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Hey guys,
Been having a little trouble with my subi and torque bind.
At first i figured its the cv shafts in the front so i have replacements ready to fit this weekend.
Upon inspection theres no splits in the boots however there is grease strewn all over inside the front and rear lh wheels wells.


Next i found a split in the lower knuckle on the LH side

So that will have to be replaced too now

Then i put the car back together and got to researching online and came up with the quick fix and troubleshooting solution of placing in the fwd fuse.. Only theres a problem, theres no wires running into the location where the fuse should be.


Am i missing something here?

Is your Outback a manual or a H6 model?

The FWD fuse only applies to auto models with an MPT (multi plate transfer) clutch, which is the 2.5 models. H6 models have VTD (variable torque distribution) and manual cars have just a viscous LSD and thus neither have the FWD option

H6 auto.. Bummer, guess that means i cant do the quick fix.

I have the shudder when turning and also the clang noise when changing between reverse and drive.
Ill give it a trans flush over the weekend and see how i go about replacing the cvs too.

Anyone have another idea for me?

VTD's dont normally bind, unless the solenoid is faulty and stuck on, supplying oil to the clutches when its not supposed to. The clang noise makes me think there is a bigger problem

Ok, the clang noise is coming from the rear of the transmission, which is likely to be not connected the the shudder.

Im going to have the car on ramps tomorrow to continue the investigations. Hopefully there is just a worn coupling at the back of the trans.. The turning shudderis yet to be identified too.

Fingers crossed

Check your uni joints, it could be one of them on the way out...

Cheers

Bennie

There is moverment in the driveshaft connection to the gearbox, to the point that i can grab the drive shaft and move it left to right etc.

El_Freddo wrote:Check your uni joints, it could be one of them on the way out...

Cheers

Bennie

+1 for this

Uni joints can transmit all sorts terminal and expensive sounding noises throughout the drivetrain, and it is a relatively cheap and easy step to cover off

sven '2' wrote:+1 for this

Uni joints can transmit all sorts terminal and expensive sounding noises throughout the drivetrain, and it is a relatively cheap and easy step to cover off

I guess the driveshafts coming out tomorrow then.
This explains ALOT

Kustomchris wrote:I guess the driveshafts coming out tomorrow then.
This explains ALOT

Prop or tail shaft is the correct term - for RWD only vehicles they sometimes use drive shaft as well, but that gets confusing with AWD vehicles that have drive shafts between the hubs and the diffs

But that said, that pic definitely shows the issue - and that's in really bad shape! Sorry to say that, but I think you're lucky you picked this up when you did. There must have been signs of this issue ages ago that you didn't pick up on. Venom had one go on our last trip and he noticed it before it got really bad - it was a dry bearing cup that was starting to fail due to the lack of grease. This was greased prior to the trip but the mechanic that did the work didn't put enough in and one was left without fresh grease...

You'll have to take that to a uni joint shop as they're pressed in unit joints. Get the whole shaft done while you're at it. Venom's prop shaft was modified to fit a uni joint from a mazda, a common part which was an RUJ1784.

It will probably cost a bit now, but if you ever have to do another one of these you'll be able to do it yourself

Cheers

Bennie

Better than replacing a transmission. Or repairing the car after the part failed

Im just happy that i know what the issue is now

Kustomchris wrote:Better than replacing a transmission. Or repairing the car after the part failed

Can't agree more with that!

Don't worry, we all get that little bit of satisfaction when we give the advice and get it right - sometimes we even learn something along the way!

Hope it's an relatively cheap fix, if the uni joint conversion isn't an option the cheapest way out is to source another stock prop shaft from a wreck - just make sure the joints are good, they should all glide easily without any "rumble" feeling in them, if they have that walk away from that shaft as it'll do the same thing yours has before long!

Cheers

Bennie

After getting the tailshaft out this morning it appeared that the front uni joint was royally screwed while the rear was well on its way.

I then found a bloke in ferntree gully with the tools in his back shed to knock apart the uni joints and balance the shafts too (the same bloke subaru uses).
Fingers crossed ill have the car back on the road by the weekend.

Then the first urgent thing to do will be a front end alignment.

Kustomchris wrote:...found a bloke in ferntree gully with the tools in his back shed to knock apart the uni joints and balance the shafts too (the same bloke subaru uses).
Fingers crossed ill have the car back on the road by the weekend.

Funny that, there's a bloke in Ferntree Gully (Vic) that does the same thing! I didn't mention it since you're in Qld according to your profile...

Costing much? (if you're willing to share!)

Cheers

Bennie

Yep, im back in melbourne now.. Roma was just oo damn boring.

Was told 110 per uni joint plus 80 for balancing.
Now id better change my location on this forum hey hahahah