I've got a 2002 Impreza WRX (70K miles) and when making sweeping left turns I hear a grinding type noise coming from the front right (passenger) side tire. I actually thought it might be the brakes because the sound reminded me of what it sounds like when your brakes get very worn and the rotors start to get damaged - but I got four new brakes (the car has 70K miles so I needed that anyway) but the sound did not go away.
I'd like to diagnose the problem before going to a mechanic as they tend to be poor diagnosticians (imho). BTW, any other thoughts on what the problem might be or whether this job is best done by the dealer or a good corner mechanic?
A bad wheel bearing will sound like low pitched, deep grinding/roaring. If it's high pitched (like a squeal), it's probably something else. The sound usually increases with speed and load on the wheel. So in your case, when you make a left turn, it places more load on your right side and thus makes the bearing be more noisy.
Another way to check for a bad bearing is to grab the wheel and shake it. You have to shake it kind of hard, and if the bearing is indeed bad you will hear a *clank**clank* type sound. You should also shake the other wheels to compare... the bad one will have a bit more movement.
This is a kind of a PITA to do... especially if you have some miles in the salt on your car (i.e. rust).
Refer to this and links posted in it for more info --
I just had that problem on one of my back wheels, a 2000 OBW. Initially I thought it was my muffler going because it sort of sounded like a dull roar. I took it to the dealer and they discovered it wasn't the muffler but my rear wheel bearing. It seems to be a very fooling sound, because it sounds like so many other things. It may even sound like the sound snow tires make on dry pavement.
I jacked up my front end and shook both tires very hard and honestly did not hear anything or feel anything different or unusual. In other words, it did not make the clank clank sound you mentioned. Here's some more detail on the problem:
First, there are no noises or sounds coming from any tire when driving straight at any speed. Only the front right wheel produces a noise when making a sweeping left turn (the type that loads up the right side of the car). The noise is a low pitched metal on metal type grinding sound.
Since some people mention they hear the wheel bearing sound most (all) the time could it be that the bearing is just starting to go and isn't completely bad yet? Also, someone mentioned it sounded like the CV (don't know what that is...) but is there a "test" I could do to try to confirm this?
I had a CV joint go bad on one of my Subaru's and it had the same symptoms you just described. The CV went bad because the boot got torn and salt and slush seeped into the joint.
In my old 2002 WRX, there is a dust shield that rides *very* close to the rest of the wheel. It would get bent just looking at it cross-eyed, and it had to be bent back out about four or five times. I would describe the sound it made identically to the sound you made.
It was completely harmless in my case. I hope that it's the same problem you're seeing. It was a big relief when I found out what was going on with it.
I also had a wheel bearing fail on me and the noise was completely different. In fact, I would say that it was more like road noise in that case, accompanied with a definite vibration. Driving up the Oregon coast with it I didn't even notice that there was something different, and it took some nice clean, smooth pavement just to realise something was wrong. (The Oregon coast roads are rough, but give tremendous traction. GREAT ride in a WRX.)
A few possibilities I see here: (1) It might be the wheel bearing in the beginning stages of going bad. The only diagnostics for wheel bearings that I know of are the sound and shaking the wheel... which have been covered already.
(2) Might be a bad CV joint. I have no experience with these in Subaru's, but the two symptoms of a bad CV joint I know in general are
- worn/leaking boots and pulling to one side during acceleration.
(3) Might be something else... like the brakes rubbing in some way.
I agree on the wheel bearing description in that it does not make a very pronounced sound. I had just put new tires on my car and was convinced that it was just tire noise that I wasn't used to. I drove about 15,000kms on them and the noise just kept getting louder and louder. It was both rear bearings.
When my CV joints went on my old Honda, it was a clicking sound only heard when turning. Didn't matter what direction the turn was, and the speed of the clicking changed with the car speed. I drove a long time on them before getting them replaced.
It would be a hard thing to check without taking the wheels apart, unless your CV boots are torn. Those are the rubber accordion-style boots at the transition between the inside of the wheel and the drive axle. There's another boot on the engine-end of that same axle. Check the inside creases of the rubber boots for cracks. You might be able to check at least the outside boot by just turning the wheel all the way, otherwise you have to jack the car up.
If you're lucky it's just a shield that some> Since some people mention they hear the wheel bearing sound most (all)
My '00 Impreza rear wheel bearings started deteriorating at only 15k miles.
