how to tell which side is the bad wheel bearing.... mind you i have checked for wheel play already but i cant quite tell which side the noise is coming from.. i know its the front

if you listen closely enough you should be able to tell. it will give a hint of favoring one side, that's it. have someone stand outside while you drive past if you have too. even with my bad hearing i've been able to tell which side.

 

it's usually the case in the EJ's i've seen that they have no play at all and don't have any signs until they're removed from the vehicle. quite annoying.

 

you can try turning the wheel by hand and go by feel or listening with a mechanics stethoscope on the hub or coil spring while turning the wheel too. compare sides and one may stand out.

You should be able to tell if you hear the tell tale "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" sound. It can be heard when taking a freeway exit or a sharp turn at speed. On a right turn, the load bearing is on the left wheel, therefore on a left turn, the load bearing is on the right wheel. Which ever side has the load bearing producing the rrrrrrrrr sound is your culprit.

I have replaced my share of wheel bearings, and my 03 outback was the first time the bad wheel bearing got quieter when on the outside of the turn- the more loaded side. The left bearing was bad, and it got more quiet on right turns.

 

The only way I could tell which side was bad was to jack up the front, put it in neutral, and spin the wheel with my hand on the strut spring, and then with a long screwdriver stuck in my ear pressed against the strut spring.

 

Dave

are you sure its not just road noise? I have 141k on the original bears and they dont make a sound. Have you checked the CV axles? or try rotating the tires first.

My '03 needed the left front before 100k, the other 3 still seem happy.

 

Dave