dogmod7

I finally found the problem! Anyone who has the symptons described above, read on. The rear differential moount is a pretty big chunk of metal that has cross members reaching out to the edge of the car and they are bolted to the chassis near the rear jacking point. The end of the cross member has a rubber vibration isolator bushing inside it and it rests on a small bracket (5" x 7"?) bolted to the frame. Apparently, the bushing had settled a little and now the crass member would contact the support bracket when shifting or decelerating due to the driveshaft torque. I found it by going under the car and banging on stuff until I found something that made the same clunking noise. The bushing does not look easy to replace, so I put two washers in between the bushing and the support bracket and the noises are gone. Note that the washers must have a inner diameter small enough to support the bushing liner, and an outer diameter smaller than the cross member piece.

Northguy, Stopping feels smooth, no hopping, sqeal, or grinding. The rotor looks to be smooth and wearing evenly. There is, however, a thumping noise that occurs sometimes, but not always. It is usually heard only when going slow, as when slowing to a stop, or pullling into a parking spot.

My '98 OBW with 110k has a strange brake wear problem. I replaced pads and rotors on all four wheels about 5k miles ago. A couple of the old pads had 'crooked' wear on them - one end of the pad was worn off, but the other end was not. I attributed this to the fact that the "ears" the hold the pads in their clips are really tight, and maybe one end bound up, forcing the other end to take the wear. When I replaced the pads, I ground down the "ears" of the new pads so that they can move easily. Now, 5k later, the inside pad at the left front is showing the same wear pattern - the back edge of the pad is halfway worn down, but the front edge is still full thickness. The caliper slides freely on its pins, and both pistons move easily. No brake fluid leaks observed. Any ideas what could cause this?

I have a '98 Legacy Outback wagon 5 speed with a strange noise coming from the back end. It sounds like a cross between gear whine and a grinding noise. Seems to be at the right rear and it only happens when decelerating (engine braking). Pushing in the clutch pedal makes it stop, and giving it more gas makes the noise stop too. Just had the RR wheel bearing replaced, but I think this is not related. I had noticed this noise before wheel bearing trouble started, but now that the bearing is fixed, I can hear it again. New brakes front and rear had no effect. Anyone have any ideas?