charm Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 I noticed just yesterday while pulling into a parking spot that I get a clunking sound when turning at low speeds only. What could this be? 97 Impreza 118,000 miles. I'm planning to do the t-belt between X-mas and New Years in a buddies shop so I'll have the space and a warm place to work, but need to know what I'm dealing with on this one. Oh, and is there a decent shop manual or guide to help me out with the t-belt change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Clunk or shake like the car wants to die? Clunk means front diff, shake means torque bind. Neither mean wheel bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstwagon Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Can't a clunk also mean CV joint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Can't a clunk also mean CV joint? CV's usually click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Can't a clunk also mean CV joint? do you mean its clicking? Do you see a broken CV boot? Or grease all over the wheels? Does this happen when your going straight? Or turning? If going straight, check front diff fludi dipstick. If turning, torque bind. but torquebind can sometimes cause the vehicle to shudder after a LONG time of driving with torque bind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted December 13, 2006 Author Share Posted December 13, 2006 It's only when turning and only when going at putting the car into a parking spot speeds (less then 5 mph). At speeds one might take a turn in traffic at, there is no noise. I have trouble calling this a click, but I can see how a clunk might be misleading. It's slower and lower then what I what describe as a click. It sorta sounds like that noise a blown tire makes on the freeway while you're trying to move over to the shoulder, but not anywhere near as loud. It sounds like the wheel isn't turning true which is why I was guessing bearing. I suppose without jacking up the car and wiggling things, I won't know for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Boncyk Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 What you're describing sounds very much like the first symptom of torque bind. As it gets worse, you begin to feel the car "skip" through the turn, rather than just hearing the "thunk, thunk, thunk" noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Also check the large bushing at the back of the front control arms, when they go out it will be leaking grease and it will also cause the clunking sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Sounds very much like torque bind. Just to test, try putting the FWD fuse in, its beside the right strut tower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I noticed just yesterday while pulling into a parking spot that I get a clunking sound when turning at low speeds only. What could this be? 97 Impreza 118,000 miles. I'm planning to do the t-belt between X-mas and New Years in a buddies shop so I'll have the space and a warm place to work, but need to know what I'm dealing with on this one. Oh, and is there a decent shop manual or guide to help me out with the t-belt change? OK its TB rearing its ugly head. Check your tires, make sure they all match and are inflated. If you have a manual there isnt anything you can do beyond that. If its an automatic pup the fuse in and see if it goes away. if it does you will need to change the tranny fluid asap. With luck you should be able to nip this in the but and not have any further issues. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Why torque bind with a clunking sound? I just replaced my over 300,000 mile transmission because of torque bind, but it never clunked from that. It was like the wheels in the rear was not turning at the same speed as the front. I have had clunking from strut mounts being bad, and clunking from bad ball joints, and clunking from bushing in the supenison being bad. I not saying it cant happen but I did not see it when I had that problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravityman Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I was having this same issue with my brat and my legacy. I swapped out the front bearings and it fixed it a little. I then pulled the rear wheel off and found that the rear wheel bearing was really bad. I did not swap that one due to I have totally gutted the car for a full restoration, but I am almost positive that this would have fixed the problem. I thought it was the cv but it was good. Infact I replaced just about every thing on the front pass side suspension due to this problem. It originally sounded like it was coming from the front and back, now just the back. I have not done anything to fix the legacy but i am sure the bearing is shot, no squealing just sounds like a clunky grind sound. CHECK THE BEARINGS-- The best way to find out if something is bad is get under the car and look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 OK its TB rearing its ugly head.Check your tires, make sure they all match and are inflated. If you have a manual there isnt anything you can do beyond that. If its an automatic pup the fuse in and see if it goes away. if it does you will need to change the tranny fluid asap. With luck you should be able to nip this in the but and not have any further issues. nipper I'll take the car over to Les Schwab this morning and have them rotate the tires, it's been almost 10k miles. While they've got it up on their rack, I'll measure tire circumfrence. Please define "right away." I am planning on taking the car into the shop for the 120k service, I just don't feel like doing the t-belt myself. That service includes flushing EVERY fluid in the car. Right now I'm looking at at least a week before I can get into the shop, mainly because they can't take it without a week's notice. It'll be in before the end of the year, is that soon enough to not cause damage or should I be more insistant with the shop that it needs to be in earlier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I'll take the car over to Les Schwab this morning and have them rotate the tires, it's been almost 10k miles. While they've got it up on their rack, I'll measure tire circumfrence. Please define "right away." I am planning on taking the car into the shop for the 120k service, I just don't feel like doing the t-belt myself. That service includes flushing EVERY fluid in the car. Right now I'm looking at at least a week before I can get into the shop, mainly because they can't take it without a week's notice. It'll be in before the end of the year, is that soon enough to not cause damage or should I be more insistant with the shop that it needs to be in earlier? a week is fine. If its TB and the fwd fuse makes it go away, keep it in untill you get the car serviced, then remove it right before you pull in. After you have the tranny flushed drive in tight circles for a bit to loosen up the clutch pack. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 Update... The FWD didn't help the noise. It seems to be coming from the rear as much as the front and seems to only happen when cold. Any ideas? Things to check? