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Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

8641 messages,  Last post on May 03, 2013 at 9:35 AM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Wagon

Messages Page 855 of 865

#8536 of 8641 Slightly vibrating steering wheel by pathtomax

Feb 09, 2012 (1:14 pm)

Driving along the highway this weekend, I noticed something with my steering. 2008 Subaru Outback 3.0 LL Bean. My usual commute to work is mixed with just a little highway so don't notice.
 
Periodically on the highway, my steering wheel would vibrate/shake. Mostly around 65 mph. Then, it would calm down and be fine. It happened about 4 times in my 30 minute ride on the highway. The tires only have 7000 miles, been rotated and balanced about 1000 miles ago.
  
Is this wheel bearings? Can I just deal with it for a few months before my next oil change?

#8537 of 8641 Re: Slightly vibrating steering wheel [pathtomax] by xwesx

Feb 09, 2012 (3:01 pm)

Replying to: pathtomax (Feb 09, 2012 1:14 pm)
Any snow in your area? I notice (regularly) that my Forester likes to shake at highway speeds during the winter due to snow/ice buildup on the wheels causing them to be out of balance. As conditions vary, so does the vibration. Sometimes it is severe (meaning I'll slow down in order to temper the vibration), and sometimes it is barely noticeable.
 
Generally, I won't have that problem with my Escort, but I guess the ice just doesn't stick/build up in the same way.

#8538 of 8641 Re: Slightly vibrating steering wheel [pathtomax] by hammerhead

Feb 09, 2012 (9:49 pm)

Replying to: pathtomax (Feb 09, 2012 1:14 pm)
Might be something as simple as you've thrown a wheel weight, causing one corner to be off balance just enough to cause a wobble at certain speeds/wheel RPMs. First thing I would do is have the balance checked on all 4 tires. Also, as tires wear, the balance can get thrown off a bit.
 
That's where I would start.

#8539 of 8641 2000 Subaru Outback battery drainage issue by squiers

Feb 10, 2012 (6:21 pm)

My Subaru this last week failed to start one morning, noticed that the battery was completely drained to the point that the locks, digital clock and all other indicators were not functioning. Nothing was left on. Battery was 1 year old. So we jumped it and it appeared to run fine the rest of the day. Next morning, same issue. This time the battery couldn't be jumped. Again nothing was left on. I went to an alternator repair place where they also specialized in electrical issues. They replaced the battery because it seemed weak. Alternator and the fuses were all checked with no apparent issues. However, 2 days later it died again! We jumped it again and took it back to the shop & advised to let it sit overnight. The darn car started with no issues for these guys. The culprit has not become apparent to this writing. It is now the weekend & I needed my car. I'm unhooking the battery at night to avoid this issue again until I have a better time to take it in. Being self employed as a painter I can't afford this downtime. Has anyone had simular issues and found out the problem?

#8540 of 8641 Re: 2000 Subaru Outback battery drainage issue [squiers] by xwesx

Feb 10, 2012 (6:49 pm)

Replying to: squiers (Feb 10, 2012 6:21 pm)
This doesn't really help over the long term, but you can buy a manual disconnect battery terminal from NAPA or other auto parts stores. This will allow you to quickly disconnect the battery by simply throwing a switch rather than having to remove the terminal from the battery stud.

#8541 of 8641 Re: 2000 Subaru Outback battery drainage issue [squiers] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 10, 2012 (7:18 pm)

Replying to: squiers (Feb 10, 2012 6:21 pm)
Sounds like a parasitic drain. First the drain kills the battery---you jump it, which is really never a good idea to do to a completely dead battery, and then your alternator works very hard to put a kind of 'surface charge' on the battery. So it's possible all this stressed out the battery. completely, utterly, dead batteries must be slow-charged or you can damage them.
 
if the alternator checks out okay, and if you don't have problems when you disconnect the cable each night, then for sure your issue is a drain.
 
How to Track Down a Battery Drain Issue
 
good luck with it!

#8542 of 8641 Re: 2000 Subaru Outback battery drainage issue [squiers] by angitherias

Feb 10, 2012 (7:47 pm)

Replying to: squiers (Feb 10, 2012 6:21 pm)
Does it get really cold at night? Cold outside temperatures will affect cold cranking amps.
Or do you have warranty on your battery? Could be faulty if it is only one year old.

#8543 of 8641 Re: 2000 Subaru Outback battery drainage issue [squiers] by sghusker

Feb 10, 2012 (9:24 pm)

Replying to: squiers (Feb 10, 2012 6:21 pm)
Double check all of your fuses. The same thing happend to me and it was the fuse for the altenator. It is not marked as such in the fuse box. It is marked something like 'meter' or M (?). It is large and it dosen't look like a fuse, it looks more like a relay. It is in the box under the hood on the drivers side.

#8544 of 8641 Re: Slightly vibrating steering wheel [pathtomax] by winn70

Feb 11, 2012 (5:52 pm)

Replying to: pathtomax (Feb 09, 2012 1:14 pm)
could it be steering stabilizer? I had to replace one on my Jeep Cherokee this fall. Felt like front wheel was falling off. They look like a small hydraulic cylinder.

#8545 of 8641 should i replace the t-stat? by prancingpony

Feb 13, 2012 (11:31 pm)

im planning a 600 mile trip and im having issues with my 1997 Subaru Outback AWD Legacy "overheating"..the quotations are because its not behaving in the least like it is,,it happens randomly..doesn't matter if its in-town driving or highway,the gauge will shoot to the top, but when i pull over,everything appears fine.a few people told me to turn on A/C the next time it happened,and immediately the needle dropped to normal again.im pretty broke so cant afford to take it to a shop,but a friend thought it sounded like a bad t-stat...any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Messages Page 855 of 865

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