1 Lucky Texan

I would like to strongly recommend you avoid the poly bushings. I regret putting them on our Outback. I did see someone mention they found some for $80 . I may buy some to swap back into our car. WAY too much shock/harshness with the poly.

first, I'd swap tires front-to-back and see if the problem changes. Also, there can be vibration from bad u-joints and maybe carrier bearings. maybe someone can recommend a shop near Portland. I think we have 1 or 2 gurus near there that frequent this Forum as a matter of fact. perhaps a mechanic will be needed to actually pin this down. If you can take a tech or service writer for a test drive and demonstrate the problem, that would be ideal.

is the '96 a year that needs some steel sleeve part swapped in to protect the aluminum case in the xfer system? something like that

yeaah, more specifics on how it is felt; is it worse after the car is warmed up is it worse when turning or maneuvering in parking lots does it only happen during or after a turn is vibration felt in the whole car or just in the steering wheel are there noise when it happens does application of brakes have any effect what is the condition of the tires (same brand and amount of wear?) what is the condition/history of the car?

is this a larger diameter system? maybe it's worse at scavenging the CC due to lower velocity. Does it weigh more? I have no experience with 2.2s , just a coupla thoughts.

Fairtax4me , you win the Internets !, I award you one of these; GIFSoup I found the gasket between the dipstick tube and the rear of the timing cover. It had to have been there at least 6 months if I dropped it. (I can't see how it wasn't me.) so, I feel like this; GIFSoup

I'm gonna look, thanx

I can't feel it cycle now. The belt must have been skipping/slipping/grabbing or ???? Someone on another Forum suggested looking for oil on the belt. Looks clean, no stains, etc. newest mystery, at some time, I seem to have lost the gasket on the oil filler cap. I never found an unusual part in my garage, it isn't stuck to the filler tube, but it's been many years since the dealer has done an oil change on it, so ???? got a gasket on order from ebay. I hate mysteries with my car.

thanx to everyone for hanging in there with your ideas and support. seems normal now.

definitely reproduced the problem by cycling the a/c comp while driving in 4th at about 2200 rpm. I tightened the belt, it did seem loose. tomorrow, hopefully, it won't still be doing it. if it is, maybe the compressor is going bad?

rain this morning, road and wiper noise prevented any experimenting with the a/c . maybe this afternoon.

OK, the latest was a suggestion on another Forum. i THOUGHT I had eliminated the a/c comp. being an issue when this began. Still not certain, but, today I adjusted the temp to cause the comp to cycle while I watched and listened under the hood. Everything seemed OK ('maybe' there's a slight crank pulley wobble, could be an optical illusion caused by markings on a belt). but, sitting in the driver's seat, I tried to hold the rpms at 1500, where it made the noise that morning as mentioned. Well, I cycled the comp on/off and it seems to be very close to the sound I hear. I might also be feeling it 'buck' a little. So, tomorrow I'll try to cycle the a/c while actually driving at 40 or so in 4th gear. About 4 months/2500 miles ago, I installed new acc belts (Gates). maybe the a/c one is slipping now? I pushed on it and it 'may' be a little loose. It doesn't 'squeal' though. Or maybe my compressor is going bad. This would explain pretty much everything. Even a few days recently when I didn't hear anything. I either had the system off, or the climate control never used the a/c for defrost or cooling. (temps here have been widely variable in recent weeks). I canceled my appt with awdtuning . If I am unable to convince myself it's safe to drive the car after a day or 2 of scr3w1ng around with the a/c comp and its belt, I will probably still need to visit a mechanic. I feel kinda relieved, but kinda stupid.

car warming up this morning, it made the 'chk' noise (uncharacteristically, I had the radio off)so, I decided to listen for a while and watch the rpm needle. It was still warming up and the rpms were at 1500, it made the noise and the needle popped UP slightly. yeah, up so, either i have been feeling a 'surge' instead of a 'drop back' or, some kind of weird coincidence. I have no idea how that could happen.

I'd prefer to use some Techron or similar occasionally. I'd think using E-85 in a '99 could become an expensive experiment but, I don't KNOW that it would be a problem.

I swear I was trying to be careful. Probably didn't wait long enough before checking with the dipstick.

well, broken ring land, burned valve or weak coil - it's beyond me. got an appointment with an expert on Thursday

was it hot? did it smell or look like coolant? you may need to use a garden hose to pin this down.

yeah, I was given a Plymouth Fury once. Little-old-man situation where the widow didn't drive. The car didn't make it to my house. When the mechanic took the pan off the transmission, it was packed with a semi-solid emulsion! free car was not free

I got it, everything is looking good except I overfilled the oil by approx. 1/2 qt. I'm leaving it alone. Took the coolant overflow off and cleaned it inside and out too.

In another thread, Ivan mentioned dented trans pans causing problems. And mikleda mentioned the possibility of clogged trans cooler lines in the rad. You temporarily bypass those line for testing purposes.

just some thougts; if those are green connectors, pretty sur ethey should stay disconnected for normal driving. checked the transmission fluid? do it while idling, if the car's at operating temp - level should be between H and L for the HOT marks. You may need to wait a minute or 2 after pulling the stick to get decent readings. I believe folks have found another site on the block where a knock sensors can be connected. Try a search or hopefully someone will reply with more details.

I'm sure you've used penetrating oil? you could try a 'little' heat, w'ever you felt would be OK for the bearing. hubs get a little hot anyway right? I've heard of people backing the cheater bar against the ground and DRIVING the car to turn a stuck nut. Of course you have to put the wheel back on so, lugs have to be good.

I tested the stant xacstat I plan to install today, I just watched it open, then close while monitoring the water temp. didn't look like it was sticking so, I dunno how much more testing I could do. It would really be frustrating to install a dealer-supplied t'stsat that was bad.

um, are you checking the fluid level with the engine idling? also, a car stored like that might benefit from 3 or 4 drain/fill cycles of transmission fluid, with a day or 2 of driving between each, if possible

THis morning, I spent about 3.5 - 4 hours and swapped in the 'correct' plugs. NGK Part # 6619 LFR6AIX11 car started. no test drive yet as it's still on jacks - changing oil, coolant and t'stat tomorrow. I'm considering a 60-40 water/coolant mix. Just don't know if i really want to hassle with doing it. Probably put in the soob 'conditioner' too. how usually drains out of an H6?