PizzaEater

Well after filling the center bearing rubber with some silicone stuff the noise is gone but there is a nasty vibration between 20-30mph. I guess that didn't work. I saw a video on youtube of someone replacing the center bearing on a driveshaft but it probably wasn't a subaru. I'm guessing my only realistic option of fixing it with common hand tools is to get a used or new replacement rear driveshaft assembly? I'm looking at new subaru's now but might have to fix this in order to get a reasonable offer on the car.

Well I tried wiggling the drive shaft around but didn't feel play at the u joints. I did find that the center carrier bearing moved about half an inch up and down like the rubber is old and worn out. I'm gonna try filling it with outdoor silicone this weekend and see if it goes away. Oh and I also changed the rear diff fluid to see if there were any chunks on the magnet and there were not.

Happens every time I step on the gas enough to get the car going then goes away. Same when going straight or turning. Exhaust seems to be hanging normally. I noticed the rubber is cracked on a bushing on the rear diff mounting bracket but otherwise looks ok (although oily, cant find where the oil is coming from). Could this bushing be causing the noise?

Maybe it's just that our cars have more g-force acting upon the housings.

If you look at my initial post which started this thread, you can see my picture of the crack. It is the brown line at the flange radius. They really need to beef these housings up because all the stress is transferred right through that thin plastic flange.

I have never seen or heard of a car that develops a cracked fuel pump housing which leaks fuel vapors into the cabin. To those who don't know, fuel vapor is the most dangerous state of fuel because it is the fuel vapor that actually ignites! And the only place you will find a new stock housing assembly for an 06 LGT Sedan 5AT is from the official subaru parts website where it lists some dealers that have it for $380.

If you only smell it on a full tank then that means its leaking near the top of the tank. That fuel pump housing cracks right on the very top of the tank. I would say based on my experience, seeing other forum posts, and that many dealers have that part on backorder, the most likely culprit is indeed the top of the fuel pump housing. It's really easy to check. Just lift up on the rear seat and put it off to the side. Right under the rear seat on the right hand side there is an access panel held on by four screws. If its all covered in gas underneath its most likely a cracked housing. I was just gonna change the gasket on mine but knew I had to look closely for a cracked housing and sure enough thats what it was. So I had to put the whole leaky pump assembly back in and order the new housing assembly. The gasket is made from a pretty durable looking rubber and it seemed unlikely to be the problem. I would say take a look under that panel on a full tank of gas and if its leaking it will be very apparent. Then order a new fuel pump assembly and gasket from the official subaru parts website. I don't know anything about upgrading the pump itself but other forum posts discuss that.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fuel-leak-fuel-pump-connection-236780.html http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/170969-fuel-leaking-top-tank-05-3-0r.html http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/71729-fuel-pump-cracked.html But I guess as long as it isn't your car that leaks fuel into the cabin its ok with you...

In case it helps anyone in the future, the part number for the assembly is 42021AG04A (06 LGT 5AT Sedan). The piece that was actually cracked was available for $100 but I decided to go with the new assembly which includes a new pump, filter, and sensors. I apparently received bad information from the parts guy at that one dealer because there were many dealers who had that part available and I ended up ordering from a dealer on eBay for about $50 less shipped. Just look it up on the official subaru parts website to see what dealers have it in stock.

Well the one that's in there now lasted 10 years. I wouldn't want to put a 10 year old one back in there when a new one could get me another 10.

That brown line at the flange is the crack. I cleaned the area before I took it apart and when I bounced the car a little back and forth gas was visibly seeping right out. Fuel vapor is extremely flammable in case anyone isn't aware of that and if you can smell a strong fuel smell in your car, that's bad. Its a commonly defective part which is why they are on backorder. The plastic type is POM and there aren't many products that can bond POM to POM and even the products that can be special ordered may not hold up to almost constant contact with gasoline. The housing needs to be replaced and its a $380 part if you can find one. No way am I putting a used one in there which will likely develop the same problem all over again.

I started smelling gas near the right rear of my car and inside the cabin when the tank was close to full. After looking in the forums someone said their fuel pump housing was cracked on the top flange where the gasket sits. I ordered a new gasket hoping that mine wasn't cracked but it was indeed cracked. No parts store carries the housing, only the pump itself. The Subaru dealer I talked to said there wasn't a dealer in the country with one of those housing assemblies and that they were all backordered. The top side of the flange also had rusty material from the hold down plate which was eating away at it so even if it hadn't cracked its only a matter of time before it breaks and lets even more fuel vapors into the cabin. These are unquestionably faulty parts and create a very dangerous safety hazard. If you smell fuel in your car after filling up its probably a cracked fuel pump housing which cannot be purchased because they are backordered because they are cracking left and right. Subaru needs to do a recall before someone gets killed.