Rittmeister

Did that! Should have said. It's one of the (many) items my bro and I checked out when he was here. Although, with the Bilstein setup, I'm not sure it does the same job - these are inverted struts I think. Either way they were tight.

Wow! I doubt that's my problem... but I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip. Any other input appreciated as well - honestly, anyone who wants to weigh in, I'd be grateful.

All of the above. It seems that the only unifying factor is very low speed - like, as you’re slowing to a stop or into a parking spot. Maybe even under 5 miles an hour; under 10 for sure. Most prevalent under braking. I noticed it first through the brake pedal, and my brother noticed that you can also feel it a little bit through the dead pedal/floorboard. I feel it much more than I hear it. In fact, I’m not convinced I actually hear anything.

Unfortunately I don't have access to a lift, and my brother lives 8 hours away. He was here for a visit, helped me do a timing belt job (he's done several, I'd done zero). All work and diagnosing has been done in my garage with the front end either on ramps or jackstands. The car has 92k miles (hence the timing belt). I doubt this is the rear diff... I don't know how to change front or center diff fluid. Is it as simple as changing the trans fluid? If so I'll look into it. I also have plans to do a complete brake job (pads & rotors) within a few weeks, so we'll see if that takes care of it. I should also mention that it's not wheel bearings. The front driver's is new, and we verified that neither side has any play at all. I'm going to do some more poking around underneath and in the engine bay. The car had the headgaskets changed just before I bought it (verified) so maybe something unrelated is a little loose.

Crossposting from the Outback area, hoping for more input. Yup, I've got it. 2009 Outback 2.5i, 4EAT. My car has a clunk that I can feel more than hear. I feel it in the brake pedal and the dead pedal/floorboard at very low speeds - parking lot speeds, coming to a stop at a light, etc. Like 10mph and lower. I bought the car in February with plans. Here is the setup. -JDM Rev A Bilsteins from a Legacy -Whiteline rear toe and track arms KTA124 -Whiteline rear trailing arm bushing W63398 -Whiteline front control arm bushing W53353 I put all the above on to lower the car to a normal Legacy height and deal with ghostwalking and camber issues. I had this plan in place almost before I bought the car. Since then I've also installed new front swaybar endlinks from Autozone (the stocks were shot), and new front balljoints from RockAuto (I killed the boots on the originals). I hardly drove the car between installing the big suspension items and putting these on. At this point I started to notice this clunk. I jacked the car up several times to check tightness on all connections but found nothing loose anywhere. I also tightened the castle nuts on the balljoints another couple flats on the nut to verify that. Every time I jack the car up and put it back down, the clunk goes away for a while but always returns. My searching indicates this is typical. My brother visited a few weeks ago; he has quite a lot of Subaru experience in addition to being an ASE trained mechanic; he also went over everything and verified that everything seems to be tight and sound. The only thing he and I, and my searching here and elsewhere could think of, was swaybar bushings, so I replaced those with new OEM about two weeks ago. Due to COVID and my schedule I haven't driven it a ton, but it seemed to be OK until today, when I did about 150 miles this morning. Sure enough, as I approached home I felt it at a few lights, and when I pulled into my driveway it was back. The only system I haven't touched is the brakes. I've heard that stuck slider pins can cause this issue, but the brakes seem to be working perfectly and I feel this is unlikely (though I'll probably check it out soon). I'm a bit stumped. This doesn't seem to be a safety or performance issue but it's annoying as hell. I'd be grateful for any input anyone might have. To review, I've replaced: Front control arm bushings (rear round bushing) Rear trailing arm bushings Front swaybar endlinks Front swaybar bushings Front balljoints Plus the Bilstein JDM setup and the Whiteline rear arm kit. Thanks!

Isn't that the Whiteline W53353? The round one at the back of the front control arms, that has a triangular plate holding it to the chassis? I definitely replaced that - had to have a shop press the old one out and the urethane one in. The front, pivot bushing I did not replace; I suppose it could be the issue but I haven't found much reference to anyone replacing that one.

