Front end growl

[whynot]

First, thanks for all of the help so far on this car. 

Now onto the new problem. 

I have a growl from the front left of the car. it does change with the speed, starts at about 30 mph. changing power or turning does not make any difference, Going slow the car is quiet. And I hear no clicking going full turn either way, forward or backwards. boots are good,and feel no movement. It also is the same in FWD. So I am thinking it is the wheel bearing?

[idosubaru]

sounds very likely. 

 

subaru wheel bearings are hard to diagnose besides just sound/familiarity.   

sometimes they have play, but so far i've never seen that happen. 

sometimes they get about 50 degrees hotter than the other side so a temp gun can help, but not always.

sometimes people use a mechanics stethoscope on a strut coil spring whlie rotating the wheel by hand to check for noise - but doesn't always work. 

 

there's no one diagnosis that works every time.

[Fairtax4me]

Probably the wheel bearing.

 

Best way to tell is to pull the wheel off, separate the knuckle from the strut, pull the axle out of the hub and spin the hub by hand. Takes time, but if the bearing is bad you'll feel it in the hub.

[heartless]

i haven't had a front wheel bearing go since the old 89 GL, LOL, but yeah, they are often difficult to diagnose with any certainty

 

the suggestion given by fairtax is probably going to be your best bet for figuring this one out - the hub should turn smoothly and easily if the bearing is ok - any glitchiness, roughness, or binding means bearing for sure.

[whynot]

Thanks, I will pull it apart tomorrow and see what I find.

[1 Lucky Texan]

also try lifting/rocking the tire up-down (12 o'clock - 6) there should be no movement. Compare to the other side.

 

 

but yes, after all the reading and 2 bad bearings - they are inconsistent in symptoms/failure modes.