afterbang Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 98 legacy outback, 160k 5MT. it started out with a very intermittent problem of what felt like a shuddering coming from the front driver's side when accelerating from a stop. this would last for about 3 seconds max. this ended up going away but lately there is a high tempo constant shaking in the steering wheel when accelerating up hills. it's a very light vibration but it definitely wasn't there before and only started after the few times i had the heavier what i would call shuddering. this is not clutch shudder as i lived with that until my clutch was last replaced. you don't feel it in the seat, just in the steering. this doesn't happen when just crusing, only under load. trying to be as descriptive as i can with it. front axles have 40k on them. struts have never been replaced. any insight on what i should be looking into? thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 have your tires balanced and rotated, its most likely a balance issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 If the CV joints start to bind, this is exactly what happens. Many replacement axles are junk, I've had better luck grabbing original axles out of the junkyard than I have with ones from the parts store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Also check for ball joint and tie rod wear in the suspension. Also could be loose road wheel lug nuts, I have had that happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterbang Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 tires are balanced and on there tight. i'm religious about rotating them too. i think it may be the left cv joint. i just noticed today if you listen carefully you can hear it click when you go over speed bumps at an angle. yes, it is a cheap aftermarket axle on there. any recommendations on brands of axles other than oem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Check out MWE Axles in Denver--quality rebuilt Subaru axles and Marshall Wolf is a good guy to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterbang Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 CV was my first guess. axles - if you don't want any issues there's only two options: Subaru or MWE. I've done both many times, well worth the effort. don't buy Subaru axles, get used ones at a junk yard and reboot them or have a shop reboot them. I do it all the time - 100% success rate. Aftermarket axles - i've had tons of failures and issues with those, waste of time, as you're finding out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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