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I recently replaced the control arm bushing, sway bar end link, knuckle, hub assy, ball joint and dust shield on the front passenger side of my 2011 Impreza Outback Sport.

I torqued every nut and bolt to spec. Took it for a quick trip around the block and everything felt and sounded good.

Took the car on a longer ride yesterday and heard a rubbing sound. It wasn’t continuous. It was up and down in loudness and the frequency would increase and decrease with RPMs and would be much louder when I pressed on the brakes.

One thing I will mention is that when I was trying to remove the rotor I did give it 4 or 5 light hits in different spots to try to free it up. I used a 1.5 lb rubber mallet and again they were light hits, I wasn’t winding up like Sammy Sosa.

Without removing the wheel, I peeked through and didn’t see anything obvious. Although, I am brand new to the world of doing my own work on my car, so I’m not sure how much should be obvious to me at this point.

I plan to remove the wheel sometime in the next couple of days to dig in to it.

Can you all please give me some ideas on what to look at once I get the wheel off or share your thoughts on what might be making the sound.

One last thing... there was a “different” smell coming from that wheel well at the end of my trip. I can’t really think of a way to accurately describe it. It just wasn’t something I remember ever smelling before.

Thanks!

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1 hour ago, lmdew said:

Most likely you bent the brake backing plate and it's rubbing the rotor.  

Jack the car, put a jack stand under it and then with the wheel still on rotate it.  Look and listen for the rub.

I looked at that, doesn’t appear to be rubbing.

ill check again when the cars jacked up.

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'warped' rotors are rarely truly bent/potato chipped. The weird feeling from warped rotors is almost always uneven pad material deposits. It can happen from holding hot pads on hot rotors for a period of time. Like heating the brakes up going down hill, then a panic stop at the bottom of a hill at a light, followed by sitting in one place for that light to change. Or something similar.

there are a others ways a braking system can be 'off' - rust flakes or other debris could prevent a rotor from seating flat on the hub....

and calipers stick all the time.

like Imdew said, I've had a pebble stuck between dust shield and rotor before.

it doesn't seem like your mallet could have damaged it.

what car is this again? Some models around year 2000 have a parts confusion factor depending on manufacture date

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3 minutes ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

'warped' rotors are rarely truly bent/potato chipped. The weird feeling from warped rotors is almost always uneven pad material deposits. It can happen from holding hot pads on hot rotors for a period of time. Like heating the brakes up going down hill, then a panic stop at the bottom of a hill at a light, followed by sitting in one place for that light to change. Or something similar.

there are a others ways a braking system can be 'off' - rust flakes or other debris could prevent a rotor from seating flat on the hub....

and calipers stick all the time.

like Imdew said, I've had a pebble stuck between dust shield and rotor before.

it doesn't seem like your mallet could have damaged it.

what car is this again? Some models around year 2000 have a parts confusion factor depending on manufacture date

2011 Impreza Outback Sport.

Im going to get the car jacked up tomorrow and see if I can figure it out.

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So I just had the front end up.

Spun the tires and heard the rubbing.

Removed the tire, caliper and rotor. Made sure the two surfaces where the rotor and hub meet are super clean and smooth.

Put everything back together and now I’m hearing a metallic sounding ‘clink’ or ‘tink’ when I rotate the tire. I do remember hearing that same sound several times while driving the other day. I’m pretty sure I was hearing it while accelerating or when coming to a stop.

I took a short video where the sound is audible. Going to see if I can upload here...

 

 

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well, I may have heard a thump, not sure.

is the noise once per revolution of wheel?, 3 times, or 6 times?

axle nut not loose?

if you grab the tire, does it move if you 'lift-rock' it in the 12 to 6 oclock direction? even 1-2mm movement could be a bad bearing, compare to the other side for reference.

 

Edited by 1 Lucky Texan
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17 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

well, I may have heard a thump, not sure.

is the noise once per revolution of wheel?, 3 times, or 6 times?

axle nut not loose?

if you grab the tire, does it move if you 'lift-rock' it in the 12 to 6 oclock direction? even 1-2mm movement could be a bad bearing, compare to the other side for reference.

 

The sound is about 2.5 seconds into the video and it sounds like a short piece of 3/8” threaded rod being dropped on concrete.

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17 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

well, I may have heard a thump, not sure.

is the noise once per revolution of wheel?, 3 times, or 6 times?

axle nut not loose?

if you grab the tire, does it move if you 'lift-rock' it in the 12 to 6 oclock direction? even 1-2mm movement could be a bad bearing, compare to the other side for reference.

 

I torqued everything down to spec after replacing all those parts. Should I go back through and double check everything? Is it possible a nut or bolt has loosened up?

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