Lttlwing16

Sorry, yeah I haven't checked the brake dust shield yet. Could be it, it's coming from that area. I was able to briefly reproduce the sound by pressing my orbital sander to the muffler, but not with much reliability. From that, it sounds as if something in the muffler is rattling (despite it being brand new) and resonating in the cavity it sits in which is lined with a tin heat shield.

This is what's getting me, WHAT is the CAUSE! Even if it's the exhaust, it shouldn't be sustaining vibrations strong enough to shake the whole car.

Checked the rubber mounts today, and they're good. Cat shield was just removed by the dealer because it had been damaged by a previous owner. I have plastic dust shields behind the wheel, and tried some tricks to isolate those and they weren't the issue. Thanks for the thoughts, and keep them coming!

No, not while I've owned it. That said, it sits in a parking lot most days, so who knows if someone bumped it at work. I felt around on the rear bumper, but it feels like it's securely attached. Good thought though, I'll try to take a more in depth look this weekend.

Yeah, I took the spare and all the other contents out of the trunk and it didn't change. I Also checked the license plate as it's only screwed in to the top, but it also didn't help. What it honestly sounds like is the tailpipe rumbling against the bumper plastic. but there is plenty of clearance around that. Wondering it if it's the rear differential..

Hey Folks, Driving a 4cyl 15' Legacy with 80k miles. Within the last year I have developed a pretty loud rattling sound that is coming from muffler/rear driver side of the car. I have had the car at the dealer three times, and had the muffler replaced and one more forward heat shield around the catalytic converter removed, all to no avail. The sound is intermittent. It's nature sounds like something metallic vibrating at a medium frequency against the body (plastic or coated metal). It only occurs between speeds of 5-35mph, always around 1k-1200 RPM, and most commonly when the automatic transmission is in low 4th & 5th gear. While operating the car in manual mode, the issue is almost non-existent as the car will not allow the transmission to stay in a high gear too long before "downshifting" out of the gear. On the last visit the dealer ruled out the engine and transmission mounts as issues. It seems the vibration is caused by the CVT reverberating and coming through the exhaust or muffler heat shield. I have tried stuffing steel wool, aluminum foil balls around the heat shield around the muffler all with no difference. I have removed the spare tire, and all trunk contents, no difference. Since it is linked to the drivetrain, it could also be the rear diff, axle, or rear driver wheel bearing? CVT going out? Thoughts? Thanks, David

So I did my 60K interval differential service and unfortunately this time the front diff check bolt brought it's threads with it. So the converter case threads are stripped and the bolt won't torque to spec, so it's leaking diff fluid, and now my Legacy is sidelined. I've located a mechanic locally whos comfortable putting in a Time sert plug so I can continue to use the stock drain bolt. he needs to know the 1) Diameter of the bolt which I have gathered as 18mm threaded portion, and 2) the threads, which I am unsure of. I believe it to be 1.5. 3) The length is listed on the subaru parts page as 18 x 14.7 (M18 x 14.7mm). I'll get over to my subaru dealer on Weds to pickup a new drain bolt for the new insert and can measure it then, but wanted to get a jump on ordering the Time Sert stuff. Thanks in advance, David

Hey everyone I just finished the rear brakes and wanted to thank everyone for their input. I also wanted to write a few things I learned while working. I followed the Service manual workflow and did *not* have or use a SSM/OBD to enter brake mode, instead disconnecting neg from battery sensor/unplugging EPB, and manual winding the piston back in. I had no issues after re-install. I used Raybestos Element3 rotors and pads from Rock Auto. 1) I found I did not need to manually compress the caliper piston after it stopped winding. It screwed all the way in for me. 2) The caliper piston winds right to go in for both the driver and passenger side. No need for separate LH and RH caliper tools. I flipped the caliper assembly over on top of the rotor and attached to the caliper bracket which had the lower bolt removed and upper bolt loosened to allow the caliper bracket to rotate upwards as far as possible. This was described in the service manual. 3) If replacing rotors, the service manual describes aligning the lug bolt marked with a black paint on the face with a small dot on the rotor. First, the paint will come off with brake cleaner so cover it with a lug nut before spraying anything down. Second, if using non-subaru replacement rotors, align the holes on the hubs and use the stock rotors to mark the new rotors, then install aligned with the marked bolt. Not exactly sure what difference this makes but there it is. Other than that, pretty straight forward brake job. Only thing I did different from the service manual was to pull some brake fluid out of the reservoir then add it back afterwards.

