A few weeks back I asked a question about a horrendous apparent MT transmission noise on a 96 Outback, don't know where the thread went. ANYWAY--with the car on jackstands and wheels turning, I put the stethoscope everywhere and was convinced I had a trans problem, maybe input shaft bearing. Was ready to replace the trans, and finally went to my local shop where they instantly [to my chagrin] diagnosed a bad left front wheel bearing. They were right, $400 later. I've been fooled before--you can't do the listening by yourself AND advance the throttle [can you?] to vary the noise and pinpoint the problem.

It went here: http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=135033

 

The thing to do now is listen to the trans again and see if you can hear the same noise you heard from it before. The mainshaft bearing is a very common failure on the MT.

Thank you. You mean I might not be done yet??

Well, I wouldn't expect wheel bearing noise to carry all the way up the axle shaft and still be prominent in the transmission case, but I suppose it could.

 

Transmissions are loud any way. It's possible the noise you heard in the trans was just normal gear noise.

At any rate, input shaft noise will be more prominent closer to the back end of the transmission. The input shaft roller bearing (the one that commonly fails) is mounted at the end of the main case, not up front where the axles are. Noise can carry some, but when listening with a stethoscope noises are much louder when you're right next to the source. A bad input bearing will typically start out as a low clunk or knock sound that changes exactly with engine RPM, and will go away entirely when the clutch pedal is depressed. Follow the seam in the bottom of the transmission between the halves of the case. Where it ends, the MSB is directly above that point in the upper half of the transmission. Beyond that is the center differential and transfer gear housing.

$400?!? Gawd. I charge half that.....

 

GD

$400?!? Gawd. I charge half that.....

 

GD

 

I have bought knuckle from a yard for $75, and installed it myself.

I have bought knuckle from a yard for $75, and installed it myself.

 

Yep. And you get a used bearing with no warranty. For $150 I can install a new bearing, seals, and I guarantee my work. I also will not remove the knuckle and change your alignment. So you save $60 not having to align it (quality job). So for the average guy that has no tools or a place to work I'm much more cost effective than a junk yard. You could do a used knuckle and find a cut-rate alignment shop that will do a crappy job for $40 and guess what? You just got what you paid for...... a used knuckle that could fail next month, a crappy alignment done by untrained monkeys, and no piece of mind. All to save what? $35? That's not a very good return on your investment of time and money.

 

GD

Edited August 19, 201213 yr by GeneralDisorder

wheel bearing noise is a peculiar animal whose temperament varies with speed. At 62 mph my left rear wb resonates through the unibody sounding like crazed hornets at the top of the b-pillar.

Yep. And you get a used bearing with no warranty. For $150 I can install a new bearing, seals, and I guarantee my work. I also will not remove the knuckle and change your alignment. So you save $60 not having to align it (quality job). So for the average guy that has no tools or a place to work I'm much more cost effective than a junk yard. You could do a used knuckle and find a cut-rate alignment shop that will do a crappy job for $40 and guess what? You just got what you paid for...... a used knuckle that could fail next month, a crappy alignment done by untrained monkeys, and no piece of mind. All to save what? $35? That's not a very good return on your investment of time and money.

 

GD

 

That's a great price but book time is 3.2 hours, $70 list for the bearing and a couple seals. $400 is pretty typical.

I can see how a normal book rate shop would charge that. I just don't feel it's warranted.

 

For Subaru work I don't typically use any book rate scale. I charge based on how long it takes me to do the job at hand. Being I've done many wheel bearings I typically charge 1.5 hours labor plus parts which I don't put a lot of markup on. One thing to note is that in most of the US you are dealing with a lot more rust than I am here. Most cars here come apart on demand. In fact it's common practice around here to charge additional labor if a car comes in that is a major tetanus hazard. We don't expect it and to some extent are not as well equipped to handle it as the rust belt shops are.

 

Yes I do end up working a lot harder to make ends meet this way - typically 12 to 14 hours a day - but I'm fair and honest and that keeps people coming back and bringing their friends. My shop is way past full and I'm looking at hiring a full time assistant.... so my price are bringing me lots and lots of jobs when a lot of shops are empty with some kid shaking a sign on the corner.:-p

 

GD

I could do that when I was working out of my house. With a shop and its overhead, the prices become pretty typical. I fought it and thought it was pretty unfair until the profit and loss report comes up. There's no reason to cut yourself short 2 hours of labor though in my opinion. If you want to quote high and deduct because it came apart like you say-after you are done-that might be ok but if something goes wrong you are covered.