My wife noticed that there is a lot of cabin noise in our 97 Legacy. It seems to be coming from the rear axel. The car drives fine, and the only thing I really notice is that the steering wheel shakes when braking at around 60. The brake pedal also pulses. This car was purchased as-is, so I'm going to have it checked out this weekend.

 

Does anyone know what the rumbling may be? Should I try to disable the AWD to see if it goes away?

 

Thanx,

Pete

can be as simple as a cupped tire, can be a bad strut, or as major as a rear wheel bearing.

 

First thing to do is to rotate the tires and see what happens.

 

nipper

I will try that this weekend.

I will try that this weekend.

 

Bet it's tires.

i'd be looking at the brakes and wheel bearings.

 

disabling the AWD isn't likely to help narrow it down.

Thanx guys - I'll let you know how it turns out and how broke I'll be after!!!

Well, I got the car into the shop and the rumblling turned out to be a bunch of things, but mostly it was the rear wheel bearings and the brakes (all 4), so I had all of that replaced along with the timing belt, water pump and all seals. I then filled the engine up with Mobil 1, so I hope that I have an almost trouble free car for the next 2+ years. Since Mobil 1 is synthetic, can I get by with longer change intervals?

 

Thanx for all the advise, and Gary, you were dead on!!!

Well, I got the car into the shop and the rumblling turned out to be a bunch of things, but mostly it was the rear wheel bearings and the brakes (all 4), so I had all of that replaced along with the timing belt, water pump and all seals. I then filled the engine up with Mobil 1, so I hope that I have an almost trouble free car for the next 2+ years. Since Mobil 1 is synthetic, can I get by with longer change intervals?

 

Thanx for all the advise, and Gary, you were dead on!!!

 

Yes you can BUT and this is a HUGE BUT, every 1000 miles open that hood and check the oil level. Subarus can use 1 qt every 3-4000 miles normally, so dont think just because you can go 8-10,000 miles between changes does not mean you cant open the hood for that long.

 

nipper

Since Mobil 1 is synthetic, can I get by with longer change intervals?

 

It's also a good idea to change your oil filter midway through that longer interval. Synthetic has a lot of "cleaning" power and will probably loosen up a lot of crud.

 

Congrats on your "new" '97!

It's also a good idea to change your oil filter midway through that longer interval. Synthetic has a lot of "cleaning" power and will probably loosen up a lot of crud.

 

Congrats on your "new" '97!

 

Still change filters ate the regular intervals. Thats what almost all the syn mfg makers say on thier websites. You can maybe use a syn filter for the duration, but that would make me nervous. Oil is cheap, an engine is not.

 

nipper