Another couple questions from reading through the service manual.. On BR-32 the manual shows a diagram of the caliper assembly flipped over on top of the rotor with the caliper support lower bolt removed and the upper one loosened. 1) Is the caliper assembly secured to the caliper support with the upper 7mm hex bolt ? Was this removed and then placed back in once the caliper assembly was flipped over, or is it okay to just loosen the top caliper bolt (7mm hex) and flip the caliper over with the bolt still in? 2) The service manual explicitly states "Do not remove the parking brake actuator unless system malfunction or when the caliper is replaced" .. however, in the Rear Disc Brake Assembly instructions step 5 states to "remove the parking brake actuator". So I assume step 5 can be skipped unless removing for system malfunction or caliper replacement? Removal of rear disc brake assembly is listed as the first step if the SSM cannot be used, list on BR-32. One Youtuber states removing the EPB actuator prevents damage to the actuator by manually cranking it in with it attached. See the comments here: .. ** note one user commented that they had ECU problems after removing the EPB actuator

Nah --sorry to make it seem so-- I think you're making a valid point. I already bought the stuff to do front and rear, so had planned on doing it. Just hard to know I'd be removing brake parts with half their life left. -- If I were to replace the rear with Subaru oem parts, then the friction characteristic would match, and it would be less likely to cause issues?

The fronts look to have about half their pad life left!

Any fault in replacing the rear brakes with Raybestos pads/rotors and leaving the stock subaru pads and rotors on the front for a while? I ordered and received all the parts for front and rear, but when I rotated my tires today the pads on the front have quite a good bit of life on them.

Thanks for the reply -- Curious - do the calipers screw retract to a certain point THEN slide in as normal ? Or do they screw retract all the way flush? I've got a copy of the FSM but always like to triple check multiple sources before getting started. I've had good luck with the Raybestos Element 3 coated rotors and pads, and can get pads and rotors front and rear for $175 from Rock Auto. Good to know the Subaru pads are Denso. Do you know if the rotors are also Denso? Was tempted to put Subaru parts back on but it's looking like around $500 for pads/rotors from my local dealership. Thanks again, David Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Hey folks -- my 2015 needs it's rear brakes done and I just wanted to double check-- This job is safe to do WITHOUT putting the car into "brake service mode" with SSM or OBDII as long as one releases parking brake, disconnects the neg terminal on the battery AND removes the electronic connector to the EPB on the caliper. Didn't know if the "brake service mode" does more than disabling the EPB from actuating, such as re-calibrating the EPB after exiting the service mode. Also -- any recommends on good non-subaru OEM replacement pads/rotors. I typically get Raybestos stuff from Rock Auto. Thanks, David

Thanks for the input! The gravity drain worked great apart from being unable to aspirate the older fluid from behind the divider. I work in healthcare and was able to use a drain bag we use for certain surgical drains. Worked like a charm. Here's the exact one I used. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013TLIC1U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pMBpFbCMH1Q8B) From what I'm reading the separated reservoir is part of the dual braking system as a second reservoir that is filled from the front reservoir. It's part of a redundant system so the whole system doesn't lose pressure That said still haven't seen anywhere that it can be manually drained,apart from unhooking the brake lines from the master cylinder. Which I'm not messing with to just change the fluid.

is it possible to remove all the old fluid from the master cylinder reservoir? It seems there is a divider that I can't get the fluid out from. I'm trying to use the gravity drain method, but it seems that old fluid behind the reservoir isn't budging. I even have my wife come out and pump the brake a couple times while I opened and closed the bleeder screw. Here's a cross post from Reddit:

Yeah, it's weird. The ceramic insulators broke on both the new (NGK) plugs I put in and the old ones I put back in. I think what was happening was the magnetic plug socket was attracted to the end of the plug, which caused the inside metal of the socket to knock against the ceramic. Additionally, the magnet would pull of the plug as I was installing/changing bits/ratchets. and I'd have to reseat on the plug in the well, where above I think was occuring. Folks from Napa, autozone, pepboys, and the Subaru service techs I spoke to said you don't gap iridium, and .1 is enough to make a difference. *Shoulder shrug*. I didn't even check the subaru branded NGK's (per the Subaru service tech's recommendation), just put them in and they worked. Fingers crossed I don't run into problems down the road from driving around with occasionally misfires.

