99 OBW with twitchy handling

[Rooster2]

My OBW recently just started to handle poorly at freeway speed. On hitting a rough patch of pavement, or slight turn, I can feel what I perceive as the right front wheel snap twitch. This causes the car to slightly veer to the left, which is unsettling. On an interstate trip last night, I had to slow down to 60 mph because of the twitching to feel like I could drive safely.

 

I am thinking it may be a bad tire belt, as the Michelin tires are old, and getting near replacement. I am seeing some sidewall rubber cracking. However, I don't feel any tire issue like vibration or alignment problems. Tread wear on all tires looks normal. I am also thinking that maybe it is a suspension problem with a bad ball joint or tie rod allowing the road wheel to move about on its own. It is too cold out right now to jack up the front, grab a road wheel and try moving it up/down, left/right looking for suspension "play." I hope to do that tomorrow, when the weather is warmer.

 

Any thoughts of what else this might be, or what to look for?

 

Thanks for any advise.

[Olnick]

Might try swapping your right side wheels and see if the problem goes.

[curtisbad]

almost does sound like a tire issue. of course, i would check the suspension components. it is possible that you have a ball joint going. i know of a guy whos strut actually broke once and his car had similar issues. only his seemed far worse than yours. he had constant shimmy,shake,rattle and roll,just to name a few of his problems. i'd look into the tires and do something like olnick said and would definately look into a suspension problem. curtis

[J A Blazer]

Statistically speaking, which tend to fail sooner - ball joints, or tie rod ends?

[Fairtax4me]

I am thinking it may be a bad tire belt, as the Michelin tires are old, and getting near replacement. I am seeing some sidewall rubber cracking.

This is typical of Michelin tires and is in no way indicative of a tire problem.

 

I would suspect a bad strut or two.

 

Statistically speaking, which tend to fail sooner - ball joints, or tie rod ends?

 

I've never found either to fail sooner or more frequently than the other. I would expect tie rod ends to fail more often since they tend to be smaller. But they do carry less load than a lower ball joint, so it can go either way.

[bheinen74]

very common issue for 2000 outback is broken front swaybar on that model year type Outback.

Check that first not sure it was the 99's tho.. Lots of people, i mean lots, have snapped the high spring steel end on the swaybar on the early 2000 outbacks.

 

Otherwise, struts...

Edited March 26, 2011 by bheinen74

[Rooster2]

Thanks for all the advise.........I am going over to a buddy's house tomorrow, and will check out front suspension, sway bar, strut, ball joints, and tie rods.

 

One thing that did just come to mind, was a possibility of loose wheel lug nuts. I tightened both front sides, and did find three lugs a very tiny bit loose on driver's side. It was minimal turn with a 4 way lug wrench to snug them up, so will try a short freeway drive to see if the tightening makes any difference.

[MilesFox]

Statistically speaking, which tend to fail sooner - ball joints, or tie rod ends?

 

wheel bearings. this you have not considered yet.

[J A Blazer]

You're right! So how do I figure it out? My principal problem is low speed curb cuts, pavement irregularities, etc. makes the front end shudder.

[Fairtax4me]

You're right! So how do I figure it out? My principal problem is low speed curb cuts, pavement irregularities, etc. makes the front end shudder.

 

Probably tie rod end. Those are easy to check.

YOu can grab it with a large pair of channel lock pliers and try to compress the joint, or jam a pry bar/large screw driver in there and try to expand it. If it moves any (like above) it's bad.

 

Inner tie rod end. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=fUb6LcVcP4g&feature=related

Harder to check, but if you pay close attention to the movement of the tie rod in-relation to the rack you can see movement without removing the boot.

 

Lower ball joint.

Same applies as the tie rod end. Pliers to compress, prybar to expand, any movement, it's probably bad.

 

Wheel bearing.

(these are really bad) If you look at the outer axle housing and it also moves with the wheel, it's the wheel bearing.

[J A Blazer]

Thanks!

[Rooster2]

J.A.Blazer wins the award for correct diagnose of twitchy handling. It turns out my pass side wheel bearing is bad. Found lots of play that shouldn't be there. It is bad enough that I won't take it on a road trip until I get the bearing replaced. Ball joints, tie rods, struts, and anti-sway bar are all okay.

 

The slightly loose lug nuts on driver side front also contributed to the twitch.

 

Thanks to all for the good solid advise. ............Rooster2

[J A Blazer]

Actually, I think 'MilesFox' should get the credit.

