e-brake slightly to simulate load to the rear. Pull the ABS fuse before this or it will freak out.

[LegacyT]

Ok well, I had my dad read over your post, hes the master tech at Westboro. He came up with 3 possible causes which should be checked out. First like ciper said, the check the handbrake, it could be a loose shoe inside the rear handbrake drums which at a certain resonance(speed/rpm) could start to skip and jam into the drum. Second the rear diff should have a good investigation, The fluid inside should be checked, we've seen seized/binding rear diffs that had the right amount of oil inside. Sometimes they just go. Is you car 5spd? If so my dad recalls on the Legacy turbo 5 spds that at times a rear oil seal (which one I dont know) pops out blocking out the fluid from circulating into the rear part of the tranny. Check up on your tranny fluid. Any more questions just fire em at us.

Mark,

[ciper]

Once I had similar symptons (not all of them mentioned) and it was from a broken lateral link in the rear. At certain times the wheel would shimmy causing the link to bang against the underside of the car.

[Brat4by4]

What year car? What tranny? I'd check all the mounts, if one is too loose it will let the rear come out of alignment enough to mess stuff up. I'd suspect the rear diff as on its way out if nothing else mechanical shows up on the outside.

The "thuds" almost certainly point to mounts somewhere. If the rear diff was locking up the rear tires (or just one) it would do everything mentioned, including the FWD action since the tranny would just send all the power up front.

[turbonator]

sorry I have a 91 5 speed turbo which was bought in Ottawa actually.

My mechanics first thought was the tranny but there pretty sure now that it's the cv's.

My brothers VW had a bad cv that made the same thuding sound.

How much does it run$$ to replace the axles and what else would be the common worn parts to replace.

Thanks alot .

I appreciate the info

[LegacyT]

Rebuilt axles are like $350 each, OEM new ones are $500 and a bit, last time I checked. Axles don't usually thud and seize though.

Mark,

[Legacy777]

you can get reman axles for $55 USD at www.cvaxles.com

and I will say I personally had some weird intermittant vibration due to cv axles, and another guy on the USMB had similar torque bind/vibration due to axles.

[LegacyT]

Thats odd, in our 5 well six now legacy's weve never had a problem as described due to axles. Torque bind isnt associated with axles its due to worn clutch packs in an auto tranny. Turbonator-were the boots ripped?

Mark,

[turbonator]

I meant cv's not the axles.

I dont think the boots are torn yet.

I'll be bringing it in soon to change the driver side control arm and i'll get a good look then.

This is why I said I need the experts it really weired.

Thanks again and Merry Christmas.

[Legacy777]

I meant cv's not the axles.

Are you talking about the joint itself? because cv's and axles are pretty commonly referred to as the same thing, since it's all one unit.

[turbonator]

Yes the joint where the axle attaches