Bariki

Just found another ground strap and it’s greasy as… but accessing it will probably require pulling the undercover, so it will have to wait for another day…

I cleaned a couple of grounds and the alternator positive connector, but it didn't make a difference. I get whine whether I use the 12v outlet or the cigarette lighter. It gets worse when you have the air conditioning on. It would be less of an issue if I didn't need to use so much volume to hear podcasts/audiobooks. With music, it's less of an issue since the base volume level is much higher, so you can barely hear the whine.

I will give that a try. It’s plugged into the cigarette lighter.

The big three what? Plugs, wires, and grounds?

Does anyone know a way to reduce alternator whine picked up by a Bluetooth transmitter? Obviously turning the volume down and not using the both AC help, as does driving slower… Playing music instead of podcasts or audiobooks has a similar effect. But us there anything else I can do?

Do you have a hood scoop? If not, you need a front-mount. Otherwise, the stock inter cooler is fine.

My left rear caliper was so bad I had to use the car’s hydraulics to get get piston out, since compressed air was not enough.. I hope annealing the used washers was sufficient, since the local Subaru dealer wanted a week to deliver new ones…. Yeah, no. I’ll get new ones if they prove leaky.

Interestingly, this issue went unnoticed even when I had to replace the longblock after my timing belt broke (prematurely, I assure you...), so they must have not pulled the transmission with the engine. I can kind of understand accidentally forgetting to tighten down two bolts before putting the heat shields back on. It was basically a non-issue between 5 MPH to 70 MPH. I had basically assumed it was the half-shafts because it sometimes seemed to be worse when turning.

Right, come to think of it, it would be a huge pain in the ass to pull or reinstall the transmission with the driveshaft in the way... I was thinking maybe it had been thrown out of balance, but thankfully it was something much simpler.

Yeah, the only reason I even mentioned the cause was in case it would help someone else with a similar problem down the road. I’m not sure if a clutch job even involves removing the center bearing, but logically this is the most likely reason. Now I just have to fix one dragging caliper and I’ll be golden…

Maybe try being useful instead of being funny?

I had multiple mechanics who were unable (or unwilling) to diagnose it, so I just lived with it, because I assumed the repair would be expensive. It hadn't occurred to me that it could be something so simple. Plus, I wasn't even sure where it was coming from, so I didn't know where to look until I had eliminated all other possibilities. No need to be rude.

The center bearing of the drive shaft wasn’t bolted down properly…

Bore the engine out lol

Ever since I got my clutch replaced years ago, my 2004 Legacy B4 has made a kind of a rattling sound that seems to be coming from somewhere below the shifter. It occurs at low speeds when I start the car (especially right as the clutch pedal pressure is released), but it also happens at high speeds (65+ mph). However, it might actually be at least two different rattles. What could it be? I've replaced the suspension, front half shafts, a control arm, and front wheel bearing for various reasons and nothing seems to make a difference. I suspect maybe it's a bad transmission mount or the propeller shaft. The front differential also seems to have quite a bit of backlash, but I don't know how much is normal.