I have a 92 leg wag with 145k. For a while I've noticed that the rear axle brgs. seem to kinda growl a wo..wo..wo..especially when cornering. I've owned the car for years and untill recently never paid attention to it. SO...my question to all Legacy owners with higher mileage is...does yours do it, anybody had bearing failure or the wo..wo..wowo..sound comin from the rear?

I don't know if I'd say it's super common, but it's common enough where I have heard of other people needing to replace the bearings.

svxcess,

 

My last 97 OBW developed a howl from the back end. At speed, on a road where is was safe to do so, I swerved the car from side to side, and you could hear the difference in sound as the bearing was loaded from side to side and straight ahead. The howl changed pitch or disappeared accordingly. I suspected that it was the left rear bearing, just hard to tell from the driver's seat. Once up on a hoist at the dealer's, the mechanic put a stethoscope onto each rear bearing hub...and identified the left rear as the culprit. 45 minutes later he had pressed out the old bearing from the hub, installed a new one under warranty, and I was on my way.

svxcess,

 

My last 97 OBW developed a howl from the back end. At speed, on a road where is was safe to do so, I swerved the car from side to side, and you could hear the difference in sound as the bearing was loaded from side to side and straight ahead. The howl changed pitch or disappeared accordingly. I suspected that it was the left rear bearing, just hard to tell from the driver's seat. Once up on a hoist at the dealer's, the mechanic put a stethoscope onto each rear bearing hub...and identified the left rear as the culprit. 45 minutes later he had pressed out the old bearing from the hub, installed a new one under warranty, and I was on my way.

This describes my sound to a tee...I know what I gotta do...thanks for input.

45 minutes to change bearing! wow thats a good mechanic, keep him in your little black book for future jobs. of course thats an under warrenty repair where little or no money was involved????