Well, here is a quicky for ya'll -- help me out in my stupidity please.

First let me explain the car.. 2002 WRX Wagon with 43,000 miles on it,5 speed, gone through one oem clutch already, on the second one now,
I've done a FP18G Turbo Swap, Downpipe, Uppipe, Intercooler Hoses, Catback, unichip stage 3, have a stereo in it as well, turbo timer what have you;
i know some of that stuff is irrelevant; maybe it could be something electrical making the alternator squeak or something. I also just did a brake job ~600miles ago (just new pads; grease was put in all the right places).

Anyway -- on to my problem. I've had the car as my daily driver since August '02; haven't had many issues with it; it does what i want when i want, etc. Tonight, I got on it a bit hard going up a hill, at first i thought the clutch was slipping, but no; it wasn't. The car took off, leaving a little bit of tire marks on a sandy road. I pull into a driveway to turn around and i hear a screetching/moan,
which, I believe, is coming from the driveline. When I first hear the noise; the shifter got quite warm/hot, and cooled off immediately; I went to shift into gear and no problems at all, i checked for smoke/smells none at all, checked all seals on the diffs and gear box, bolts, nuts what have you; no leaks as far as i can tell. I believe it isn't a wheel bearing because it isn't consistent; for instance wouldn't it make noise as the car travels
and brakes? I doubt it is the power steering as well; due to the fact that the resevoir is
full and the noise only comes on while traveling foward or backward witht he wheel FULLY
turned to either side.

I am thinking its either the axles or something in the diffs? Maybe a screwed up cross-pin;
chunked spider gears? or what?? I really can't figure it out; if it was an axle wouldn't the
car wobble a bit and then go ahead and pull to one side and make noise when going forward
irregardless if i was turning or not. Maybe it's the lug nuts (since I know at least on
my mustang its a wise idea to re-tighten them after 500miles or so (after you do a service
which requires the wheels taken off) but I checked that as well. Maybe a CV Joint??

Anyone happen to have a answer for me? Or at least something else to look at before i break
out the $$ for a subie tech to take a peek?

Thanks Much & Best Regards
-G

 

The shifter getting noticeably warm is a sign of something definitely wrong, more likely the transmission or another component causing drag on the tranny assembly and heating up the internals. Loosened lug nuts are dangerous but won't cause the shifter to get warm like that.

Have you had the car up on a lift or jackstands to inspect the driveline from underneath?

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush