Hi, we recently bought a 92 Legacy AWD with high mileage in excellent condition. The only problem I have noticed is at around 70mph there seems to be a humming noise from the front end. It isnt really loud, but is noticeable.

 

I believe that the transmission (automatic) has been replaced but I do not have any records. Is this a sign of tranny failure, cv joint failure, wheel bearing issue, etc?

 

This is a very nice well maintained vehicle so I want to keep it but am a little worried about the noise.

 

I have not noticed any difference in the sound when stepping on the brakes, and it is the same when accelerating or decelerating. I cannot test if cornering affects it as it only does it at 70+mph. Any ideas?

So it does happen at speeds above 70 mph? Does it change pitch with speed?

get any vibration with the hum?

It does seem to happen at speeds above 70, but it is not constantly there. I have not noticed much of a difference in pitch but after about 75 it is not as noticeable. You can feel it through the steering just a bit but it is not a very strong vibration at all. The brakes do drag a bit, and since they make noise when at low speed I cannot really tell if the wheel bearings are going bad. I am probably going to replace the pads and hardware soon, are the bearings easy enough to do while I am in there to just do as a preventative measure?

bearings are sort of a pain to do if you don't have... a press... or a 'hub tamer' (you can rent them though). I'd do up the brakes 1st and see if anything happens there, you could have a slightly warped rotor, or it would be a slight allignment problem?

bearings are expensive, go with the cheap fixes first

I had thjat with a sooby, couldnt trace it, wasnt always predictable. It got worse with time turned out to be a front wheel bearing.

 

nipper