The car has developed a low growl / rumble vibration and sound that varies with road speed. 

Feel it in the steering wheel, and the seat.  At certain speeds, things in the cabin rattle.

175,000 Miles.

 

What's most common - wheel bearing?  Drive shaft?

 

 

 

Sounds like wheel bearing to me.

I would guess rear driveshaft based on interior movement and vibration. But maybe wheel bearing depending on history and what is meant by rattling interior - light noises or the rear view mirror is unusable and you can’t talk on the phone?

 

Is this a new symptom or new vehicle...?

Wheel bearing should have a hint of front/rear left/right m, driveshft will not.

 

Crawl under and yank on the shaft, that doesn’t catch all failure modes though.

Wheel-bearing noise/rumble sometimes changes when turning corners.

Give it a try...

My experience has been front wheel bearings show with turning. Rear wheel bearings however just produce a loud rumble ,definitely able to be heard & felt , possibly creating a slight vibration.Drive line/U joint vibration is much more noticeable and generally has no deep rumble. Hard to diagnose the rears , generally there is no wobble until utter destruction. If its  not the drive line and the front bearings are good , then pick the side you think the rumble is loudest and change  it out, using only Subaru or top shelf Japanese produced bearing.  

The noise didn't change with quick left right steering. I'll have to try someplace in a parking lot where I can go in a tight circle.

If you have access to a lift, running it in gear with a stethoscope, or just a stick pressed up to your ear and the hubs, you can find it pretty quick.

 

The EA82s would get “bruised” bearings sometimes. We used to service some from a rental fleet that would get this (nothing parties like a rental). Damn near impossible to find without this method because they would never get loose, just make noise.

Got the car up off the wheels today. Ran it in gear, wheels spinning.

Nothing conclusive listening through a hose to each hub. Not much via a rod either.

After a while, I did catch a couple mettalic creaks. I checked the driveshaft after shutting it down. On the rear universal joint, one of the cross shaft seals is gone. Bare shiny metal and rust powder. Hmmmmm.

 

Wheels off the ground -

 

 

[note - the concrete blocks used are solid.]

 

 

Bad U joint -

 

Edited April 28, 20187 yr by DaveT

Got the driveshaft out tonight.  It is possible to get it out without removing the exhaust, if you can remove the heat shields.

 

The bad bearing in the picture is really bad.  Has visible play now that it's out.  Feels horrible, like all sorts of chewed up metal in there.