JEBalles Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 So the problem started out as clunking that I would notice intermittently coming from the passenger side front wheel. Jacked it up and it turned out the castle nut for the axle was just floating around. Retorqued it and the clunking went away, but there's still play in the wheel. I also noticed scoring on the brake rotor, which I had replace with new rotors and pads about 15000 miles ago, about a year and a half ago. Now I'm noticing noises that I'm not sure whether they're coming from the brakes or the wheel bearing. I've been under the impression that wheel bearings usually last the lifetime of the car and I'm only at 110000 miles. My question is, could a loose castle nut cause the wheel bearing to wear much faster? Or could it be that the bearing was already worn out and that's what caused the castle nut to become loose? In addition to the scoring on the rotor, I also noticed a decent build up of brake dust on the wheel, much more than on the drivers side. Could this be a brake issue as well? The last piece of information I have is that I have a roaring noise that I've always just thought was road noise, but if I let go of the wheel (it pulls to the right a little bit) the noise goes away. Could this be a symptom of a failing bearing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 If the axle nut was just 'floating' around, then you may have several problems now. The wheel bearings could have excessive wear, the brake rotor could have be askew and now grooved or warped. Brake pads sound like they are toast. If you torqued the axle nut back to 140 lbs and are still having problems... then it is time to take it apart and access the situation. Plan on new bearing/seals, brake pads and rotor, new cone and spring washer, and a new castle nut with cotter pin. Also check the splines in your hub/rotor. How's your axle look? Did the calipers overheat? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee2 Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 yep, what rdweninger said. Need to learn why the nut was loose in the first place. If it's shearing the cotter pin then something is definitely going wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 If you had been driving on a loose axle nut, bet on the wheel bearings have been compromised. the axle nut may have come loose if the flat washer was installed backwards (spring washer with a concave side towards the hub, convex toward the nut. Failed wheel bearings can be vage if you try traditional methods for diagnosing it (wiggling the wheel, etc) Replacing the bearings is not much more work than replacing the axle itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEBalles Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 (edited) It did not shear the cotter pin. The cotter pin kept the axle nut on, but, for some reason, the placement of the hole seems too far away from the nut to really keep it from moving too much. It may be due to that spring washer. I did the rotors two summers ago and I can't recall how I replaced it, but I know I did torque it to 130 ft-lbs. It looks like I'm going to need to take it apart and assess the damage. The question is, how bad does it have to be before I shouldn't drive on it? I have 6 hours of driving to make this weekend for Easter. Edited April 13, 2014 by JEBalles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 I had a rear nut come loose, just enough to cause intermittent squik, squik noise - and it was some tim before I noticed the nut was loose. Replaced the cone and spring washer with nice second hand pair, retorqued with long bar and foot...12 months on still fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee2 Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 "the placement of the hole seems too far away from the nut to really keep it from moving too much" That clearly is not right. The pin should pass through the spokes of the nut and hold it tight. The extra space indicates something is missing. Perhaps all the washers are not in place or (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Im willing to bet they either ground the cone down to allow it to fit back in and/or they left the spring washer off and just put the nut on. that would give it a fair amount of space and let it sink to deep into the threads. call or go to the nearest subaru dealer and get "center piece axle" assemblies. they should have the new cone washer and spring washer. torque is 140 lb minimum, and its better to be a little over than a little under. many people torque way over 140 but that is the actual spec. if It were me I would check and replace those cone and spring washers and road test it. Its possible that something else is messed up but sometimes tightening everything down with good gear will make the difference. if its still making noise then check the hub, bearings, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEBalles Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Do you have the part numbers for those pieces? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 no but its been listed here before. do some searching and it should turn up. the subaru dealership can show the whole breakdown on the screen and you can pick whatever parts you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEBalles Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Does anyone have a diagram that shows where the spring washer goes? I'm still struggling to get the tie rod end disconnected, but so far I haven't seen any evidence of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 No need to take the tie rod off if you are only inspecting the cone and spring washer. But if you are removing the wheel bearing housing for repair... try this... Tie Rod Removal - .... take 2 hammers and hit simultaneously from both sides where the tierod passes thru the wheel bearing housing (some call it a hub). Of course, take the cotter pin and nut off first... maybe soak with PB Blaster or similar for a few hours. If that does not work, I turn the castle nut over and thread it on so it is just flush with the tierod bolt threads. Then one good shot with a ball peen and the tie rod will drop out. Careful, you could mess the threads up or even bend the tierod 'bolt'. On reassembly, the conical washer goes on first. Then the spring washer with the convex side facing out towards the nut... which goes on next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I had a rear nut come loose, just enough to cause intermittent squik, squik noise - and it was some tim before I noticed the nut was loose. Replaced the cone and spring washer with nice second hand pair, retorqued with long bar and foot...12 months on still fine and since saying that the car has been stripped out, to reveal a lot of play in the outer rear bearing of that hub when nut undone and compared to other side in same condition - bearing allowed axial ? play of 3 or 4 mm ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Does anyone have a diagram that shows where the spring washer goes? I'm still struggling to get the tie rod end disconnected, but so far I haven't seen any evidence of it. It goes between the cone washer & the castle nut. It's good few mm thick too, so it should be obvious (if you know to look for it) if its missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEBalles Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Is there a special way that I need to pound the bearings out? Do they only come out in one direction? Is there some way I pound one bearing out at a time? I've got a 2 1/2" PVC end pipe that I've been trying to use to pound the bearings out but I haven't gotten anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 PVC? Seriously... There's a lot more force required than a PVC pipe would handle. Plus it's slightly compressible, it'd just be absorbing the force of the hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 You would need a tool that fits inside of the bearings, to pop them out from the inside of the knuckle, as demonstrated in the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEBalles Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Video helped a lot, thanks. I didn't realize there was that inner lip. Fun fact, though, the PVC actually worked fantastic to pound the new bearings in and it perfectly sits on the outer race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEBalles Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Update: the spring washers I ordered from RockAuto were labeled on the concave side "out," so naturally I installed the concave side facing towards the castle nut, which is now what I realize to be the opposite of what you're supposed to do. I also did not inspect or replace the cone washer (stupid), which, with the spring washer on wrong as well, likely lead to my axle trashing the hub in which I had just installed new bearings lesson learned the hard way. Always replace the cone washer and spring washer and ignore what the spring washer says, install it with the convex side towards the castle nut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rae houghton Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 this instruction to put the convex side out is perplexing. My washer does not look like it has a convex side. Yes the inner side has a slight angle to the edge of the washer, which angles inwards...therefore is concave....but the other side appears flat. Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 The concave convex is subtle. Hold a straight edge against it should make it easier to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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