[zyewdall]

very common issue for 2000 outback is broken front swaybar on that model year type Outback.

Check that first not sure it was the 99's tho.. Lots of people, i mean lots, have snapped the high spring steel end on the swaybar on the early 2000 outbacks.

 

Otherwise, struts...

 

I just did this to my '99 yesterday.... drove over a little bump in my yard with a little suspension flex, and heard a bong noise... though I'd hit a piece of wood or something. Then, saw that the end had snapped off the front swaybar. ??????? Odd that my justy has the same diameter swaybar as the legacy...

[Rooster2]

Actually, I think 'MilesFox' should get the credit.

 

Yep, you are right MilesFox did make the call first.

[Rooster2]

Update............took my Subie OBW to a shop to replace the pass side front wheel bearing that was loose. The road wheel would move back and forth. The mechanic called back to say that the problem is with the half shaft. The threaded end of the half shaft at the road wheel end side had actually broken the axle itself into two parts in the threaded area, where the big nut threads on. If I had not seen it myself with my own 2 eyes, I would never believed that this was possible.

 

So a replacement half shaft will fix that problem. However, it is still possible that the bearing may be damaged. Time will tell on that. Anybody ever encounter this before?

[MilesFox]

Actually, I think 'MilesFox' should get the credit.

i was gonna say:

 

wheel bearings. this you have not considered yet.

[MilesFox]

Update............took my Subie OBW to a shop to replace the pass side front wheel bearing that was loose. The road wheel would move back and forth. The mechanic called back to say that the problem is with the half shaft. The threaded end of the half shaft at the road wheel end side had actually broken the axle itself into two parts in the threaded area, where the big nut threads on. If I had not seen it myself with my own 2 eyes, I would never believed that this was possible.

 

So a replacement half shaft will fix that problem. However, it is still possible that the bearing may be damaged. Time will tell on that. Anybody ever encounter this before?

 

I would change the bearing at the same time. the mechanic should have suggested a bearing replacement, he was already there.

 

with my experiences, loose axle nuts that caused poor handling or striped splines, most likely compromises the wheel bearing, since the torque of the nut holds it all together.

[Fairtax4me]

The Subaru FSM specifically says not to place the weight of the vehicle on the wheel bearing until the axle nut has been tightened because the axle nut sets the pre-load on the bearing.

I'd replace the bearing as well.

If this is not a Subaru shop, take the car to a Subaru shop and have them replace the bearing. Bearing replacement must be done with the correct tools to support the knuckle in the press or the knuckle can deform and cause damage to the new bearing. It will also cause damage to every new bearing that is installed into the same knuckle.

[Rooster2]

Thanks for the advise.

[Rooster2]

Update..........after a couple of months, I have become suspicious that something is not right in the right front wheel, brake, axle, or suspension assembly. It is a little vibration in the steering, slight wobble on braking like a rotor may be warped. Sometimes there is a wap, wap, wap, sound also when braking. Sometimes everything seems fine for a short time. Then I noticed that the vibration ceases, if I just slightly turn the steering wheel to the right. This has me thinking that the wheel bearing is bad. It took a while, but I think the broken axle that was replaced a few months back, has now taken its toll on the wheel bearing.

 

BTW, a couple of months back, I jacked up the right front, and yanked the road wheel every which way, and could not detect any looseness. So, I think the tie rod, and ball joint are okay.

 

Anyone, have any thoughts or advise??

[MilesFox]

If your mechanic has NOT already replaced the bearing, i would say it has been compromised with the broken axle shaft.

 

Sometimes loose bearings can be vague. This is especially true with ea82 style bearings. The legacy and newer stuff is more typical of modern FWD cars

[Rooster2]

If your mechanic has NOT already replaced the bearing, i would say it has been compromised with the broken axle shaft.

 

Sometimes loose bearings can be vague. This is especially true with ea82 style bearings. The legacy and newer stuff is more typical of modern FWD cars

 

I took my car to another garage, who told me that my problem is worse, and ugly. Yes, maybe the bearing is bad, however it is tight. Whatever I hit, or wife hit, broke the axle, now shows up as bent spindle or hub, maybe more. The road wheel showed up as slightly bent, so it is now moved to the rear. The car is still driveable, but hearing a whup, whup, whup, noise every once in a while, and especially upon braking is annoying. I am going to write another thread asking what year Sub spindle/hub will interchange from a wrecking yard. I think that is where I will source replacement parts. Thanks for the response!