vibration while turning

[jnugent]

Hi, folks,

I've got a 98 Forester S with 143K KMs on it. I've been noticing that
when turning in a tight radius under acceleration, like turning at a
stop sign or turning into a driveway, I get the feeling that my tires
are spinning and/or scrabbling for traction. The tighter the radius,
the more I notice it. Tires are newish at 1 year old and have lots of
tread left on them (President Winterforce tires). I don't notice this
when driving at speed on the highway, or when coasting through tight
turns. Even if I give myself a little shot of gas at a stopsign and
then coast, the problem doesn't occur.

The car has always done this, and it doesn't really bother me, but I
was curious if this has happened to anyone else. Is this just a side
effect of AWD digging in for traction at slow speeds when turning in a
tight radius?

I've put 40K KM on the car in the last year and everything has been
great.

Thanks,

Jason

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Most likely you have torque bind. If it is an automatic, the owner's
manual will help you to locate the FWD only fuse under the hood, install
a spare fuse in the FWD position (15A I think) and if the problem goes
away, definitely torque bind.

search the term over at the message boards at www.usmb.net for
additional info - oh, start saving your money.

Carl

 

[Sparky Polastri]

Another (cheap) thing to check;

Make absolutely sure the tires are properly inflated. Use a good dial-gauge
not a garbage stick gauge.

Even a pound difference can cause different radius wheels and cause the
problem.

 

[ujduche]

Another possible cause is the failure of the 'Duty Cycle Solenoid' in the
rear differential. If this goes out, the rear differential fails into the
locked condition, causing one of the wheels to hop in tight turns (inside
wheel is trying to turn slower than the outside wheel). Mostly hear about
this with Legacy Outbacks.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

That solenoid is in the CENTER diff. on automatics. Inserting the FWD
fuse will help diagnose whether or not it or the clutch pack is bad and
causingh the torque bind.

Carl