First, for about 1000 miles a very low frequency hum was audible, nothing really worrisome. Then it slowly became louder over about 300-500 miles. Finally it turned into a grinding type noise, but only at very low speeds 10-20mph. At higher speeds it would revert to a progressively louder hum.
I took it to the dealership for service at this point as it was becoming too dangerous to drive.
Hey, I like this suggestion and I'll take a look when I get a few minutes. But question - am I looking for this dust shield on the inside of the wheel. To see and correct this (on my front right tire), should I park with the tires turn full right and then can I look and reach in to see and fix this. Or do I remove the tire and reach around. Just get me pointed in the right direction so I know where I'm looking. Thanks!
I think it's on the inside of the wheel, just on the other side of the rotor. To tell you the truth, they didn't actually point it out to me, and the only time I spotted one was when I was in a very awkward position leaning under the car trying to find the source of the noise--and then I wasn't sure what the hell the damn thing was even there for, so I didn't realise I was yanking on a "dust shield." :)
I went through three wheel bearings on my old GL Wagon, all within a couple months of each other, each time a front bearing went, it sounded like I had worn through my breaks and was tearing through the rotors, then after about a week it sounded like a freight train going down the tracks with high pitched squealing. I tried the wheel shake myself with the wheel elevated off the ground, but no luck there. Guy at a tire shop was able to confirm one by shaking it though. Guess you have to be pretty forceful with it to get much play at all sometimes. Noise would come and go in the back, just sounded like a bit of excess drivetrain noise for the longest time. Took eight months or more for the rear bearing to finally get to the point it was constantly rubbing, and without all the racket of the front ones either, just excess rubbing noise like it was starting to get stiff back there.
A guy who helps me out with mechanical things such as these told me to just fix them as they go bad, but I wonder if there is any benefit to having them done, both sides at once, or all four? Any suggestions from the group on this?
Now that you mention it, had the same thing happen with the dust shield on my Impreza after replacing a front halfshaft. Seems the shield was bent just a fraction of an inch outward during the removal of the old shaft and starting rubbing the rotor just like the screech pad on the brakes. Was glad that's all it was.
I've had wheel bearings go on my old '02 WRX and the most they did for me was vibrate and rumble. No squealing there. You sure it was a wheel bearing going on you? (And why are you letting a tire shop guy fiddle around with your Subaru? :) Just fix them as they go bad. What I'd be curious about is the cause for your wheel bearings to be *going* bad to begin with. Perhaps there's something bent or not quite aligned? Are you bumping your car sidewise against.. say, a sidewalk on a regular basis or something?
There was a period of time when Impreza wheel bearings were prone to going out often... just because they were poorly made/designed parts. I believe mid 90s - early 02s is the period of time... Subaru then replaced the part with the one from the legacy, which uses roller type bearings instead of ball bearings.
Another thing that can happen, is a bad wheel bearing can score or deform the housing or hub, in that case you will be going through bearings like crazy. Make sure the bearing fits VERY snugly onto the hub spindle and does not have any scoring or marks from extreme heat.
Well actually, the car was an '89 GL Turbo Wagon with 166k on it when I bought it from the dealer and 206k when she died. For the two years I had her she did a couple of rural paper routes. Had to have a sturdy car for both, so actually, considering I must have done over 9,000 miles of rough, washboard gravel in it, not to mention the other driving I did on paved roads, I think it held up exemplary. In the second half of the second year is when I went through the three wheel bearings, which I'm sure had to be the originals, both front transaxles, a muffler, and somehow a front differential to which the Subaru dealer said, "huh, that's an unusual part to go bad!", but I got another 4EAT out of a salvage yard for about $150 thanks to the frequent flier miles a friend has there and that turned out to be the cheapest trannie job I'll ever get in my life! (-;
Yes, they were definitely wheel bearings. I had the car in for tire work, something I did often, and the shop has a full set of services they do, if you're familiar with the Les Schwabb chain of tire stores.
Part of the bearing damage up front may have been my own fault though, as I did let the transaxles run a bit longer than I should after they started clicking and vibrating the stearing. It's just not always convenient to hop under the car and fix them when you're already working 70 hours a week, so in the process of the bearings being replaced, I also had to replace the splined outer piece, or whatever the axle slides through, as it had worn down the teeth that it mates with on one of the wheels. I'm sure all of the excess heat did not do any good for the bearings either.
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