87 Gl wagon...okay..this is progressively getting worse and i cannot seem to pinpoint what is causing it...i checked all my wheel bearings and they are solid..both front axles are good...i cannot feel any vibration at all when turning left or going straight but as soon as there is a load on the left side(when turning right) i get this vibration i can feel through the floorboards...instinct tells me its coming from the front end somewhere...just could use a bit of input here...thanks all

bad bushings somewhere?

 

are they aftermarket axles?  those suck and have lots of issues.  hard to proceed if you have aftermarket axles....it'll just be a guess....

Wheel bearings for sure. Wiggling the tires doesn't always show results with bad wheel bearings since thay are ball bearings and there are 2 sets of races the axle rides against.

 

 

There is an inner and an outer bearing, and depending on whic one fails will change the dynamic of noise or slop you will feel in the wheel.

yah..indeed...Subaru wheel bearings never fail the "typical" tests i see and read about, i don't even check for play to determine wheel bearing issues, it rarely works on Subarus...at least not the ones i've done.

ah ok my instincts were correct then..time to tear apart the drivers side then...anyone done this before and have any advice?  already have the bearings...

I'm dealing with the same issue on my '87 Standard hatchback.  I've got the bearings and seals, just need to know what the tricks are to do the bearing install.  I've read the Subaru manual and they refer to some special tool, but I usually find the special tools aren't necessary (except my nifty Subaru valve adjusting tool, which is awesome).  I'm pretty sure my arbor press can handle the removal and installation of the bearings, just not sure if there are any tricks to the job.

Make sure it isn't balljoints/tierods first.

 

Also, it's worth checking the condition of the pivot bushing in the control arm.

 

If you don't have wheel play and grumble......I would suspect wheel bearings ONLY after all those other things are checked.

 

In my experience you almost always get wheel play and grinding sound before a bearing is bad enough to shake while driving.

You can do the work with a 3 lb hammer and a block of wood to remove and install the axle, and a drift punch to drive out the old bearings, and the axle socket to drive in the outer races of thenew ones, and when torquing the axle nut, it will seat the bearings.

Edited October 27, 201312 yr by MilesFox