Hey Boys and Girls,

 

Im new to the site though in my opinion its pretty damn good. Lots of peeps helpin each other out an such. Good to see. Seems like Josh (Legacy777) knows a hell of alot.

 

Heres the dilly. Jus bought a 5 speed, 2.2 Litre 1991 Subaru Legacy L with 300,000 kms for $500 bucks (CDN). Bodys great , interiors great yadda yadda yadda. Heres the kicker...

 

At about 40 kms an hour a deep droning/whining sound starts and as the speed gets higher and higher as does the deep Moaning/Whining sound to the point that my highway drives are headaches to me and anyone driving near me. My car sounds like a damn bus or a truck. As the cars parts gets hotter from longer drives the louder it gets. Im talking about a loud sound here. As your speed slows the sound follows suit by coming down like an opera singer ending the act in dramatical fashion. Some people are saying thats just the noise the awd makes but unless the founder of Subaru was deaf theres no way theyd put out a ride with such a noise. Some say its my bearings some say the diff. Im scared the whole tranny might be goin and dont know if I should sell it off to some shmo quick or not. I dont wanna cuz I love this ride but I gotta know whats happenin here. PLEEEEZE save my bleeding ears!...Oh yeah and any other tips you may have for a new Subaru owner. Oh yeah One more thing. I saw my mechanic turning the front wheels and at the same time the rear ones turned. Does that mean its an AWD?...I havent really checked for 2 different axles yet but I do know that I cant burn the tires like I did on my 89 Prelude. Theres no AWD tag on the car or nuthin. If it is a pal of mine said that its VERY IMPORTANT to have the right tire size and psi. The tag on my car says tires should be 175/70/R14 and on it are 185/70/R14's. Does the tire size matter? Will the wrong size of tires add more wear to different components and such?... HELP...And much thanks for doing so....We'll meet again mates....:cool:

 

Rob

Wheel bearings maybe? Taking it to a reputable mechanic can narrow that down.

Tire size, if close to manufacturer's suggested size, isn't a real issue. What is an issue is that all four tires must be the same size, meaning that they must all be the same make, size and have the same amount of wear. Having three new tires and one with only 20% wear left on it will destroy parts of the all wheel drive. Your howl may be a wheel bearing. If it is, you should be able to identify whether its a front or rear one, but not necessarily which side. While driving at speed, on a road where you can do the following safely, swerve from one side of the road to the other. A bad wheel bearing howl should change pitch, depending on whether driving straight ahead, swerving right or swerving left. If it doesn't, your best bet is that your problem lies somewhere else in the driveline, and a good Subaru mechanic should track it down for you before something major strands you with a bigger repair bill. Good Luck!

I had a very similar experience with my 88 when I got it. Turned out to be a u-joint in the driveline was completely shot.

If you turn one front wheel and a back one turns (while on a lift) then you have AWD.

If you want to keep your legacy running good doing burnouts is not going to do you anything (quit while you are ahead). This also proves that your car is infact AWD and that it is working good too. My ex-wife had a 2wd legacy once...and I could lay wheel with it till they were bald but like I said you must have AWD.

 

I put a vote down for a bad wheel bearing. Make sure the rear diff has oil in it and that the tires are close to being the same with the correct pressure in them.

 

Matt

Most likely a wheel bearing. Probably rear. They can get REAL noisy. Do the swerve test suggest above. If it gets louder during a left turn, it's usually a bearing on the right. And vice-versa.