QuestionMy 2002 outback subaru has a vibration at idle when in gear. At nuetral and park it is not noticeable, but when it is in drive or 3rd gear it really noticeably shakes the car.
This car had some trouble at 90,000 when Midas accidently drained transaxle fluid and didn't refill. They paid for a new transmission. About a month later Mt. St. Helens erupted under my hood due to a head gasket problem and I had to pay for a new engine.
At the time they (Subaru) assured me the engine would go forever. Now at 147,000 miles I did some normal maintenance: First, oil change and transmission flush replaced with synthetic transmission fluid. Second, 5 days later I had a cv boot/axle replaced. When I picked my car up from later repair, I notice the vibration upon firing it up. Mechanic checked everything, including transmission mounts, etc, and said he had pretty much ruled everything out except the torque converter. As my mechanic doesn't do automatic transmission repair I took it to Subaru for an estimate. After keeping my car a week, they still could not tell me why it was vibrating. First they said it was a worn mount on transmission which they replaced. But alas the vibration was still there. Then they thought it needed new spark plugs and wires. But the vibration was still there. So they then thought it was the alternator, but when they put a known good alternator in, it still vibrated. Removed axels, the new one and the other, but with no load, no vibration. Somehow they ruled axels out. Checked tensioners, hoses, battery, battery cables, but still vibrated when it was repaired or a known good one was substituted in. In the end they told me a "valve adjustment possibly could help" for $385. I said "No thanks", having already spent $480. and still having the same problem.
Then I took my car to a transmission specialist. I asked if synthetic transmissin fluid put in car a week before problem started could be the culprit but they said no. Asked if it sounded like torque converter, but he said no. Said I would feel the vibration in park and neutral as strongly as in gear if it was the torque converter. He wondered if maybe I have a head gasket getting ready to go bad again. He is going to run some test next week to try to rule that possibility in or out.
Any ideas. I have spent nearly $1,000 trying to get this thing diagnosed. I love my subaru, but with a new transmission, new engine, and not being able to get 50,000 down the road since those repairs, don't think I could buy one again. Just wanted to get three more years on this one, but starting to think I should look for another car.
Thanks in advance if you can shed some light on this.
Kim
AnswerWow, sounds to me like you really have had a tough go here.Anyways lets go to the beginning.The Technician who didn't put any gear oil back in the front differential had no business working on your car. Also it is possible if he broke into the cooling system for service he may have not burped the air out of it properly causing the overheating condition, as that year outback doesn't have a big problem overheating as a result of internal gasket failure like the previous years did.And most likely that was the start of a very viscous cycle.When the shop paid for a transmission to be replaced they may have had an aftermarket rebuild or a used transmission installed.If your vehicle has had an aftermarket transmission installed its very possible that the vibration is in the transmission and torque convertor .The guy who told you a bad torque convertor would vibrate the same in and out of gear is a little off his thinking.A faulty torque convertor can start out vibrating worse in drive and shudder as you accelerate and go unnoticed in park /neutral.The problem may have been in the flush it self .Depending how it was performed it may have dislodged somewhere in the transmission and created a problem.But in your post its unclear to me if the problem was there after flushing or after the axle was repaired.The things that should be done to diagnose the vehicle all cost money and i can only tell you how we would approach the repair here.I would review all of the previous repair work and try to establish a theory.Which based on your post i already have came to the conclusion that most likely the transmission replacement done way back at 90k has come back to haunt you in some way.Im sorry to say that but its the most logical explanation.The vehicle should really be diagnosed by some one who knows subaru to verify this ,not a Trans shop who works on every make and model transmission out there without becoming an expert on any one of them.(They are All different !).Next no one wants to say it but i will, the dealer is the absolute last place you want to take your car for repairs.Its just not there business, they want the same day in and out service work and most people stop taking there car to the dealer after it is out of warranty as such the techs at the dealer don't really become familiar with problems that arise in vehicles with higher miles and have been to so many different repair shops i am not saying the techs are any better or worse just merely exposed to different types or repairs.Which is my last point. When you by a car new or used you are much better served, establishing a relationship with an independent repair shop for all of its service needs .There are independent Subaru repair shops in just about every state and if not look for someone who specializes in Japanese vehicles as a second choice.
