How do I fix sloppy drive train?
 

I have a 6-speed. When I bought it, the drive train was extremely tight. There was no play between the engine and the wheels. After 32k miles, there is quite a bit of looseness now. I really liked the tightness and would like to restore it to that feel if it isn't too much work or money.

I've replaced u-joints in my old 4x4's to fix this problem, but they were automatics. Does it sound like this would be the same problem/solution? Is it the u-joints (I assume the drive shaft has u-joints on both ends) that get worn and loose or is there something in the transmission or somewhere else that causes the sloppiness in the drive train?

probably your clutch.

Cant...get...past...avatar. Must ...resist...sloppy...drivetrain sexual inuendo...

What is sloppy exactly,, drive shaft ,rearend, trans output shaft?

I'm refraining form doing the same thing otherside.

Need more of what you info on what you mean by sloppy.

bad motor mounts.. why is this in the diy section. pm me i will be in vero in the next week or two. i can drive it and help.

beers :beer:

I don't know if it's drive shaft ,rearend, trans output shaft or whatever. I'm just looking for the most likely cause. I don't think there's anything "wrong" with it. It just drives like most used manual cars do. I just preferred the way it was tight when it was new.

Swoope,

It would be great if you could see it and meet you, but I'm probably a couple hours south of Vero.

It's not the rearend. The rearend looks great. :yumyum:


Sorry . . . couldn't resist.

If your motor mounts are not the problem, I would check the rear end mounts next. Those are the two places where old worn-out bushings can absorb a lot of initial throttle response feeling. A lot of people in the STi community would replace their rear end mount bushings with polyurethane right out of the dealership because it made a huge improvement in percieved throttle response, even on an AWD car with turbo-lag.

99% sure it is motor mounts. To test them get in third gear, drive it up to 3,000 rpm's and let off the gas pedal. Then floor it. If you have a "hesitation" as the TSB calls it, or in your own words "looseness", then the mounts are bad and are covered under warranty, which has recently been extended to 60K miles.

Sigh... I've been trying to fix this problem as well. I even went to the dealership to get this fixed and proposed the motor mount as the possible culprit. They checked and nothing was wrong in their eyes.

One thing that I have noticed is that with lighter tires/wheels the sensation of hesitation is diminished considerably. Obviously, this is due to the fact that you have less unsprung weight which helps tremendously.

Any one think that what I'm talking about has to do with the motor mounts? Like the original poster said.. I just want that tight feeling back.

The car has 36k miles on it but I brought the car in for inspection around 25k.

new dealer, find one problem is still motor mounts...

beers :beer:

i tried looking at it myself but i haven't been able to see any cracks forming on the mount while the car is running. Is it possible that the damage is not visible?

Yes, the damage is not visible. The rubber part of the mounts begins to "sag" and no longer isolates the engine from the frame.

Oh?? Sorry this is a little off topic, but could you please link me up?

To what?

Motor monts sounds like a valid answer to me.

FYI - I'm not really referring to a loss of power (as some posters mentioned) as much as a sort of "clunk" as the engine engages with the wheels. If I drive slow and steady at 20mph (just an example)... and let off the gas... there is a bit of a "clunk" as the drive train switches from being driven by the engine to the engine being pushed by the wheels. Then I step on the gas again and there is a bigger "clunk" as the engine starts pushing the wheels again. It sounds like Charles Hill hit it on the head with his description above.

As luck would have it... my car wouldn't start about a week and a half ago. I had it towed to the dealer and they told me it needs a new engine. I just got the call saying it's done, so hopefully they did the mounts too as long as they were in there.

Charles,
You also mentioned that the mounts begin to "sag". I am pretty hard on the car, so I could definitely see this happenning.

Does anybody know of anyone selling "heavy duty" motor mounts that will prevent the sag? I'd take a little more vibration in exchange for not having to replace them every year as has been the case.

Mazsport has a solid set for a little over $200 but they are also supposed to have a set with urethane mounts available soon for those who don't want every bit of engine noise in the cabin.

Thanks. I'll check with them. I can't image there would be too much engine noise transfered anyway as smooth as the rotary is. $200 is probably worth it since the stock ones are apparently so soft that it would proabably make a nice improvement in the engine response.

Update on the engine replacement:
It runs much better than it did before the new engine. I had issues with it losing a lot of power on hot days. It's actually quick again! I only had it for an hour or so before bringing it back to have them look at the passenger window being choppy when rolling up,,. AGAIN! This was the 4th time in and all they've done is spray oil on it... which wears off by the time I get it home each time.

So, did they replace the mounts too? I've got the same issue and have been debating on taking it to the dealer b/c I dislike them touching my car.

I'm happy with the new motor (so far!). It is quite a bit more powerful than the old one. Especially on warm days. They did change the mounts among other things and that made a difference too. I believe it was the mounts that caused this particular problem. I had them replaced twice now in a 3 year period. The first time I wasn't even complaining about the problem, so didn't pay much attention to what fixing them did. The drive train is tighter now, but there is still noticable give when jumping from a stand still... now that I know what good & bad mounts feel like. I'm still really considering getting the Mazsport mounts Charles mentioned though.

I am strongly considering, like 99% sure, not only rebuilding my own engine soon but also doing a little porting while I am at it. I'm reading through that thread right now.

I guess you're out of warranty then, huh? Mine is a lease for another 13 months. If I keep it, I'll be looking to get more HP out of that rotary in one way or another. I'd love to supercharge or turbo it if it wasn't so damned expensive to do so. I'm a family man and the budget is smaller than my desires. I'd be curious how the rebuild and porting goes. Keep us informed.

One Word: POLYURETHANE motor mounts and Bushings ALL around... And grab a wrench or two and start tightening every nutt and bolt in the Drive Train!