Driver's side front tire develops a flat spot...

[86GLScooby]

My '97 Legacy GT's wheels were really off balance a couple months ago and so I had them balanced... I drove 500 miles from FL to NC and started hearing and feeling a vibration on the front driver's side tire. I went to the local tire shop and had 4 rather new tires put on and I can still feel the vibration and can start to hear that something needs to be worked on. I try to do my own work, but I'm not really sure how to diagnose this problem. I looked in my manual and it looks like it could be the Tie-rod? Any help in diagnosing this would be appreciated. Thank you.

[General chaos]

not much info to go on. but try rotating the tires and see if the vibration changes from one wheel to another wheel. there are other tests you can do to determine loose and or worn suspension and steering parts. turning the steerign wheel back and forth kind of quickly may show a worn tie rod end. or other linkage that may have worn some. i am not sure how a tierod end would make avibration going down the road. oh another thought. check the lug nut tightness on the rims. maybe they came loose on that side after the tires were changed.

Edited April 15, 2011 by General chaos

[987687]

First thing I'd try is rotating the tires to see if the vibration moves. That will tell you if it's a wheel problem, or if it's a suspension/bearing/brake issue.

 

It's common on these cars for the caliper slides to freeze up. That will make the brakes drag, warp the rotors, and cause vibration. After driving is that wheel warmer than the rest? burning smell?

 

Lift the car up and hold the wheel at 3'oclok and 9'olclock and move it back and forth. If it jerks and bangs back and forth you have a tie rod issue.

Do the same thing up and down, if you get banging there you probably have a ball joint issue. If you get movement in both directions take a look under the car to see if the axle is moving independence of the knuckle, you might have a loose wheel bearing.

 

Check all your suspension, sway bar links, strut.... etc.

[idosubaru]

was the noise the same before balancing, after balancing, and after new tires? same side/tire every time?

 

if it never changed through all of that - then that pretty much rules out tire related stuff.

 

they usually suggest an alignment with new tires, did they do one? they should have noticed a bad tie rod then.

 

describe the noise/issue a little better:

 

Is it always there?

Worse at certain speeds?

Changes around turns, changes up hill verses down hill or in gear verses out of gear?

 

All of these will help us diagnose with only words to go by.

[86GLScooby]

The sound is as if a nail is stuck in the tire... slows down as the car's speed slows down and speeds up when you accelerate. The old tire had a visible flat spot. I remember being able to hear the slapping sound best around 45 mph and almost go away at highway speeds.

 

I did replace the caliper on that side due to it seizing up right before I made the trip to NC. Before I did the brakes in FL, the balance was way out and I had to drive 30 mph in order to drive in to town. My dad wanted to take my car in to get it fixed and so I let him, told him to balance the tires... he came back after getting an alignment done (he was certain it was an alignment issue) and obviously that didn't fix the problem. So he drove it into town again and had it balanced. I was too busy to take the car myself and told him to drive slowly, but I don't know if driving with off balanced tires for too long damaged anything...

 

So, after my 500 mile trip to NC and hearing the vibration as I drove up, I got new used tires put on (quick balanced, but not aligned) and it drove better for a while. I can still feel that something is off and it's getting worse. Perhaps it needs an alignment again and a professional balance, I'm not sure. Last time I felt this, it ended up being that the drive axle bent slightly and the mechanic only saw it after putting it on a lathe and spinning it to see if it's straight. Would that create a flat spot? Perhaps an inferior drive axle was installed and it bent again from driving with unbalanced tires? I know the axle cost was $160.

 

I will rotate the tires and see if the vibration shifts as well as the other tests. I'm not sure if the place that put the tires on my car kept the wheels in the same place, but it's possible.

 

I looked underneath the car and the steering gear boot is broke on that side, but that is probable unrelated.

 

On a side note, the mechanic that aligned the wheels mentioned to my dad that something is up with the steering. The steering is a little loose, but he didn't specify a fix for the problem.

 

I'm thinking since I'm not at home it might be a good idea to take it in to an alignment shop and see what's up? Or should I take it to a local mechanic, I have been recommended someone...

