Wxman Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Inner passenger boot tore on our 2000 Outback with 120K miles. Local independent shop replaced axle with new unit (not sure of the brand). All was fine for the first few hundred miles. Then the noises began... - It started as a slight ticking and didn't matter if you were going straight or turning. - There is also an occasional clunk when shifting into drive or reverse or if you release the gas pedal while driving. - The sound, while still intermittent, has progressed to a much louder and longer chirp or scrape. - I've also heard some banging while turning into less than smooth parking lot entrances. The mechanic that made the original repair has looked at the car twice and says everything looks tight and OK. He has only heard the quieter noises to this point. He is not sure what the problem is. I made an observation tonight. The old boot tore in the middle of the bellow. There is still some residual grease that sprayed out on the suspension. On the new axle, the grease "spray line" is lined up more with the strap that holds the boot on the cup (not the middle of the bellow). Could the wrong axle have been installed or is there enough play in the joints for this to misalignment to occur? I saw other threads on the board talking about problems with aftermarket axles and some length problems. Does this sound like what has happened to our car? This was the only part changed. I can't believe the new noises are a coincidence. Any ideas? While this is my first post, I've been reading and learning from many of you for a while. Thanks for your insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 do a few searches or take a look at the bottom for the "related threads"..... from what i hear subarus are very "touchy" when it comes to non OEM axles.....speaking of....im doing 3 axle boots tomarrow on my car.... im sure someone else will chime in with more info.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reveeen Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Probably the best (and the one solution I believe in) thing to do is re-boot/rebuild the existing axles (half shafts). Recently I got caught, 2 axles with torn boots (been like that for a while), and choosing to ignore what I know (fix your own), due to time issues, I sourced 2 axles (re-built) from where my local Subaru dealer gets them (Fenco). One so far has been ok, one is junk (noisy), I have a 2 year warranty, that I suspect will see a lot of claims (there is a replacement waiting for me to pick up and install). I know better than this, but was living in hope, that this would be over by now. Get your mechanic to drive the car, and diagnose what the noise is, this is a "known problem", and certainly not unheard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 you need a new axle. do yourself a favor and get an actual new or used Subaru axle, nothing rebuilt. i'd install a good used unit before any after market junk (because problems like yours are VERY common). MWE is the only reliable aftermarket source for subaru axles IMO. if you want to constantly play "as the axle turns" and roll the dice the rest of your vehicle ownership then stick with after market axles. if you want to fix this and never think about it again (highly recommended), then just suck it up and do it right and be done with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wxman Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 Thanks for the input. I thought I'd post an update on where I am with this problem: -The mechanic replaced the new aftermarket axle with another of the same brand (GSP). He said if the problems persisted, he would go to a Subaru axle. Since it is his labor and no additional cost to me at this point (he covers his labor on any part problem for a year), I did not push the issue. - He had me test drive the car again. I didn't get any of the louder scraping noises, but some milder noises persisted. The mechanic was still perplexed and kept digging into the problem. - Eventually he removed everything from the hub and removed the hub from the car. There was a huge amount of play in the wheel bearing (he showed it to me). He said he had not noticed the play when he had checked for it on the car. - He removed the bearing to change it and found it in terrible shape with significant burning noted on the races. In fact, it had chewed into the hub pretty good too (he showed this to me as well). He figures the bearing was bad for several months. - Now we are waiting for a new hub from Subaru...hopefully we will have it tomorrow. Considering the recent developments, I have a couple questions: - Is it normal for a bad front bearing to be silent until it is totally shot and doing damage to the hub? I previously owned a 1997 Impreza that liked to eat rear wheel bearings. These bearings made a very distinctive sound and it was obvious when they were failing. - Have you ever noticed a bad bearing vary considerably in the noises it makes? In this case the bearing sometimes made minor ticking noises, loud scraping noises or no noise at all. The noises the 97 Impreza bearings made were more of a hum that varied with speed (the noise progressively got louder as the bearing deteriorated). Thanks again for your insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 that is strange news to me for a bearing to be that bad and you didn't notice before, it was mistaken for a CV axle, the mechanic didn't see/check it before, and it wasn't causing other problems...wobbling, wheel wear, etc. wheel bearings generally make the humming noises you mentioned and are fairly consistent. i'm wondering now though...i have a 1997 impreza OBS with a funny sounding front passengers side wheel area. have wheels (no hub caps) and have swapped multiple different sets and it still makes the noise. replaced the CV axle thinking for sure that was it - nope. done a brake job and still makes the noise. a strange, loud ticking noise. doesn't sound anything like i'm used to for a wheel bearing. i might need to check that hub/bearing out?! i'm now interested quite a bit in this thread.... at least now you know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 FWIW, the bearing in my wife's 97 avalon made intermitten noises. some time a scraping sometime a grinding, no noise at all when i rode in it. i never heard it. she finally had the shop look at it and they thought it was too dangerous to drive. my only experience up to that point was with outback bearings giving a speed related noise as they went bad. live and learn i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wxman Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 Thought I'd give an update on this issue for those that were interested... We've put about 400 miles on the second after market axle, new wheel bearing and hub. The noises are completely gone and we are not having any vibration problems with the axle. The mechanic is still not sure why he didn't have any play in the wheel when he checked the bearing initially. He also doesn't know why the bearing was so quiet until it was significantly chewing the hub up. My question to the board...do you think I should have the other front bearing replaced as well even though it is quiet and seemingly tight? I've never had a wheel bearing go bad without giving quite a bit of warning. I don't feel like ruining another $150 hub if this problem is likely to repeat itself. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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