Wxman

I haven't really noticed a pattern in how loud/long the noise occurs. For instance, I could drive in a tight circle and not get the noise, or I could make a more gentle turn around a street corner and get the noise. The P/S fluid level is fine. Could the "fresh" seals in the new rack be suddenly causing problems with the pump? While I am describing the noise as a "groan", it also bears some resemblance to a low pitched brake rub you may hear when gently stopping the car from a barely moving state. The brake pads/rotors are nearly new and a seized caliper slide was fixed when the pads and rotors were done.

The groan is sometimes very brief, sometimes a bit longer. In no case does it last as long as the wheel is turned. The car was hit in the drivers side rear wheel (pretty much a T-bone) around 60K miles. Even after repairs, the rear has been on the creaky side. No impact to the front though. The front axle was replaced because the inner CV-boot tore. Since the labor was the same, figured it was better to do the axle. The front wheel bearings were replaced a few weeks apart from each other. Neither of them made any noise until they destroyed the hub. The noise they were making sounded more like a rhythmic brake noise, not the speed sensitive noise I and my mechanic were accustomed to. Also forgot to mention, the struts are new in the past 5K miles as well.

2000 Outback - Auto - 122K miles Our car has developed a new noise in the past few weeks...an occasional groan on turns. Based on what I've read here, my first thought was torque bind. However, if I understand correctly, torque bind does not occur with the FWD fuse installed. This groan still occurs with the FWD fuse installed. My other thought is that it could be the power steering. Our original rack (that was leaking) was replaced with a rebuilt rack (with new tie rods) a few weeks before the noise started. The car has been quite a noise maker the past couple months. In the interest of full disclosure, the right front axle and both front wheel bearings have been replaced in the past two months. Any ideas? It is pretty frustrating. We've maintained this car well and only needed fluids, filters, tires, brakes, and timing belt maintenance to this point. I didn't expect the whole front end to go bad at 120K! Thanks!

Thought I'd give an update on this issue for those that were interested... We've put about 400 miles on the second after market axle, new wheel bearing and hub. The noises are completely gone and we are not having any vibration problems with the axle. The mechanic is still not sure why he didn't have any play in the wheel when he checked the bearing initially. He also doesn't know why the bearing was so quiet until it was significantly chewing the hub up. My question to the board...do you think I should have the other front bearing replaced as well even though it is quiet and seemingly tight? I've never had a wheel bearing go bad without giving quite a bit of warning. I don't feel like ruining another $150 hub if this problem is likely to repeat itself. Thanks!

I've been running TripleTreds on my 05 Impreza RS since last October (about 10K miles). I have not noticed any change in gas mileage over the stock Potenzas. However, the traction on wet/snowy roads is much better. FWIW...I average 28-29 MPG in mixed driving (20% city and 80% highway).

Thanks for the input. I thought I'd post an update on where I am with this problem: -The mechanic replaced the new aftermarket axle with another of the same brand (GSP). He said if the problems persisted, he would go to a Subaru axle. Since it is his labor and no additional cost to me at this point (he covers his labor on any part problem for a year), I did not push the issue. - He had me test drive the car again. I didn't get any of the louder scraping noises, but some milder noises persisted. The mechanic was still perplexed and kept digging into the problem. - Eventually he removed everything from the hub and removed the hub from the car. There was a huge amount of play in the wheel bearing (he showed it to me). He said he had not noticed the play when he had checked for it on the car. - He removed the bearing to change it and found it in terrible shape with significant burning noted on the races. In fact, it had chewed into the hub pretty good too (he showed this to me as well). He figures the bearing was bad for several months. - Now we are waiting for a new hub from Subaru...hopefully we will have it tomorrow. Considering the recent developments, I have a couple questions: - Is it normal for a bad front bearing to be silent until it is totally shot and doing damage to the hub? I previously owned a 1997 Impreza that liked to eat rear wheel bearings. These bearings made a very distinctive sound and it was obvious when they were failing. - Have you ever noticed a bad bearing vary considerably in the noises it makes? In this case the bearing sometimes made minor ticking noises, loud scraping noises or no noise at all. The noises the 97 Impreza bearings made were more of a hum that varied with speed (the noise progressively got louder as the bearing deteriorated). Thanks again for your insight!

Inner passenger boot tore on our 2000 Outback with 120K miles. Local independent shop replaced axle with new unit (not sure of the brand). All was fine for the first few hundred miles. Then the noises began... - It started as a slight ticking and didn't matter if you were going straight or turning. - There is also an occasional clunk when shifting into drive or reverse or if you release the gas pedal while driving. - The sound, while still intermittent, has progressed to a much louder and longer chirp or scrape. - I've also heard some banging while turning into less than smooth parking lot entrances. The mechanic that made the original repair has looked at the car twice and says everything looks tight and OK. He has only heard the quieter noises to this point. He is not sure what the problem is. I made an observation tonight. The old boot tore in the middle of the bellow. There is still some residual grease that sprayed out on the suspension. On the new axle, the grease "spray line" is lined up more with the strap that holds the boot on the cup (not the middle of the bellow). Could the wrong axle have been installed or is there enough play in the joints for this to misalignment to occur? I saw other threads on the board talking about problems with aftermarket axles and some length problems. Does this sound like what has happened to our car? This was the only part changed. I can't believe the new noises are a coincidence. Any ideas? While this is my first post, I've been reading and learning from many of you for a while. Thanks for your insight!