Subi Noob.. Steering Noise..

Hi there, just got my '97 Legacy GT a week ago... when I was test driving the car I guess I didn't notice it, but now that I have driven the car for more than a week I have noticed that when I pull the steering wheel to the right or left, there would be a weird ticking noise. The noise goes away when I am driving straight, but as soon as I turn the wheel left or right, the noise would come back. Has anyone ever encountered this problem and can give me some tips on where to check the car for problems?

 

Thanks in advance...

heyy there cali member who is not too far away from me!! haha and welcome,

 

i suggest checking out your cv boots as that is usually the culprit. take a look under your car right behind the brake rotors and you will see a rubber thing held on by 2 of those metal fastners. check to see if any of them are ripped, if so check to see if there is still grease inside them, you want to replace those asap as that can make your axle seize up. hope this helps

Yeah, don't do what I did. Lol, put off replacing right front axle with torn CV until it felt as though the wheel was going to come off...

 

...mechanic said a few hundred more miles and it would have, lol.

Definitely have a case of the bad cv joint. I would check your right one first, but chances are both of them are gone. Let me dig up the link for a great description i read on here.

Thanks for the advice... I will have to wait until this weekend to check and replace those... Any tips on removing and installing the CV joints? I have not done those before? Also can I just go to a local Kragen and pick them up for my car?

This is what you don't want to see...

http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=434&pictureid=2299

http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=434&pictureid=2300

http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=434&pictureid=2301

 

I think this is probably the worst it can get short of the axles falling out or something.

 

Tips for the job: use a jack to push up on the control arm a little bit when attaching/detaching the swaybar links. It takes the shear stress off the bolts and lets them slip right out (thats what she said). Also, do not underestimate how hard that 32mm spindle nut is to get off. Mine was absolutely cranked on there. Oh, and don't bother getting a spindle pin like you might have read online... it's really not necessary. Finally, before you get the spindle nut off, go and put a wheel nut back on and screw it all the way down against the rotor; not hard. This keeps the rotor from falling away from the wheel hub (I think thats what its bolted against?) and allowing rust particles/etc. to get between it and what it's pressed up against. If you don't do this, the brakes apparently can seem like they're warped since they won't be on totally straight.

 

good luck man! It's a pretty short job after you get the spindle nut off.

hey ritz-o,

 

there is a guy up in sac that does them for cheap and another pal of mine who is hiding out somewhere on this fourm told me about and he recommended me as long as i get all the parts. I havent done mine yet but let me know if you would like more info on this guy. I can ask my friend and get his info again.

hey ritz-o,

 

there is a guy up in sac that does them for cheap and another pal of mine who is hiding out somewhere on this fourm told me about and he recommended me as long as i get all the parts. I havent done mine yet but let me know if you would like more info on this guy. I can ask my friend and get his info again.

 

@WESTcoast: Yah please give me the info... I would like to know a good local guy who knows his Subaru.... thanks...

Ok well so I ended up getting a pair of drive axles from Kragen for $70 a piece brand new. Didn't wanna mess with the remanufactured.... I'm sure I could've found some cheaper ones online, but I didn't want to wait too long as the sound seems to be getting worse... Will attempt to install them tomorrow... hopefully it all ends well...

OK so this weekend I attempted a DIY removal of my busted CV driveaxle... It took me longer than I had expected (around 5 hours or so) because 1)it's my first time doing so,

2)it was a beeotch getting the spindle nut off, so I had to re-install my tires, drop the car, go to Home Depot to grab a 4' pipe to use as a breaker, then jack the car back up, remove the tires again, before finally removing the damn spindle nut... once I got that off, it wasn't too difficult at all... just remember to make sure which way the pin goes in... I messed up the new pin that came with the axle because I couldn't tell which way was in... good thing the old pin was still in good shape... other than that, I think it went ok... the other drive axle was in good shape so I ended up not having to take it out...

 

I did however discover that both boots for the tie-rod were torn up so I guess that will have to be replaced as well...

 

Thanks to all for your tips and advice...

 

Also I give mad props for the DIY Replace Driveaxle CV Joint thread at: http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=6666

OK so this weekend I attempted a DIY removal of my busted CV driveaxle... It took me longer than I had expected (around 5 hours or so) because 1)it's my first time doing so,

2)it was a beeotch getting the spindle nut off, so I had to re-install my tires, drop the car, go to Home Depot to grab a 4' pipe to use as a breaker, then jack the car back up, remove the tires again, before finally removing the damn spindle nut... once I got that off, it wasn't too difficult at all... just remember to make sure which way the pin goes in... I messed up the new pin that came with the axle because I couldn't tell which way was in... good thing the old pin was still in good shape... other than that, I think it went ok... the other drive axle was in good shape so I ended up not having to take it out...

 

I did however discover that both boots for the tie-rod were torn up so I guess that will have to be replaced as well...

 

Thanks to all for your tips and advice...

 

Also I give mad props for the DIY Replace Driveaxle CV Joint thread at: http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=6666

 

thats awesome man glad you got it done!!! heyy lets do mine next hahaha seriously though haha my steering wheel is playing games on me and i want them to stop haha. I wish i had a garage or someplace to work on my car i live in apartments and i cant do anything under the carport i have to be sneaky to do my oil changes hahaha.

 

how does it drive now any shakes sounds or anything of that such???

 

 

ps ill get you the name of that guy i gotta search for it in my mail

@WESTcoast: When changing my drive axle I discovered my steering boots were torn so I assume that's the reason I'm still hearing noise and vibration when I turn the steering wheel. That's what i'll be working on next.

 

It is a beeootchh not having your own garage. I too live in an apartment, so I have to drive from Roseville to Sac to use my dad's garage. Not very convenient, but oh well.