Hi Folks:

 

My first post....I'd appreciate any help you could offer. I have a 2000 outback legacy, 110K miles, 5 speed. I have a loud noise coming from the drivers side rear and some slight vibration I can feel in the floor. It becomes extremely loud at highway speeds. I thought it was the tires, it gets louder as you go faster and sound like choppy tires. I had them rotated and balanced with no change. The mechanic at the tire store believes it is mechanical, but admitted he did not know much about Soobs. Anybody have any ideas? Also, for the second time I have a broken lug bolt. The nuts seems to fuse to the bolt and they break off when you remove the lug nut. The mechanic told me it is common with outbacks?? Again, thanks for any feedback.

 

Bob

It's just on the one side? Wheel bearing? CV boot possibly? I would pull the wheel and have a good look around. Sorry I couldn't be more help but you've definitely come to the right place. I'm sure you'll get some expert help soon.

 

Ed

It's just on the one side? Wheel bearing? CV boot possibly? I would pull the wheel and have a good look around. Sorry I couldn't be more help but you've definitely come to the right place. I'm sure you'll get some expert help soon.

 

Ed

Thanks for your reply. I took a look at some other postings regarding wheel bearings and I think thats the case. It is most likely the wheel bearing. I will probably have both rear replaced if it is not too expensive. I don't think I'll tackle this one by myself. Thanks again!

I have a 97 OB and I've had a couple of rear bearings go, both on the right side.

 

I don't think I'd change the other one unless it goes bad. 400k km and I haven't had to touch the left one yet.

 

In my case, the seal area on the half shaft was pitted, so they had to change it too. Fortunately, there are reasonably priced remanufactured half shafts.

 

If tire rotation didn't change the noise location, it is most likely the bearing. That would be my guess. It does sound like a noisy tire in the early stages of failure, and slowly gets progressively worse.

 

Commuter

What kind of noise is it? If its a scraping sound, i'll agree with the bearing theory, my 94 legacy had a scraping sound as the bearings wore out that got progressively worse as they continued to decline.