February 8, 201412 yr Hi there, I have a 97 subaru legacy outback. I just got it from previous owner. The car is fine when driving. But when it stops at red light, i can feel the car vibrate slightly. and when i shift to Neutral, no obvious vibration. Neither at park. The previous owner just changed the head gasket.
February 9, 201412 yr Plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter and PCV valve is a good place to start. +1 on what's written above. You always need to know that the basics are good in a car. I do this on any used car that I buy for personal use. Good chance this will fix the problem.
February 9, 201412 yr Lots of the auto transmission cars do this. Can be the half shafts as noted above. The Subaru just wants to go!
February 10, 201412 yr Author Sometime aftermarket front axles will cause this problem. The previous owner did change one aftermarket front axles. Odds are this is the reason.
February 10, 201412 yr aftermarket axle. classic. get a used Subaru axle and reboot it. avoid aftermarket axles, they have gobs of issues. Subaru axles will last the life of the vehicle, just reboot them. subaru boots seem to last longer than most aftermarkets. i get axles for $25-$33 each routinely, so aftermarkets offer no reliability or economic advantage: www.car-part.com FWE has excellent quality Subaru rebuilt axles, and has for decades, out of Denver CO but cost goes up due to shipping and core return.
February 11, 201412 yr How bad is the vibration? I think mine has a very slight amount, but hardly noticeable. If it's bad enough that your teeth chatter, I'd check the engine mounts and trans mount or whatever mounts these have. You can try raising your hood, and have someone put it in reverse and watch the engine for excessive movement. Then put in "1" or "D" and see if it moves also. I've never seen one fail in these, so it's hard to say how much movement it'd introduce. But failed mounts in other cars will add vibration, especially if they are packed with hydraulic fluid or have been swapped out with race mounts which add more vibration.
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