Yup, I've got it. 2009 Outback 2.5i, 4EAT. My car has a clunk that I can feel more than hear. I feel it in the brake pedal and the dead pedal/floorboard at very low speeds - parking lot speeds, coming to a stop at a light, etc. Like 10mph and lower. I bought the car in February with plans. Here is the setup. -JDM Rev A Bilsteins from a Legacy -Whiteline rear toe and track arms KTA124 -Whiteline rear trailing arm bushing W63398 -Whiteline front control arm bushing W53353 I put all the above on to lower the car to a normal Legacy height and deal with ghostwalking and camber issues. I had this plan in place almost before I bought the car. Since then I've also installed new front swaybar endlinks from Autozone (the stocks were shot), and new front balljoints from RockAuto (I killed the boots on the originals). I hardly drove the car between installing the big suspension items and putting these on. At this point I started to notice this clunk. I jacked the car up several times to check tightness on all connections but found nothing loose anywhere. I also tightened the castle nuts on the balljoints another couple flats on the nut to verify that. Every time I jack the car up and put it back down, the clunk goes away for a while but always returns. My searching indicates this is typical. My brother visited a few weeks ago; he has quite a lot of Subaru experience in addition to being an ASE trained mechanic; he also went over everything and verified that everything seems to be tight and sound. The only thing he and I, and my searching here and elsewhere could think of, was swaybar bushings, so I replaced those with new OEM about two weeks ago. Due to COVID and my schedule I haven't driven it a ton, but it seemed to be OK until today, when I did about 150 miles this morning. Sure enough, as I approached home I felt it at a few lights, and when I pulled into my driveway it was back. The only system I haven't touched is the brakes. I've heard that stuck slider pins can cause this issue, but the brakes seem to be working perfectly and I feel this is unlikely (though I'll probably check it out soon). I'm a bit stumped. This doesn't seem to be a safety or performance issue but it's annoying as hell. I'd be grateful for any input anyone might have.

OK folks, did a bunch of searching and came up dry-ish. My car is a 2009 and most of the info I've found is for 05-07. So, I have a 2009 Outback. My car is the Special Edition (I think) so it's got heated seats etc but not navigation/sunroof and some lux items. Soon after purchase in February I installed a leather steering wheel to replace the rubber one. While I had the steering wheel off, I couldn't help but notice that the clockspring for the airbag wiring had another input in it. The cruise control on the right side of the wheel is plugged into a port on top, and there's an empty port on the bottom that makes me wonder if the car is pre-wired for steering-wheel-mounted radio controls (volume etc). Can anyone confirm? If so I can hopefully pick up a used left-side button unit and install it. If it's a matter of running wires from the wheel to the radio (like I've found for 05-07 cars) I probably won't bother. Any help appreciated, and thanks!

Yeah, I get my rumble from my M5. The API only has one review but it's positive, I haven't really found other input on it. It looks just like stock. The price is hard to argue with as well. I'm also looking at this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-Steel-Exhaust-Muffler-fits-2005-2009-Subaru-Outback-Legacy/173342583807 Pricing here is also attractive and it's stainless, but I don't like the crush fittings. I suppose it wouldn't be much different than the one-piece OEM exhaust in the long run so I'm still considering it. I'm kinda waiting for the next paycheck to pull the trigger, so it won't be long before I have to make a decision.

Not an issue. The leaks are near the back, nowhere near the O2 sensors or cat. I just want it to be working properly and quiet again.

I hadn't run across the API before. Looks like more of a direct replacement than the Bosal, and cheaper to boot (even cheaper than the special). I am now finding accounts where the Bosal doesn't fit right - looks like they made a run that was about an inch too short, so I'm leaning away from that unit. I'll have to look into the API some more. I have no particular love for OEM, as OE and aftermarket are often just as good for quite a bit less money. A new OEM midpipe is $365 (verified at my dealer parts counter) and for what I'm doing with an 11-year-old car that's just too much if I can get the equivalent cheaper. I do try to research and stay away from parts that become known to be no good though!

Truth, I've continued to research and I hear that the Bosal often doesn't fit right (too short) and can be quite loud. No point in making noise if I can't go fast - that's what the other car is for Good find, I didn't see that in my searches and I trolled ebay pretty hard. Thanks for that, at that price I'll definitely consider it (esp being stainless).

No, I wouldn't know where to start with that. Pull N Pay type yards aren't big around here and frankly my supposition is that a used one might quickly develop the same problem I've got now. I'd much prefer to buy something new.

