cheetah8799 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 1998 Legacy Outback, 158k miles, 5sp manual. In the last couple days my brother and I finished two projects on my old Outback. We replaced the viscous coupler in the transmission, as well as replaced the rear brake discs and pads. We did the tranny work with it in the car, meaning we disconnected the exhaust, front half of the drive shaft, and pulled the back of the tranny off. Everything went well with the tranny work, but I had some rust flakes causing noise in my back rear wheel, so I went back today to fix that up and properly test-drive the vehicle. It seems that the torque bind issue that I replaced the viscous coupler to resolve is now in fact fixed. However now there is another new noise coming from the rear end of the vehicle. It runs and sounds fine when driving straight, any speed. However when I stop at a corner and turn left or right 90 degrees, I get a grinding noise from the back end. It is coming from the center part of the vehicle, doesn't seem to be from one wheel or another. I had my wife drive in circles in the parking lot and I could not hear any noise from the outside of the car from either wheel or anywhere else. Once in the car though I could hear it just fine. It makes the most noise immediately after coming to a stop from a drive and taking a corner. When in a parking lot doing circles the noise is there, but not as loud and is a little more intermittent. Being the rookie that I am, I have some ideas, but as usual they are probably wrong. Here they are anyway. - Possibly something damaged from taking off the back rear disc brake, I had to bang on it pretty hard due to corrosion. - Possibly the rear differential, it shows some sign of leakage, and I have not re-filled it's fluid. - Possibly something from when we re-assembled the drive shaft, we simply bolted it back on, did we skip a step? What do you guys think? Anything stand out as obvious that I'm not seeing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Inspect the carrier bearing, heat shields, and tranmission mount. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Dust shield behind rotor may have gotten distorted from all that hammering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetah8799 Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 Just got back from another test drive and also inspected a few things. I found after being more careful about my corner testing that if I go slow, like crawling, it does not rub. I found that if I go faster, like making the car lean a little around the corner, I can make it rub worse and worse the faster I go. I listened closer to the sound, and it does seem to be coming from each wheel and not the center. I suspect the reason I couldn't hear it from outside the car two days ago is because we were going slow in a parking lot and instead of taking the turns fast like I tested today. - The shield behind the rotor was in fact an initial problem for the short 1/4 mile drive I did in the dark the night I did the back-right brakes. I cleaned it up of loose rust and bent it back a little and that problem went away. I inspected again today, not touching as far as I can tell. Not seeing any bad scoring from it at least. - The disc and pads appear to be giving off more brake dust than I would have expected after 20 miles of driving it home and a mile or so of street corners today. There is some scoring where the pad edge is on the disc, not sure if this is normal. They are cheap discs and pads, so maybe. - Heat shielding looks good. The majority was removed a year ago due to horrible rattling, the large piece on top is firmly in place though. - Tranny mounts look solid. - I have not pulled the drive shaft to check the carrier bearing, wanted to check the easier stuff first. I am going to go back to bend back some more of the shielding around the discs to see if that makes a difference. Though it currently has what should be plenty of room, and if there is that much flex in the system it makes me a bit nervous. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetah8799 Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 Bending back the shield around the disc didn't change anything. I noticed the calipers are probably bad, old, rusty, no lube. When going around corners, taking a left corner makes the back right wheel grind. Right turn makes the back left wheel grind. Wheel bearings maybe? They have never been checked as long as I've owned the car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Wheel bearings maybe? They have never been checked as long as I've owned the car... You said you were a 'rookie', so no offense if this is obvious! Raise the rear wheels off the ground, grab the top of the tire and see if there's any play in/out. That should tell you if it's the bearings...I've heard Foresters have 'bearing issues'; not sure about the OB. Also, fill the Rear diff (if you can get that darn top plug out!). Good luck, TD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetah8799 Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Thanks wtdash, I did check for play in both rear wheels, there was none. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaki Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) My 0.02 cents, I am also a rookie...had a similar problem with a '97 legacy AWD wagon.Only difference was that mine was an auto and not a 5-speed.Got rid of it for a '98 legacy 5-speed...,for that main reason.When turning 90 degrees to either side,there would be a grinding noise similar to yours...sometimes felt like I was trying to turn an 18 wheeler...had to sorta make a wide turn.All the tranny shops failed to diagnose it...finally the Subaru dealership said that it was a soleniod sensor within the tranny...gone bad....one of the techs there suggested that the damage may have been caused over the years by previous owner using fluid that was too viscous while changing the rear diff oil.I dont think that the 5-speed has one of these,but I could be wrong. Edited August 31, 2009 by kaki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 My 0.02 cents,I am also a rookie...had a similar problem with a '97 legacy AWD wagon.Only difference was that mine was an auto and not a 5-speed.Got rid of it for a '98 legacy 5-speed...,for that main reason.When turning 90 degrees to either side,there would be a grinding noise similar to yours...sometimes felt like I was trying to turn an 18 wheeler...had to sorta make a wide turn.All the tranny shops failed to diagnose it...finally the Subaru dealership said that it was a soleniod sensor within the tranny...gone bad....one of the techs there suggested that the damage may have been caused over the years by previous owner using fluid that was too viscous while changing the rear diff oil.I dont think that the 5-speed has one of these,but I could be wrong. You had torquebind. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okeophil Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I have a 2005 Outback with 116K miles and I was just notified yesterday by the dealer shop that my rear differential was the problem to the noise that I been having. They disregarded any wheel bearing issues. He also suggest that the estimate was going to be at minimum $1000.00 to inspect which components were worn or damage. All said an done it could be $1500.00 + parts and labor. I am going to take it to an indi-shop to get a second take. My question: Should the rear differential on a 2005 be of an issue in the first place? Should I negotiate with Subaru on a possible warranty extension? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Get a used low-mileage one from a wrecking yard for around $100. Bet one from a 2009 is the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I have a 2005 Outback with 116K miles and I was just notified yesterday by the dealer shop that my rear differential was the problem to the noise that I been having. They disregarded any wheel bearing issues. He also suggest that the estimate was going to be at minimum $1000.00 to inspect which components were worn or damage. All said an done it could be $1500.00 + parts and labor. I am going to take it to an indi-shop to get a second take. My question: Should the rear differential on a 2005 be of an issue in the first place? Should I negotiate with Subaru on a possible warranty extension? Thanks! 16,000 miles is a bit late to ask for any favors from subaru. Is this a LSD rear diff? Ever have an unmatched tire on that axle? How often did you have the rear diff serviced? When was the last time anyone checked the lube level? Get a used one, its much cheaper. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okeophil Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I understand that 116K is a long time to ask favors from Subaru but my rear diff should not be having issue yet. I haven't had any unmatched tires. There is no leak on the rear diff. I got my 30/60/90 services. I don't know if the dealer (Eastside Subaru - Titus) did service on my rear diff. Just to get a second opinion, I took my car into AWD Auto in Kirkland (indi-shop) and they had it for 2 hours and said that it wasn't the rear diff and that the noise was minor. I am however, getting my timing belt service done along with my water pump and cam seals, etc. Maybe the noise was coming from the belts. I just got bit from the dealer that I have been going to for the last 4 years. I actually trust the indi-guy more so now because the dealer was trying to suggest getting a new car if the maintenance and repairs were going to be expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I would wait it out. A rear diff can make noise for years and never really fail. I have seen diffs fail in less then 100k, you make enough of anything, eventually something will break early. Wait it out till it gets worse, so a better diagnoses can be made. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okeophil Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Good to know! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Good to know! Thanks! NP. Sometimes noises need to get worse before they can accuratly be identified, and save you some money. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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