Hey guys and gals, it's been a while! My 86 Subaru has been driving great ever since I replaced the axles and bearings. The car just recently started making this grinding noise coming from the front passenger side suspension. It sounded identical to a rock being stuck in the brake rotor. After realizing that there was no rock, I replaced the bearings. It turns out, I didn't even grease the inside bearing *slaps self in face*. The bearing was rusted and frozen solid. I replaced the bearings, made sure there was a ton of grease, test drove it, and its still grinding! Its a little quieter in a straight line, but gets louder when turning a corner. Id prefer not to dump a ton of money into this thing, being that its not a daily driver, so im hoping that someone will be able to help me out. Thanks! 

Have you checked the dust shield on the brake rotor? And what are your brake pads looking like? 

Is the noise a consistent grind, does it come and go or change in intensity with different engine loads or vehicle speeds? 

Cheers 

Bennie

On 8/10/2019 at 4:59 AM, Dakotas86Subaru said:

Hey guys and gals, it's been a while! My 86 Subaru has been driving great ever since I replaced the axles and bearings. The car just recently started making this grinding noise coming from the front passenger side suspension. It sounded identical to a rock being stuck in the brake rotor. After realizing that there was no rock, I replaced the bearings. It turns out, I didn't even grease the inside bearing *slaps self in face*. The bearing was rusted and frozen solid. I replaced the bearings, made sure there was a ton of grease, test drove it, and its still grinding! Its a little quieter in a straight line, but gets louder when turning a corner. Id prefer not to dump a ton of money into this thing, being that its not a daily driver, so im hoping that someone will be able to help me out. Thanks! 

Have you checked the big nut on the end of the hub is REALLY tight?

 

I had similar symptoms and that was all that was needed to make the noise go away.

Edited August 11, 20196 yr by KiwiBrumby