swhatcher

Hi there. It's me again. The nightmare is almost over but I have a new question. Here's a brief synopsis of the last month: Ordered CV drive axel from the states with no problem. Our mechanic took off the bad one and tried to press the hub and tone arm off the axel. Lots of problems. It seems the hub, etc had somehow rusted onto the axel so badly that it couldn't be pressed off with a press. In the process, the tone arm or knuckle cracked and the spindle deformed. Panic. I ordered an entirely new hub, tone arm, the works from the states and had it UPSed down here at great cost. Meanwhile our car sat on a rack at the garage for a week or so. All the parts finally arrived and everything was put back on no problems. The noise decreased but was not entirely gone so the mechanic checked the other side's wheel bearings and sure enough those were worn. Luckily he was able to find new ones in town without having to order them from the states. So far, so good. Car is running and the operators are happy. The whole ordeal still probably cost less than having the car fixed in the states. Not bad. Now, here's my question: Has anyone ever seen this kind of problem where something fuses itself to something else to render it impossible to work with? The other side of the car, the other axle and bearings, didn't show nearly the wear and rust as the left side. Seems very strange to me. Do Subarus require some special Subaru-press to get these things off? Will I somehow be able to get the parts off in order to return the old CV axle for my core refund? Any thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Thanks all.

Update: Calebz asked if the rubbing noise increased when turning left or right under acceleration. At first I didn't notice any difference but now I do. While turning right or left under acceleration I now notice an increased intensity in the rubbing noise; the sound's pitch increases a bit as does the momentum of the sound. Still the same "rubbing" noise like "driving a tractor tire or a snow tire" (thanks Lesbaru) but with an increased intensity. Are we still going with the wheel bearings or should I consider the inner axel joints as Calebz suggested? Thanks! (I have to solve this problem soon because I need to drive across the country and climb El Pico de Orizaba!)

Yikes. Bad wheel bearings don't sound good or easy to fix. I guess I would want to be sure for sure before replacing them, eh? Here's another question then: if we take it and our repair manual to our mechanic should he be able to work on it even though there aren't any Subarus down here? I mean are these kind of wheel bearings universal with, say, Japanese cars or otherwise, or are these Subaru-specific? Maybe that is an obvious question, I don't know. Maybe the real question is should I take the two day drive all the way to Brownsville, Tejas and repair the bearings instead? If, in fact, the bearings are the problem, which we don't know just yet. More hmms.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! To answer Texan's questions, the sound follows the car speed. Passengers report the same dull rubbing. Braking just slows the noise down with speed. Not sure about reverse. The suspension and steering seem pretty normal. If it is a wheel bearing, how do I go about determining which wheel? Setright: The sound doesn't change with turning one way or the other. The sound changes only with speed. And since we don't happen to have a hydraulic jack down here we'll have to take it in. My wife speaks perfect Spanish but we will have to direct the mechanic in specific ways since she probably doesn't know Spanish words for English car parts/problems. We do, however, have a repair manual. Any other tips?

Hey Matt. Thanks for your suggestions. I ran through your checklist: There are 104,500 miles on the rig. I think I know what a failing wheel bearing sounds like. Isn't it rather high-pitched and whiney? This is more a dull rubbing sound that comes from the center of the car. The tires are pretty new and look good. The lugs seemed torqued well but I'm just doing it by hand. I guess I'm not sure what 'properly' means. Checked the brakes on both sides and their clean and also fairly new. Hmm.

Thanks Texan. I tried your WAAdvice and checked the boots and they all seem firm and stable. There is a little oil leakage under there but I can't tell where it's from and it doesn't seem major. Plus, it hasn't been that long since we replaced the front oil gaskets that were spewing the stuff back into the engine. Also, we replaced the fan belts with the gaskets so they are pretty new and stable as well. Any other guesses? By the way, while underneath I grabbed the driveshafts and could turn each side about 1/8-1/4 inch on either side, meaning each side had a little free play in them. Is this Ok? Thanks!

Hi Calebz. No the noise doesn't increase when turning. I guess it stays about the same.

Ok, here's the deal: Noticed a rubbing noise coming from the front center part of car. It sounds sort of like the sound of an unbalanced wheel as it vibrates with the asphalt. The noise starts as soon as the car moves and increases with speed. I did a quick check underneath and didn't see anything hanging loose that might be rubbing against something else. My guess is that problems with a driveshaft or axle would make a metallic grating noise, but I suppose I could be wrong. Also, the car is balanced and drives straight so I ruled out the possibility of alignment problems. The real problem is that we live in the middle of Mexico and besides a co-worker we, apparently, drive one of two Subarus in the country. Many mechanics have never seen a car like ours and some won't even look at it. We found a mechanic that knows the car and is willing to work on it if necessary. We also have a repair manual that we lend him to help out. The drivers and roads are dangerous enough down here, we would like our beloved Subaru not to instill fear in us as well. Any ideas? Are the CV joints a possiblility? More importantly, if we do find the problem, are the parts Subaru-specific that we will have to order or are they more universal? Thanks for any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, etc. Saludos!