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New noise, not sure if normal

4K views 27 replies 8 participants last post by  37587 
#1 ·
Hello all,
I have a noise that's caught my attention in recent days. It is a low frequency growl that occurs when turning sharp and backing up, like backing out of a parking slot or my driveway. I can hear it and feel the vibration every time I back out of my driveway, a parking slot, etc. Does not occur with car in D, just reverse. 2006 X with automatic, 58k on the odo. Diff oil changed at 30k and still shows full on the stick.

And today, I noticed the passenger side fog light is cracked but still intact. Any ideas on where to find a replacement?

Thanks!!

Erik
 
#3 ·
What does "bump" mean anyway? I've seen it before but still haven't figured it out.

The noise I'm referring to almost sounds like tire scrub, as if the front diff is tight or locked or something. I would think if there is something wrong with the front diff, it would make the noise regardless of direction of movement, right?

Thanks for the online lookups, I'll see if I can get the pn off the foglight assy. and look it up. Bet it is expensive........
 
#6 ·
New info on noise

The noise does not happen if I put the fuse in to disable the AWD system. I ran it in and out of the driveway this evening with and without the fuse in. I can get the growl to happen with everything working normally. When I put the FWD fuse in, the noise stops. Suggestions?
 
#7 ·
If you still have warranty left I would get it in to the dealer quick. May be the clutch pack that controls rear drive going bad. Are your tires in good shape and close to equal wear between front and rear? May also be the rear diff has a bad bearing and once the load is removed, noise goes away. Just a couple of areas to look at.
 
#8 ·
Got about 2k left on warranty. I was heading to the dealer today anyway to let them eye the oil leak on the driver's side head gasket. Been fixed once already and started leaking again about 6k later. Tires are all new, bought and mounted at the same time, with maybe 2k on them now. Tire pressure all 34psi at all 4 corners. Hope it's not tranny or diff, don't need to have it in the shop right now!
 
#9 ·
I think there's supposed to be a 3 psi difference between front a rear. Original settings are F 29, R 26 I believe on the '03 MY, and the rears are supposed to be bumped up if carrying a load. I always ran mine a little higher like you, but maintained the front rear bias.
 
#10 ·
I'll have to look at the dataplate to be sure. I've run 35 all around since I bought the car 4 years ago. It took a little fiddling with the pressure to find the right balance of comfort, economy and performance. Would tire pressure have that effect though?
 
#11 ·
There's a reason for the 3 psi difference and I would imagine it's to maintain the same circumference/rolling distance during normal driving as these cars have a front weight bias. I really can't see it causing much, if any drivetrain wear that would be giving you these problems that started this thread. Just stating the difference to help out with balancing the ride, economy and performance angle. You may want to set it before going to the dealer so they don't try to blame your problems on that. Anything to get out of a warranty claim.
 
#12 ·
I'm going to change the tire pressure before I leave for work this morning. I went by the dealer yesterday but all the techs were at lunch so the service manager climbed in the car. I was able to duplicate the noise by simply putting the car in reverse and backing out of the parking space with the front wheels turned 3/4 to lock. I did it twice with him in the car. He said he didn't have a clue what it could be and suggested waiting until I bring it back for the 60k. They'll change the trans fluid and see if the noise is still there.

I'll be taking it in for the 60k at 59700 miles. I'm not waiting until it hits the 60k mark on the odo.
 
#14 ·
Your guess is as good as mine at this point. I changed the TP this morning. On the 06, there is 1 psi difference front to rear so I did 33 front, 32 rear. No change in the sound. Is there any kind of cutaway or exploded view that shows how the power transfer front to rear happens?
 
#15 ·
Driving in FWD mode

Does anybody know of any harm putting the fuse in and driving the car in FWD mode? I'd like to try driving around town in that mode to see if the noise happens but I'm not sure if it will do harm. What do you folks know about this?
 
#16 ·
Should be okay to use the AWD disabling fuse for a while -- after all, it is required in some circumstances. Keep in mind, however, that the car might handle differently because the rear isn't "pushing".

If I understand correctly, making a tight turn in reverse causes the noise, but going forward at the same turning angle and speed doesn't. With the AWD disabled, there's no noise in either case. Hmmmm . . .
 
#18 ·
I ran it in FWD mode this morning when I went for breakfast. No noise any time I backed up. Strangely, when I pulled the fuse out and went to the grocery store a little later, the noise didn't return. I have noticed it only happens after I've gotten everything good and hot. I took my mom out to eat Friday night, right after I got home from work. Car sat in the parking lot of the restaurant about 45-60 minutes. When we left, the noise happened as I was backing up, on gravel no less. That was a first, to hear it with gravel under the tires. It did it again when I backed out of the parking spot at the dollar store, on asphalt. Her comment was "What was that?" Her 06 X isn't making this noise at all. Both our cars are the same year with an auto tranny. Hers has about 33k on the clock, mine has 58k on the clock.

The steering wheel doesn't have to be turned all the way to the lock to get this noise to happen, about half to three quarters to lock will get it started. I got up under the car Saturday night and looked for anything obvious but didn't see anything. Put the fuse in to disable AWD and there is no noise whatsoever.

All fluids on mine are good as I checked everything last night. Guess this is one for the dealer to figure out. I just hope it doesn't mean tranny replacement.
 
#19 ·
Noise found and solved today

Just wanted to let you folks know the dealer found and solved the low frequency vibration today during the 60k service. It wasn't the tranny!http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/woohoo.gif

It's kinda hard to explain, but I'll try. There's rubber isolators where the rear subframe is fastened to the body brackets. Apparently when I got tires a while back, the guy used these mounts as jack points, bending the mounts up slightly and causing them to rub the rubber mounts, thus causing the noise. The dealer bent the edges back down and the noise hasn't been heard since. If anybody wants to see these mounts, I'll try to take some pics and post them. The SM said mine wasn't the first this has happened to so they knew right where to look. He said with the previous case, the owner was convinced he needed a new rear diff and was tickled pink to find out otherwise.
 
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