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 Use the Search function. Clunk sound at slow speeds as when turning into a driveway over a small bump? This was diagnosed as hydraulic knock on my 2000 Legacy and I was told that it was present in many previous years. There is a kit that ? fixes it by installing a damper in the power steering fluid line. It's certainly less problematic than the dreaded torque bind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 Use the Search function. Clunk sound at slow speeds as when turning into a driveway over a small bump? This was diagnosed as hydraulic knock on my 2000 Legacy and I was told that it was present in many previous years. There is a kit that ? fixes it by installing a damper in the power steering fluid line. It's certainly less problematic than the dreaded torque bind. Slow speeds, no bumps or driveways needed. Sound comes from the rear as well as the front. Almost seems like it comes from the rear when turning to the right and the front when turning to the left. It goes away once the car warms up. I gave the search function the old college try, but didn't manage to find what I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarikoptic Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 so - did you go to the shop? what was the cause? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Slow speeds, no bumps or driveways needed. Sound comes from the rear as well as the front. Almost seems like it comes from the rear when turning to the right and the front when turning to the left. It goes away once the car warms up. I gave the search function the old college try, but didn't manage to find what I was looking for. goes away when the car warms up or the suspension warms up. My 97 OBW does it in the rear sometimes, and i know i have a bad strut back there. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 so - did you go to the shop? what was the cause? Shop couldn't get the car to do it...they pulled it in warm. They did think the tranny fluid was bit on the nasty side so recomended a flush instead of a simple fluid change (the later would have been included inteh 120k mile service). Even after the flush, I still get the clunk, clunk, clunk sound. The shop is not at all concerned about torque bind and didn't have a good idea as to the cause. Smart Service comes awfully highly recomended and they've done great work on my car and friend's cars in the past so my gut tells me that if they don't know...they really don't know. With 120k on the struts, I've been wanting to replace them anyway. Been toying with the idea of swapping in Forester struts from a junk yard with new cartridges to give me a little a lift, but, that may be more trouble then it's worth. So for now, when it's cold, the clunk, clunk, clunk sound is still present. It's not getting any better, but, it's not getting any worse either. The shop says it's not the drivetrain and not wheel bearings, so, I'm not worried. Granted, and now I'm just brain storming, I did hear a loud 'boom' on the freeway today. All 4 tires are still in one piece and holding air. My car rides pretty normally and I don't think it's riding any rougher, but, if the struts were already in bad shape, I might not notice a big difference with a blown strut? I do know, because I've heard it before, that they do make a big boom when they blow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 strange double post, sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Shop couldn't get the car to do it...they pulled it in warm. They did think the tranny fluid was bit on the nasty side so recomended a flush instead of a simple fluid change (the later would have been included inteh 120k mile service). Even after the flush, I still get the clunk, clunk, clunk sound. The shop is not at all concerned about torque bind and didn't have a good idea as to the cause. Smart Service comes awfully highly recomended and they've done great work on my car and friend's cars in the past so my gut tells me that if they don't know...they really don't know. With 120k on the struts, I've been wanting to replace them anyway. Been toying with the idea of swapping in Forester struts from a junk yard with new cartridges to give me a little a lift, but, that may be more trouble then it's worth. So for now, when it's cold, the clunk, clunk, clunk sound is still present. It's not getting any better, but, it's not getting any worse either. The shop says it's not the drivetrain and not wheel bearings, so, I'm not worried. Granted, and now I'm just brain storming, I did hear a loud 'boom' on the freeway today. All 4 tires are still in one piece and holding air. My car rides pretty normally and I don't think it's riding any rougher, but, if the struts were already in bad shape, I might not notice a big difference with a blown strut? I do know, because I've heard it before, that they do make a big boom when they blow! This is an automatic. Put the fwd fuse in the fuse holder, see if the problem goes away. Check all the tires to make sure they are equally inflated. When exaclty do you get the clunk, and i mean exaclty, speed rpm diretion of the car. Do you get the clunk going from drive to reverse? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarikoptic Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 I did hear a loud 'boom' on the freeway today. All 4 tires are still in one piece and holding air. My car rides pretty normally and I don't think it's riding any rougher, but, if the struts were already in bad shape, I might not notice a big difference with a blown strut? I do know, because I've heard it before, that they do make a big boom when they blow! My friend's Legacy had a very loud boom.... that was rear diff (believe it or not) -- it was missing oil, so whatever was there heated up and exploded in the middle of the night in the middle of texas desert (that is good that there were 3 cars total in our company so we pulled it on a rope for other 300 miles... I am not sure now why we just didn't drive it since rear diff gear went to a clear round shape by the end of the trip anyway) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted January 20, 2007 Author Share Posted January 20, 2007 This is an automatic. Put the fwd fuse in the fuse holder, see if the problem goes away. Check all the tires to make sure they are equally inflated. When exaclty do you get the clunk, and i mean exaclty, speed rpm diretion of the car. Do you get the clunk going from drive to reverse? nipper It is an auto. The fuse changed nothing. The tires are all as identical as they can be (less than 1/16 difference between them). The clunk comes when the car is very cold, it's been pretty chilly in the mornings around here so I don't know if it will do this when the mercury is above say 40 degrees. The clunk comes from the right side of the car, right rear when turning right, right front when turning left. It only happens at very low speeds, less than 10mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Have you checked the motor mounts? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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