Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

91 EA82 wagon howl over 60kmh


Recommended Posts

Ok, this noise has started up about 3 weeks ago. At first I thought throwout bearing but now think this is most likely wheel bearing related.

As I start to go over 60kmh, especially under load a whining/howling noise builds up somewhere near the front of the car. If I engage the clutch the sound gets significantly quieter but does not go away. Turning the wheel seems to affect the noise slightly but not sure.

Wheel bearings were done last year when I got the car, used sealed bearings and repacked centre of knuckle, remember cone/spring/hub looking ok. Had a CV failure not long ago and fitted a used axle in the hub, axle threads were chewed up as well... But I couldn't seem to get any north south wobble out of the wheels on all occasions, however camber was definitely being compromised.

Now with this noise I pulled the hub, cone washer looked dodgy as, and hub looked like it had been worn out on the cone washer seat, probably from bad axle shaft threads not holding torque. Replaced hub with good looking cone and hub from parts car, tightened castle nut to 190Nm.

Seems to have made the noise somewhat quieter but I'm still not sure. Only had one good spare cone washer and hub so could only replace one side, is getting a hub and new cone a good idea? Any other things that could cause a howl like this? Pinion wear?

Would like to gather some ideas before I go about replacing wheel bearings and diffs

Attached pic is cone washers, top is good one from my spare car, bottom right is the one it replaced. Bottom left is from parts car on a finger tight (!) castle nut.

 

DSC_0380_1_1.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, Check the gear lube in the front diff / transmission.

Loose nut is not good for anything - bearings, axle, hub, cone washer.

Sealed bearings, might not be good.  Depends on what they were sold as. 
I once used electric motor sealed bearings for the idlers, and they did not hold up as well as the oem ones, or the proper ones I bought from a bearing supply shop next time.

Different applications, but something similar regarding loading and or temperature may be similar.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, DaveT said:

Also, Check the gear lube in the front diff / transmission..

Oops. Checked last full service (when I got it), acceptable level. Checked again last oil change but mustn't have read it properly.. only just kissing the end of the dipstick. Added about 500ml.... Can't be sure how long exactly it's been run this low, anything I should check as well as a result of this?

Won't be able to take it out until later to hear a difference.

Oh, and the loose nut was just on my parts car on a hub I didn't pull for this job... Just sharing. Both of mine appeared to be tight

Edited by subieroo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That should be ok....  I had one that ran down so low, it didn't show anything.  It was an automatic.   It was my wife's car, I didn't drive it much, so never caught it early.   Found out when the pinion bearing had failed bad enough to let the pinion screw forward into the differential carrier whenever engine braking happened.  Ouch.

I had another, that I bought used that had turned out to have an empty front diff.  Flushed it with a couple fills of ATF / cheap gear lube, and then switched it to the Amsoil synthetic I run.  The noise eventually faded away, and I drove it to 200K+ miles before the body rotted off.  Never had another problem with that transmission, I still have it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, DaveT said:

I had another, that I bought used that had turned out to have an empty front diff.  Flushed it with a couple fills of ATF / cheap gear lube, and then switched it to the Amsoil synthetic I run.  The noise eventually faded away, and I drove it to 200K+ miles before the body rotted off.  Never had another problem with that transmission, I still have it.

 

That's what I love about the old Soobs, they just keep going even if they need some TLC along the way.

I'll update again after I take it out on the highway, cheers Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My question is what brand of front wheel bearings did you use? 

And has the inner seal been compromised/have you done any 4wdn involving deep mud or water crossings? 

All of these situations can kill the front bearings if a seal is toast or the hubs are hot when they hit cold water or in exteme cases, mud slurry is sucked into the bearings. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

kinda sounds like a through out bearing ive had lots of them go bad on me finding a new one for the ea81 was a task no one had it i had to pull one from a junk yard lol but the ea82 units are still kicking and 3 months ago i replaced that bearing in the 04 lego after going though a big puddle in a rain storm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, el_freddo said:

My question is what brand of front wheel bearings did you use? 

And has the inner seal been compromised/have you done any 4wdn involving deep mud or water crossings? 

All of these situations can kill the front bearings if a seal is toast or the hubs are hot when they hit cold water or in exteme cases, mud slurry is sucked into the bearings. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Front wheel bearings are a kit made by PFI bearings. Bearings are sealed both sides, thought this might help if I had to swap axles often.

Seals have been replaced every time I've disturbed the hub. I do however drive over a river crossing 4 times a day for work.. certainly my family has had trouble with wheel bearings in the past..

So it might just be a routine failure, we had a Patrol that went through 2 sets of swivel bearings in a year. Sad times.

Guess I can replace the bearings again, I have a second kit. Is it worth getting new ones from the dealer next time?

Cheers

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dunno about dealer. Just good quality Japanese bearings. And remove the “seals”, then pack/replace with quality high temp grease. 

Replace one “seal” on the bearing and install with the open side facing into the middle of the hub. Throw a bit of grease in the centre area of the hub, then the spacer followed by the other bearing. Then your actual hub seals then the drive shaft. 

Don’t forget to prime the seals with some rubber grease so they don’t burn out. 

I do hope the bearings are the issue. As they’re relatively easy to fix. 

As for the four water crossings a day, that’s interesting. If they’re shallow (under the hub), you should be right, if they’re deeper than hub height and you’ve been on the brakes or straight off a main rd, you might want to consider cooling the hubs off before you cross through the water. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, el_freddo said:

Dunno about dealer. Just good quality Japanese bearings. And remove the “seals”, then pack/replace with quality high temp grease. 

Replace one “seal” on the bearing and install with the open side facing into the middle of the hub. Throw a bit of grease in the centre area of the hub, then the spacer followed by the other bearing. Then your actual hub seals then the drive shaft. 

Don’t forget to prime the seals with some rubber grease so they don’t burn out. 

I do hope the bearings are the issue. As they’re relatively easy to fix. 

As for the four water crossings a day, that’s interesting. If they’re shallow (under the hub), you should be right, if they’re deeper than hub height and you’ve been on the brakes or straight off a main rd, you might want to consider cooling the hubs off before you cross through the water. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Beautiful. I do hope it's wheel bearings too. Came home today, gearbox shifts a but nicer with the top up but noise is still there and definitely louder now on the side I didn't pull and repack the other day. Steering and pedals feel rumbly. Brakes now grab on a full lock turn so it's looking like the case.. 

I have a whole second set of bearings on hand (same manufacturer though) so I'll chuck them in for now and go about sourcing a higher quality set. 

Clutch kit has arrived too so at least I can replace all that and rule out those bearings too.

The river crossing is a nightmare. Most of the time above the axles especially on the 27's but now I'm running my "legals" (24ish) the axles would be getting a bit of a dip. So many bearings and joints have been claimed by our crossing over the last 20 years

 

Edited by subieroo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...