ive got a raging roar getting louder fast, doubt I’m making it back from NH to WV like this. 

I think it’s the rear drive shaft. 

once it’s unbolted they rear will pry put somehow right?  It’s unbolted at the flange but is in there tight and I haven’t gotten it out yet.  Still removing two front carrier bearing. 

Edited August 14, 20205 yr by idosubaru

And how much fluid am I going to loose pulling the shaft? I think I’ll still have enough to drive to the closest store and top off right ?

got the shaft in place  tightening bolts and hoping this fixes the issue   Point to the seven sisters and wish me luck  

No fluid came out. That was Surprising but I did drive over the spare tire from the rear and angled the car so the rear is higher. 

You know a lot more about these things than me but, I've always read that center carrier bearings can really howl.

Well I swapped it in an hour which is quicker than I thought but it’s still there.  Dang it.  Bearing or rear diff I guess.

it is really loud  

im going to drive an hour and see what happens. Lol. 

Edited August 14, 20205 yr by idosubaru

Friendly face here in CT if you get stuck. Near exit 44 Merritt Pkway. Not far from Exit 19 Rte 95.

I'll PM telephone.

I've towed plenty with the driveshaft unbolted from the rear diff.  Never had an issue, but the front was on a dolly.  You'd have to remove the rear half if possible on yours.  Lots of work to remove the heatshield to get to the midbearing.  Good Luck!

 

1 hour ago, brus brother said:

Friendly face here in CT if you get stuck. Near exit 44 Merritt Pkway. Not far from Exit 19 Rte 95.

I'll PM telephone.

Kick a$$.  Thanks. I think I’m good. A couple hundred miles and it’s getting no worse so I’m going to keep going.  I’m about 30-40 minutes from your exit if things get worse in the next hour I’ll be calling and seeing if you’ve got a real jack to check wheel bearings and rear diff. 

29 minutes ago, lmdew said:

I've towed plenty with the driveshaft unbolted from the rear diff.  Never had an issue, but the front was on a dolly.  You'd have to remove the rear half if possible on yours.  Lots of work to remove the heatshield to get to the midbearing.  Good Luck!

 

I thought it would be awhile. a yard close by had a driveshaft and i swapped it in one hour.  I backed the Tribeca up on a spare tire and that was enough room to work with no jack needed. Shaft - It slid rearward all the way out without removing the heat shield or exhaust.  I unbolted one passengers side heat shield bolt, bent the corner down to get the carrier bearing bolt out.  Maybe Tribeca has more room?

Edited August 14, 20205 yr by idosubaru

ok no better than car jack but can rustle one up about 20 minutes north of here.

I'll keep an ear out.

Changes when I turn, might be the brand new wheel bearing. 

sounds about right

Quick check for a worn or loose wheel bearing. At the top of the tire, one hand on the tread with fingers down on the inner sidewall, other hand, palm on the outer sidewall near the tread. Push in and pull out until the car moves. If you hear a clunk that is the bad bearing. That worked many times for me. Then I jack that corner up to see how much it really moves.

2 hours ago, Rampage said:

Quick check for a worn or loose wheel bearing. At the top of the tire, one hand on the tread with fingers down on the inner sidewall, other hand, palm on the outer sidewall near the tread. Push in and pull out until the car moves. If you hear a clunk that is the bad bearing. That worked many times for me. Then I jack that corner up to see how much it really moves.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Subaru have play in the bearings. Maybe once and I’m forgetting. They’re always sneaky for me.  Im not counting the ones with so much play they wander and the abs sensor is freaking out. they’re so bad there’s no reason to test.  I’ll be checking it out tomorrow morning before I finish my trip.  

5 hours ago, brus brother said:

I was thinking about like that, that’s why I replaced the driveshaft, I didn’t want that letting loose at highway speeds and it had a very light clunk to it, the wheel bearings weren’t hot or having play yet so they seemed unlikely to cut loose. 

I made it to my families house in Maryland. Will investigate a little tomorrow morning before I head home. Thanks for contacting me, it gave me confidence to keep going and test it out another hour and by then it wasn’t getting worse. 
 

Hey I went to grad school in Bal'more,

Good place to rest your worried bones.

is this car new to you? maybe a swapped, mis-matched rear diff?

mark the tire bottoms with chalk, drive forward for 10-20 tire revs, recheck chalk positions for synchrony?

2 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

is this car new to you? maybe a swapped, mis-matched rear diff?

mark the tire bottoms with chalk, drive forward for 10-20 tire revs, recheck chalk positions for synchrony?

I’ve had it for years and almost 100,000 miles.

One rear bearing is bad so that explains the noise.  It didn’t reveal itself at all until I pulled the wheel and rotor  no vibrations or noise. I don’t know how they’re able to do that but that’s not the first time  that’s happened. No play noise vibrations or rough spots until it’s all torn down   Then I feel a little lumpiness, no play.

excessive tire wear I’m still unsure of.  The two rear diff hanger bushings have cracks in them.  Each bushing is attached via two connections to the outer bushing material.  And each bushing has at least one of those two connections cracked all the way through.  I’m unsure if that’s enough to cause any issues though. 

good job, it is weird how they fail. I had one on my WRX that 'wiggled' about 1.5/2mm - no more, but never made any noise. Another one, in the front, got VERY loud.......

 

they have weird failure modes for certain.