Driveline noise on 07XT after lift

weaponofchoice

Forum Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
11
Location
Beaudesert
Car Year
2007
Car Model
07XT Foz
Transmission
5MT
Hi All,

After much debate I decided to go down the road of new KYB struts/raised King Springs and Subtle's 1" lift blocks giving about 2-2.5" more lift than stock.

When driving the car home, there is now an apparent driveline noise (like a mild grinding) from about 60-70+km/h.
This is only when accelerating or applying enough power to keep a speed ie 110km/h. As soon as I back off the accelerator the noise stops.

I took it back to the shop where I got the work done and they told me its just a result from the driveline sitting at a new angle (which I can image the CV's are at a higher angle).

I have read the forums and no one with this setup has mentioned anything about the driveline noise.

Is this anything I should be concerned about or should I just wait for it to get worse before I over worry/remove the lift block.

The car has 160k on the clock so I'd imagine the CV's should be in pretty good nic.
 

Attachments

  • Forrylifted1.jpg
    Forrylifted1.jpg
    98.6 KB · Views: 18
G'day weaponofchoice & :welcome: to ORS.

Sorry I can't be of any help re the driveline noise.
I'm sure someone will pop in with an answer very soon :)

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
G'day :welcome:

Mine did that too but it was after a body lift. I tried reducing the angle of the tailshaft by cutting the tailshaft centre bearing blocks by 10mm which helped. It was a rumbling noise, still there but not as bad.

Not sure if thats any help to you as you did a strut top/suspension lift. Maybe someone else here can help more....
 
I have 5.5" in the rear of my foz and have very little drivelrine noise. More howling tyre noise and wind. ..
Have you checked to see if all wheel bearing and CVs are in good condition. The lift could of brought forward underlying issues. ..
 
I've been talking to weaponofchoice about his lift and the noise issue he's describing.

Given he's only got a strut top lift, it shouldn't be anything tail shaft related (unless by coincidence something backed in at the same time the lift was installed).

This leaves the CV shafts and wheel bearings. If the noise is only there under acceleration, it seems to me the more likely source of the noise are the CV shafts. In my experience, wheel bearing noise is there as long as the wheels are spinning. What do others think?

Usual checks on the rubber boots of the CV joints should apply, as well as correct mounting of the bells on both diff and wheel ends of the shafts. If all turns out ok, I reckon the fact that the CV joint internals are running on different parts of the bell tracks could be temporarily be causing a bit of noise at high speed under torque. This should fade away as the tracks get "worn in".

Maybe a left-field possibility could be the diff side bearings?

Cheers,
Pedro.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies, and Pedro cheers, lots of good information.

Yes its definitely not wheel bearings as I have had them go before in other cars and it is constant at speed regardless of "in gear" or not.

I phoned a CV specialist today and he basically said Foresters have enough CV issues at stock height let alone lifted.......i didn't debate the fact most people on the forums are not having any issues so will take it in to him to check out hopefully tomorrow.

The suspension guys did tell me what Pizzimm mentioned about the drive components might be running in a 'different track' and to just monitor it.

Also, suspension people recommend I need rear camber pins in the front lower control arm including elongating front clevis due to knocking sound from soft bushes on the front left and not able to get the camber perfect.

I did find in another forum something about longer trailing arms alleviating the stress the front CV's are under with lift. Im not much of an expert in this department but this is the link to that thread....

https://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f102/cv-issues-2-lift-219114/

Also I do recall having the same noise ever so slightly before the lift (almost unnoticeable but sometimes apparent) so maybe Taza you are right, the lift has just brought out an underlying issue.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get an answer from the CV guy.

If worse comes to worse, would you guys recommend taking out the 1" subtle blocks and keeping the springs, or removing the springs and replacing with std height Kings????

Unfortunately my budget is getting tight after the whole mod incl needing get the bushes but am happy to sacrifice an inch or so height for the sake of CV's and make up for it in larger tyre size......

Cameron
 
I dont think trailing arm spacers will make any difference to rear CVs. The rears dont have much angle on them even with a lift but the fronts angle down much more plus forwards.

I think you should try waiting to see if Pezimm is right, hopefully the CVs will bed in to their new position if thats what it is.