Updated OP with fix

Not likely, worked one plug/coil at a time

Will attempt to wash them out tonight. Hopefully that's the issue. I'll also try to fully seat the ignition coil packs on the coils. Could also be part of the issue. Damn things are hard to get fully seated.

*Facepalm* you're completely right. I saw the tip from a 1a autoparts repair video, and the connectors were stuck tight so I figured just a drop while the connector is connected wouldn't hurt. Put it on there Weds , probably can spray them off tonight/tomorrow. Can I use MAF cleaner on the connections, or do I need to use actual electronics cleaner? Possible it did long term damage?

Attempted doing my spark plugs yesterday. Worked off the Service Manual, and was using new NGK plugs listed in the service manual (everything torque’d to spec etc). Long story short, got things hooked back up and put back together, waited 10 seconds after connecting the ground, the 10 seconds after putting the key in and turning to on. Then I started the engine. Immediately heard knocking, horrible idle, and when I put the car in reverse it was misfiring bad. Check Engine light came on and I turned the car off. T’was a school night, so I bit the bullet and just put the old plugs back in. Car runs better, but still misfires when accelerating, and occasionally puts on the check engine light. Today as I thought about it- there are a few things that could’ve gone awry as I did the exchange initially: Used WD40 (small amount) on the connectors to the coil to the engine harness. (Possibly some ended up inside the connector? – Might spray those connectors out with electronics cleaner. Accidentally disconnected the battery backwards (neg first then positive, with the battery sensor still connected) Could this fry the ECM? Sprayed out the MAF with MAF cleaner. (small spritz held can back good 15”) Ignition coil packs perhaps aren’t fully seated on plugs? (I pushed and twisted them as far as I could get them to go. Bolted in to torque spec 5.9 ftlb) Also replaced the battery for a Napa Legend Premium, and engine air filter to Fram. I changed the filter back to the stock one after the engine ran poorly, but kept the new battery in. I also didn’t know if the ECM just needs time to recalibrate after the change. If so how long? 1 day, 2 days? I would think it should even out after 30 minutes or so of driving time. I’m going to try to pull the check engine codes and see what it says. The car was driving fine before the maintenance. Seems there are four elements: plug, coil, wiring harness and ECM. Any input/tips/checks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. FIXED! UPDATE: Turns out plug insulators were breaking when I put the plugs in and then causing misfires. I blamed the magnetic 14mm plug socket I got from O'Reilley. Won't be using a magnetic plug socket again. Additionally, the NGK 93482 (non-subaru version) were gapped wrong (off .1mm). Took those back. Got Subaru plugs from dealer, a normal 14mm plug socket, and a stock Subaru Air Filter. I also sprayed the coil connectors out with CRC QD electronics cleaner and let them dry overnight. I used HVAC silver tape to keep the 1" extension and plug socket together as I installed the new ones, and removed the socket very carefully. Glad to put this beast to sleep (hoping I didn't do long-term damage when I drove the car misfiring).

Tackled the Front Diff (38k) and changed the engine oil (fumoto FTW!). Front Diff oil change was a pain and it's overtly clear they didn't think that through when they designed the location of the fill hole. First time though, so next time should be easier, as much of the time was problem solving how to break away the filler bolt, and re-filling the oil. Had a slight issue with the overflow plug not torqueing down to 37 ft-lbs, but didn't want to strip out the case, so I hand tightened. I'm thinking it's because the bolt, and gasket had some residual Amsoil on them, and the gasket was turning with the bolt. I'll recheck it in a few days.