Where is a good place to purchase OEM? I'm planning to call my closest dealer tomorrow but the list price on parts.subaru.com is like $365, whereas right now the Bosal is $140 with free shipping. Don't get me wrong, I'd probably take OEM if I could get a good price on it, but $350+ is way too much...

Hey all - crossposting here a bit since I'm pretty sure the Leg and OB exhausts are the same. Car is a 2009 OB, non-turbo. My midpipe is leaking at the Y, pretty badly. Old age... Combine that with the leaks at both muffler gaskets and it's pretty annoying. Not loud but quite, well, flatulent. Looking at the rest of the piping, the mufflers are in great shape but the midpipe is quite rusty so I don't think having a muffler shop weld up the holes is practical. I'm looking at the Bosal 286-975, which can be had at a discount from Autozone right now. I wondered if anyone had experience with it? It's aluminized steel so it won't last forever, but I'm concerned that the bullet resonator will be louder than stock. Any input appreciated.

Car is a 2009 OB, non-turbo. My midpipe is leaking at the Y, pretty badly. Old age... Combine that with the leaks at both muffler gaskets and it's pretty annoying. Not loud but quite, well, flatulent. Looking at the rest of the piping, the mufflers are in great shape but the midpipe is quite rusty so I don't think having a muffler shop weld up the holes is practical. I'm looking at the Bosal 286-975, which can be had at a discount from Autozone right now. I wondered if anyone had experience with it? It's aluminized steel so it won't last forever, but I'm concerned that the bullet resonator will be louder than stock. Any input appreciated.

Not enough clearance for the slide hammer. I'm in my driveway on jackstands... Also not sure about Kroil or whatever, I already drowned the area in PB Blaster so I think mechanical means are really what I need at this point. I ran across the Astro Pneumatic tool and am considering it (only $30 after all!) but the fastest I can get it here is a week I think. I don't desperately need the car right now with the current conditions but I was hoping to get it going faster than that. Thanks for all input, looks like I gotta make a decision hehe.

Discouraged. Got my new balljoints, got stuff apart, got the pinch bolt out, but cannot get the balljoints to drop out of the knuckle. I tried wedging the pinch apart, as well as putting the castle nut back on below and prying downward. I also pulled the sway bar endlink for more play in the control arm. Only tried the driver's side; ran out of time and put it back together for now. Any advice?

I assumed the 10-year window would be closed on my car (2009 build, only bought 2 months ago) so I haven't called a dealer. Maybe I will, and try my luck. Failing that, has anyone come up with another solution besides replacing the dash? I am considering a dash mat but it's not my favorite idea.

Bump. Still available!

I already replaced both the trailing arm bushings and the front lower control arm bushings with Whiteline items - see above Thanks for the info though. I think I'll toss 4-5 cinder blocks in the back before I take the car for the alignment. They're about 30-35lbs each, so that ought to do nicely.

Outback alignment settings, check. Thanks for that. Any insight as to the weight in the back? Or is that not really a thing?

So - yesterday I wrapped up installing Whiteline front lower control arm and rear trailing arm bushings in my 2009 Outback. I also installed the KTA124 toe and track arm kit. Tomorrow or Monday I'll be installing a JDM Bilstein Rev.A strut/spring combo from a Legacy wagon. Here's my question, for which I haven't really located an answer: when I get the car aligned, should I specify that they set it to Outback or Legacy alignment settings? Followup: how much weight should I try to put in the back to try to combat the ghostwalking issue? This car is my daily and will be used rain/snow or shine. Thanks in advance!

Hey folks - I picked up the KTA124 kit. Couldn't find Megan, Truhart, or anything else in stock anywhere right now. Anyway, I wrapped up the install this afternoon. Track arms went in quite easily, toe arm adjusters gave me some trouble but it's all buttoned up. I think I used half a tube of anti-seize on the reinstall... Question: Obviously the long arms should still control the toe adjustment. That should mean that the short arms ("track arms?") now control rear camber, correct? I need the info so I can get the car aligned after I take care of the final step of the suspension overhaul in the next few days.

Just wrapped up this install. Very nice writeup, it was pretty useful, and I thank the OP. Getting those bracket bolts to line up was a major PITA but it's done.