Not sure what the suspension place means by "rear camber pins in the front lower control arm including elongating front clevis due to knocking sound from soft bushes on the front left and not able to get the camber perfect"

Perhaps the lower control arm (LCA) rear bush which can be replaced with caster offset bushes which also give better camber:
Control Arm Rear Bush (Caster Offset)- SuperPro

These give a dramatic improvement in cornering, one of the best mods I've done :biggrin:
 
I think i might have to NachaLuva.

The CV place was fairly anti lifted subarus saying even stock ones come in with damaged CV's after 100k.....somehow Im not so sure. I do have a bit of a leak though as grease is on the downpipe of the exhaust so could be contributing to the problem.

I measured the lift at home and even though on a slight downhill, the rear is over an inch higher than the front....is this right????

I know I have smallish 215/60/16 wheels and tyres but it seems a little too high visually compared to the other photos I have seen with the same lift.....would anyone else agree??

Top of tyre to car is about 7.5 inches, front is just over 6.

file.php


file.php
 
Last edited:
weaponofchoice said:
The CV place was fairly anti lifted subarus saying even stock ones come in with damaged CV's after 100k.....somehow Im not so sure.
Click to expand...

Mine has 192,000kms on the original CVs, 20,000kms after being lifted 35mm

You'll find a lot of mechanics are Subaru-phobic...they dont understand Subies & are scared of them! Subies have a lot of things that are done differently to other makes. Obvious example is being a boxer engine another more obscure one is no thermostat "gasket", instead they use an O-ring.

My advice is always go to a Subaru specialist mechanic whenever possible :iconwink:

I measured the lift at home and even though on a slight downhill, the rear is over an inch higher than the front....is this right????

Top of tyre to car is about 7.5 inches, front is just over 6.
Click to expand...

Measure from hub centre to the wheel arch centre. Standard ride height is:
mvk.gif


My car after 35mm spring lift:


After spring lift plus 2" body lift:
 
The noise might come from the diff as you have a leak, maybe should you check the oil level...and it could also come from the pinion and crown (back lash). You could lift the car and listen to the noise so that you know where it comes from.
 
The description sounds very similar to what I have experienced this week after picking up my MY05 XT 205,000km after having long springs and subtle lift blocks put in.

However the "slight" noise I get is only when cruising a constant speed and almost disappears when under acceleration or coasting.

At this point in time I had put it down to a slightly different angle on the CV joints meaning the touch point was no longer at the "worn in spot" -the reason I justified in my mind is that before changing anything I was getting a few Noises at slower speeds when on full lock either way or slow cornering over uneven ground which put the CV at different than normal angles.

I am hoping it "wears" in and gets bit quieter - it is not an obtrusive noise for me - but is noticeable on long highway runs with cruise control on - which I have lots of coming up on the way to Fraser Island.

I am going to ask the Suby service personnel on Friday when I get the next minor service.

Will post if I gather any other info that is relevant.

Doug
 
Had the car serviced found my front right shaft had had it (not due to the lift as that has only been in 200km) - noise has now gone.

I only get a very slight "grinding/whining" noise at the 60 to 110km/h speeds which I think I did not use to have - and it now comes from the front left - which seems to match with the front right being as new now and the front left being older (will probably also need replacing in due course).

I hope you track down your noise - it does seem reasonable that (and likely from service personnel opinion) it is likely to be shafts/CV's - not that one of the service personnel said it was becoming more common to see the SF/SG series reaching the age where the shafts/CVS need replacing.

Doug
 
Thanks DF,

It definitely sounds very similar to what you had.

Well I made the decision to remove the longer springs and replace with std height springs as Kings were good enough to swap free of charge after I made them aware of the issues I ran into.

A day prior to the swap though I had the CV's out and new boots fitted and all re-greased, The CV mechanic said there was no need to replace the shafts and just to see how it goes when the lifted springs were taken out.

The CV (service) quietened down the noise a small amount but as you said Douglas, the 70 - 110km/h had a distinct rumble/grinding noise.

Anyway, back to normal height springs but kept the 1" subtle blocks in as had to make the whole exercise somehow worthwhile in gaining SOME height. I may have to eventually get some 65 or 70 profile tyres to regain that height when these ones wear out!

The noise is still apparent but much quieter after removing the springs leading me to believe there is still an underlying CV issue.

I havent done many long trips recently due to work so havent had time to see if becomes quieter with wear if it is on a slightly different 'track'.

Heading up to Double Island Point this weekend so will see how the car goes slightly lifted and stiffer springs from last year when I went up there :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top