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Front end thump clunk vibration even after new axles


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Bought a cheap subaru, need help with it. I have read a ton on the forums and still have not found anyone explain what my problem feels like.

 

93 2.2 NT A/T AWD Legacy wagon, paid $800 has 166K (was "supposedly" rebuilt motor and tranny 20K ago)

 

When I bought it the guy said it needed tires badly and drove very messed up due to this. I arrived and all tires had good tread, one (rear) had a plug. Car drove like crap as expected, ran great, but jerked, wobble, and bounced.

 

Took car in and had both front tires balanced, made a huge difference, car no longer jerked from side to side and vibration/wobble/bouncing was much much better, problem still not cured though.

 

I took it to a mechanic, they said it was cv's and replaced both. it didn't change a thing. They stated they looked over brakes, rotors, hubs, ect and found no problems.

 

The problem seems to be coming more from the passenger side or middle. When driving the car (anytime over 10mph weather your on the gas or off, turning or going straight) it has a "bounce" type "vibration" (?thump?clunk?) that is consistent with the wheel spin, like at the same velocity of the tire, like something happens once per rotation of the tire. It feels JUST LIKE a separated tire on the front passenger, but I had them checked and also switched them out with some others I bought (worn but balanced and not seperated) just to make sure and still no difference.

 

I put the FWD fuse in and that didn't make any difference either, but I was able to jack up the front on stands and slowly run the car. I noticed the front pass tire is not getting any power, its pretty much all on the driver side (I could stop the pass tire with my hand). I thought even with open diff if the other tire had traction present (my hand) that it would give it more power...no? Also when the front was on stands and it was in drive I could NOT hear, feel, or see any vibrating thump, this could be because the passenger tire is not reaching speeds over 10mph like the driver side is, i'm thinking.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

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Heck, when I throw mine up on stands one of the tires hold up, but it's 20 years old. Same as in my 98 RS.

 

If I had to guess I'd say wheel bearing or blown struts. With the wheel bearings you'd hear a whining noise though. When the car's on the ground push down on the bumper and release and if the car bounces more than say...1 and a half times your struts are probably blown on that end. I'd do this in each corner and see if they're all good. I'd check the bushings on the control arms too. I've never dealt with bad arm bushings, but I suppose it's possible it'd mess with it. . It's probably something that the car has to have weight on the tires to see. Or maybe one of your rims are slightly bent?

 

Is there any way you can upload a video?

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Ya I was thinking about getting a video too, as soon as I get home I will get a video of it.

As far as bent wheel

It feels JUST LIKE a separated tire on the front passenger, but I had them checked and also switched them out with some others I bought (worn but balanced and not seperated) just to make sure and still no difference
I have done a lot of swapping around tires/wheels and none has made any difference except the initial balance of the driver front (before the mechanic). I have tried different wheels/tires on each side of the front.

 

I did actually mess with the struts after taking it off stands and they all seem good, also like I said this "thumping" is once per rotation of the tire...its something that is going the velocity of the tire. I will look at them a little more though and I will check out the suspension bushings as well.

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Oooooh. I was driving offroad today and I started hearing a bad clunk and I noticed my lower ball joint boot was ripped. That'd be freakin nice since I just figured the strut was blown. $20 vs. $100. I'll give the ball joint a shot first :D Thanks, man!
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