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At the end of my rope with this car


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I bought this 05 LGT 6 months ago and it's been constant chasing down issues.

 

It was a rough idle / hesitation. I do believe that is FINALLY taken care of, but with a new isssue.

What's been done, that I can recall. Some is not really relevant but you'll understand why I am posting them anyway.

 

-New Turbo outlet gasket

-New Tumbler Valve Gaskets (Not NEARLY as difficult as they look)

-New spark plugs (NGKs. I forget the number +/- $12 ea.)

-New O2 sensor

-New Maf sensor

-Trans drain/fill 2x

-Rear diff drain/fill (front fluid looks awesome)

-Seafoamed twice

-a few tanks of fuel with Seafoam / Techron

-New sway bar end links (several months ago)

-New drive axle boot (passenger side)

-New lower control arm bushings

 

So, yesterday, a shop welded up a large leak just in front of the cat. Which is irritating because a muffler shop looked at it twice. That REALLY made a massive impact on the idle/hesitation issue. Fuel trims straightened right out.

 

Yesterday they also did the drive axle boot, and the Lower control arm bushings.

 

Since then, the car vibrates like a mofo. I mean... panel rattling vibration. A fast vibration like a massager or something. It goes away at higher RPM, in Park or Neutral.

It's intense in gear (reverse or D - auto trans) Worse if I turn the wheel.

After putting some miles on I can definitely tell something is making physical contact between the trans/engine and the frame. The vibration has a real thump to it.

Once last night at a stop light. (all alone - about 1 am) As soon as I hit the gas to go I heard a really loud clang. Like two pieces of metal with tension that releases.

Today on my way back to the shop I pulled into the station to get a drink. While straightening my wheels (stopped, not moving) it clunked loudy, twice.

 

The shop is a good shop. That's why I go there. The mechanic that I dealt with is very friendly and I have no doubts that they are really trying. I took it in and they can't seem to find anything. Out of their own frustration they are saying the engine is running rough. I don't think so. I've ran with a rough running engine for 6 months now. This is the best it's ever ran! Throttle response is great.. smooth, torquey. I know what a rough running engine is like. This is thumping.... like flicking yourself in the head. Thump, thump, thump, thump.... quickly. They said they looked and everything is tight, engine/trans/susp mounts are all good. I believe they are trying.

 

Anyway. I have an appointment set up for Monday with another shop that has always been really awesome too to let them look at it. I let them know that I don't intend to put them in the middle. Just if they find something, I can take it back to the 1st and say, "hey, they found this. Can I get some money back?"

 

Does anyone know by chance, if you were to do Lower control arm bushings, what could be moved that would cause contact?

If I have an idea of some common things, maybe I can take a peak on Sunday.

The other thing it's ALWAYS done is if I release the brake (no gas) to just inch forward it has a jerk to it. It's not smooth. Like, pull, pull, pull, pull... instead of just rolling forward.

 

I don't want to get rid of it. I love this car but at the same time I'm running out of patience. I've already been looking around.

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Did they put in a reman axle or just a new boot? Reman axles are notorious for causing lots of vibration, clunking, and noise. My bet is the cv. Take it to a shop that specializes in subaru. These cars are fickle beasts.
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I'm with gex. AT legacies don't like aftermarket axles, they will cause vibration issues when the car is in gear. Does the car have oem axles in it? OEM subaru axles have green cups
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The vibration will fade though. Mine went away completely after about 7-8k miles. But the first time I turned it on after installing the axles my heart stopped. The whole car was vibrating pretty bad.
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It was just the boot.

 

But I should point out also that this is also, almost most prominent really when the car is not moving. It does do it though while moving. It hits higher rpm and gets less noticeable. Which it would, higher frequency is less noticed generally speaking.

 

I've been looking around. I like the LGT but I'm open. I was looking at new cars but geez they are expensive. (Not just Subarus, but everything out there)

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I'm with gex. AT legacies don't like aftermarket axles, they will cause vibration issues when the car is in gear. Does the car have oem axles in it? OEM subaru axles have green cups

 

Yeah, I was under it. It has green cups. I'm sure they just replaced the boot. That's what they said before the work and never said otherwise after.

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Is the new boot a "universal" two piece deal, or OEM one piece? Inner boot, or outer boot?

 

Simple math dictates that if it wasn't happening before you took it to the shop, but it started after...then the problem most likely lies in what work they did. If the new boot is a one piece, they had to remove at least one side of the axle. Maybe they made a mistake when re-installing it?

 

I just went over the 2008 vacation pics, transmission diagnostic table. Based on what you describe (and my limited factory 5EAT vocabulary), here are some things to check:

 

• Accelerator pedal position sensor

• Throttle position sensor

• Control cable adjustment

• CAN communication signal <---- IIRC, 05 is pre CAN-BUS...so whatever it would be on an 05

• Engine speed signal

• Turbine speed sensor 1 and turbine speed sensor 2

• Vehicle speed sensor 1 and vehicle speed sensor 2

• Fluid level and condition

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^--- this. sounds like they didn't reassemble/tighten something after they did the work. the 2 motor mount studs go down through the subframe and should have a nut that is accessible through small holes in the bottom of the subframe. they should be present and tight. could be other stuff too, not sure what they might have taken apart to do the axle/suspension work.
BtSsm - Android app/Bluetooth adapter. LV, logging, gauges and more. For 05-14 Legacy (GT, 2.5, 3.0, 3.6), 02-14 WRX, 04-14 STi, 04-14 FXT, 05-09 OBXT
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I totally agree with you heiche.

 

I had planned to take it somewhere else and if they found it, take the invoice to the other place and be like, "Look. This is what it was. Can I be compensated?"

 

However, it STILL had a stumble upon first accelerating and honestly I just got sick of that thing. I think it had the CRAP beat out of it most of it's life. Bad decision on my part to buy it. I simply got tired of chasing issues down and running around here or there just so I could enjoy it.

Also too bad that this was my first Subaru experience personally. I've ridden in others that were fantastic.

 

But, when all is said in done. The LGT is gone.

I've picked up a Lexus ES 330. Not sporty I know but I kind of need that. Lost my license for 3 months from my modified Cobalt SS Turbo. LOL

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