farmer Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) 2000 Outback 250,000 miles, never a problem with the undercarriage. Just started a little bit of rolling noise in hard turns to the right. It seems to be coming from the right rear. Since it shows in the turns I thought it would be the wheel bearing. I jacked up the back of the car with both rear wheels off the ground and the front two still on the ground. The left wheel turns reasonable easy, but the right wheel turns a lot harder. I didn't know if this would have to do with a limited slip differential in the AWD. Either turning of the wheel spins the opposite the other direction, being normal for a differential. Question is one side turning harder than the other normal? There's no play in the hub bearing and it just started doing this about a day ago. No noise on the straight aways. Thanks for the help. Edited March 1, 2016 by farmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Since it is heard in turns, I am thinking a bad wheel bearing. Does it have the typical rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr sound, especially when cornering one direction, but not the other direction?? If so, more evidence of a bad wheel bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 I would check the caliper slide pins too - see if they're sticking. otherwise - bearing. subaru wheel bearings rarely have play, I rarely bother testing for play in a Subaru because it's not a helpful diagnosis on them. the few i have seen with play were so obviously wheel bearings they didn't need diagnosed. differential sounds normal. it's a VLSD so it doesn't "lock" until it starts slipping and they often fail/wear to a basic "open" diff with age anyway so you're quarter million miles probably means you've had an open diff for years now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) Thanks a lot for the replies. My Subie has been a test of faith since I got it at 205,000, but I count on it and wouldn't part with it. The noise is a rolling sound - about like what you'd have with a tire rubbing, but off/on through a turn. It's definitely coming from that rear right side. I was afraid it might a differential problem with noise riding down the axle. I checked the caliper on that side and it was released against the brake pads. When I started getting this sound I checked the hub regularly to see if I had heat in it - thinking the brake was dragging. The hub was always cool. I pulled the wheel right after I stopped at home and the brake was cool and released at that time too. I'm going to pull the hub on that side today and I'll post back. Your help is much appreciated. Edited March 1, 2016 by farmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 I changed out the right rear bearing and it went pretty well. Using a slide hammer to pull the hub took out the outer race and hub, leaving the bearing cage and both bearings. The cage was stuck in the frame and I got that out by screwing the mounting bolts for the cage in from the brake side, then tapping against them with a punch to drive the cage out. Worked pretty good. I found the bearing cage only goes in one way. Found out the hard way, as usual. No more noise from that corner, bearing change seems to have done the trick. Good for another 250,000 miles. Appreciate the help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 nice work, those bearings can be very tricky to R&R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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