The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Cheers, I'm still yet to sort it out, haven't had the opportunity to do much more investigating. There's a chance it's actually the uni joints on the linkage, which would be much better than changing the rack!

Thanks for the replies folks. I can see and feel movement where the steering shaft enters the rack and if I put sideways pressure on it while someone is moving the steering wheel the clunk stops so I reckon that's where the issue is. I haven't had a good look yet, I was hoping I could just remove th...

Hi folks. I have a clunk/rattle in my 2gen OB steering when I drive on bumpy roads, it's fine otherwise. There appears to be some slop in the rack/pinion input shaft bearing, I can get some movement there and it seems like the first step in finding the issue. Is it possible to change that bearing wi...

It's on Kings standard height springs, so it sits a smidge higher than stock I guess, but bugger all.

Thanks, I think I'll just get him to put as much negative as possible on the front.

Hi folks. My 98 Outback is going in for an alignment next week. When I bought it the owner said he had the front camber set at -0.5 deg camber as per the liberty settings, but the outback stock setting is 0.0 deg. He said it turned in better. Any opinions whether I should stick to the -0.5 deg or go...

The Geolander at/s looks pretty good and gets decent reviews. I think it's a bit overkill for the roads I mainly use, I just don't do enough mud driving to need that aggressive a tread pattern. Will consider it if that changes though. Thanks

I thought the Geolanders had a terrible reputation, if only for their squeeliness....

Thanks guys. Found the Toyos a bit cheaper so it looks like I'll be going for those. The Cooper warranty sounds utterly useless and just like marketing bullshit. Interestingly all the dealers I spoke to used it to try to sell them.

I'm leaning toward the toyo at the moment. Not real cheap though, they are $200 each. Should get good tread life though.

My 2 gen outback is due for new rubber. I currently have Falken t110s on it, I'm currently tossing up between Cooper CS4 or Toyo Open Country H/T. Anyone want to offer thoughts on which is the better tire? Lots of bitumen use, lots of gravel and very occasional mud.

Took the car to the Subie dealer today and they replaced the drivers side rear wheel bearing and all is good again. Only just made it, the whole car was buzzing for the last 10km or so. For others diagnosing a similar problem, the sound is kind of like really chunky 4wd tyres on a highway, or being ...

I tried to check the diff oil but couldn't crack the level check nut. It should be fine, it either never had oil in it or it still does because there's none on the car from leaks. I would have expected the sound to change getting on and off the power if it was the diff but it's constant and only cha...

Thanks folks. I'm going to do the rear bearings, just hoping the hub is ok or it's another $220! I'll probably get the dealer to do them, bit worried the 200k trek will do damage but I don't have a lot of options. I'll report back when it's sorted. Thanks for all the advice

I'm starting to wonder if this could be a rear wheel bearing, not the diff. I can find a huge amount of references to bad wheel bearings and noise, but bugger all about bad diffs. Will do some more investigating today.

Thanks, I thought it was an R180 but you are correct, R160. I was way out on the slack on the input shaft, would be 3mm play max. Output shafts have about 1/2-1mm slack up and down between the bearing retainer and the shaft. Can I pull one from a liberty of a similar year if I can't get one from an ...

Hoping someone here might be able to help a bit. I have a '98 2gen OB and the rear diff appears to be getting pretty loud. It's not a whine as such, but more of a growl, kind of like a noisy exhaust would sound. It's not the exhaust though, it starts around 40km/h and gets annoying around 80. There ...

Could be a faulty knock sensor, or it could need a speed sensor input if you haven't connected it. Years ago on a Nissan transplant I did I had the same problem from not having a speed sensor hooked up, hit a brick wall around 5000rpm or so.

You might have to run relays and change it to positive switching, perhaps, as Subaru use negative switching as standard.

Yeah this doesn't sound right. Car batteries are designed to be charged quickly by the alternator, short trips should be fine. You shouldn't have to turn the lights on. If you want to test whether it is charging properly, go to Jaycar or Dick Smith and grab a $10-20 digital multimeter. Put it on the...