I drive a 2005subaru outback. I have yokohama avid TRZ ties on the car. It is really loud. Kind of reminds me of cards on a bike spokes. I can hear it get louder the faster I go. I bought the car used and think these are snow tires. I have no idea of how many miles on the tire except that the car has 95k miles on it. I bought the car 2 years ago. Is there any thing I can do to quiet it down? I think they are good tires so I kind of want to keep them or at least don't think I should get new. Would the tire pressure make enough of a difference in the noise?

Tire pressure will affect a little bit but not much. Are they studded tires?

 

Do you have another set of tires you can switch on to see if its truly the tires and not wheel bearings?

Tire pressure will affect a little bit but not much. Are they studded tires?

 

Do you have another set of tires you can switch on to see if its truly the tires and not wheel bearings?

 

Wheel Bearings!? That is a thought. Although I have had riders in the back seat mention they can feel vibrations as the car's speed increases.

 

I wonder if a tires plus kind of place would shed light on it??

Wheel Bearings!? That is a thought. Although I have had riders in the back seat mention they can feel vibrations as the car's speed increases.

 

I wonder if a tires plus kind of place would shed light on it??

 

i think a tire shop is likely to tell you "oh yeah, it's the tires, you need tires!!!!"

 

google the tire name to see how it is rated, if it is a snow tire you can buy hiway tires for the other 3 seasons. i have had tires get louder as they age. i think keeping rotated so they wear evenly may help. i have also had cheap tires wear badly and make a real racket, nut yokohama tires are not cheap.

 

have you tried rotating them?

The Avid TRZ is not known or being a loud tire. We see quite a few of those at work and don't here many complaints about them.

 

That's not to say there isn't a problem with the tires. Alignment issues can cause uneven wear, feathering, or cupping which will cause a lot of noise. You can look at the tires yourself and usually see any tread wear problems pretty easily.

Here's a little guide that may help.

http://www.procarcare.com/includes/content/resourcecenter/encyclopedia/ch25/25readtirewear.html

So the tires seem to have pretty even wear. I had them rotated within the last two regular oil changes. As I am paying more attention to this it seems that the noise is really only coming from the rear end and possibly the driver side only.

 

Now I don't know much about cars except where the oil and gas goes and changing wiper bladed. Oh I did change my own airfilter recently too.

 

Regardless I am starting to get concerned that I should not be driving it if the bearings are bad. What is the worst thing that could happen. Wheels sieze? What is a ball park of what tis could cost? Any suggestions on places that would be better to deal with this than others. i am in Minneapolis, mn.

 

I bought the car used and am beginning to think this may be why she sold it.

 

Anyway all you thoughts are greatly appreciated.

You can check the bearing yourself pretty easily before even taking it to a shop. Park the car on level ground, block both front wheels (in front and behind if possible), put the car in neutral and let it rest against the blocks, then put it in park. Don't set the parking brake.

Jack up the corner of the car you suspect has the bad bearing, then grab the tire at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions and try to rock it. Then try the same at 3 and 9 o'clock. If there is any noticeable movement chances are the wheel bearing is bad.

Replacement is probably best left to a Subaru dealer, or an independent shop that specializes in Subaru. The latter is usually the cheaper option. It seems that the newer design is a one piece bearing and hub assembly and is replaceable without a press (good for DIY'ers), but the process may be a bit involved for a novice. Cost depends on where you take it. I'm not sure of the labor time for a rear wheel bearing, but I'd guess around 2 or 3 hours, plus the part $140 from a dealer (the best source for Subaru quality parts). There are after market options as well, which will be on the order of only maybe $30 cheaper depending on where you buy. Probably looking at anywhere from $275 up to around the $500 mark.

rock it with pressure from into body and out? Not spin right?

Correct. Use a push/pull motion perpendicular to the vehicle. Watch here at about 10 seconds in.

thanks