 

Thanks, I hope this information helps a little better...

Edited April 15, 2011 by 86GLScooby

[86GLScooby]

Okay, so I rotated the tires and as I was doing it I checked a couple things. With the car jacked up, I held the wheel at 3 o clock and 9 and it doesn't move back and forth, it also doesn't move up and down. There are some movement on both front tires when I push and pull them in the directions that the wheel would steer if that makes sense.

 

Driving the car after doing the tire rotation, it did feel better and vibrated less, but then the steering seemed off and I pulled off the road. It comes and goes, I went to the store and back and it didn't happen again. There's no sound, but it feels like the steering is different when it happens. I believe the tire will start creating a flat spot on the rotated tire as well.

 

A squealing sound is developing on the wheel that is getting a flat spot, so perhaps it's the bearing. I'm not sure.

 

Any ideas? Thank you.

Edited April 15, 2011 by 86GLScooby

[cohophysh]

Okay, so I rotated the tires and as I was doing it I checked a couple things. With the car jacked up, I held the wheel at 3 o clock and 9 and it doesn't move back and forth, it also doesn't move up and down. There are some movement on both front tires when I push and pull them in the directions that the wheel would steer if that makes sense.

 

Driving the car after doing the tire rotation, it did feel better and vibrated less, but then the steering seemed off and I pulled off the road. It comes and goes, I went to the store and back and it didn't happen again. There's no sound, but it feels like the steering is different when it happens. I believe the tire will start creating a flat spot on the rotated tire as well.

 

A squealing sound is developing on the wheel that is getting a flat spot, so perhaps it's the bearing. I'm not sure.

 

Any ideas? Thank you.

 

I am having the same issues and I think it is related to front end alignment

[86GLScooby]

I guess the vibration did start after getting the wheels aligned... the guy said he had to do one side twice. I'm wondering if he was able to get it right? He did the alignment before the tires were balanced, not sure if that would affect the alignment. He did however let me know that my car is rusty underneath... lol

[cappedup]

I once scratched my head for days trying to figure out an alignment/vibration issue on a van, I finally learned that one of the actual wheels was bent. It had taken a sideways knock and was playing all sorts of tricks.

 

Try swapping the suspect wheel with the spare. Or another known good one, just get it off the car, and see what happens.

 

Also have a mate follow you and look at each of the wheels, see if there is actual visible vibration.

[987687]

I once scratched my head for days trying to figure out an alignment/vibration issue on a van, I finally learned that one of the actual wheels was bent. It had taken a sideways knock and was playing all sorts of tricks.

 

Try swapping the suspect wheel with the spare. Or another known good one, just get it off the car, and see what happens.

 

Also have a mate follow you and look at each of the wheels, see if there is actual visible vibration.

Just rotating the wheels would tell if that was the issue... the vibration would move somewhere else.

[cappedup]

Just rotating the wheels would tell if that was the issue... the vibration would move somewhere else.

 

If it was quite severe. If not, it could be difficult to identify, and might just appear as slight random vibration. I know when something drags on and on, its sometimes worth considering options first ruled out. Hence rotate each wheel, off the car.

 

Spock said something once about logic and ruling out other possibilities. Can't remember what though.

[86GLScooby]

So I took my subie on the highway to see if the vibration shifted to the right, and it did. I'm going to take it to the shop for a professional balance and see if that does the trick, maybe the other place didn't quit balance it right. They do a quick balance, not sure if it's all the same... Then I thought I would rotate the front tires to the rear and see if another flat spot develops on the left front tire.

[987687]

So I took my subie on the highway to see if the vibration shifted to the right, and it did. I'm going to take it to the shop for a professional balance and see if that does the trick, maybe the other place didn't quit balance it right. They do a quick balance, not sure if it's all the same... Then I thought I would rotate the front tires to the rear and see if another flat spot develops on the left front tire.

 

Have them check the balance before pulling the wheel weights off. That way you can see how off it was, or even if that's the issue.

 

Whenever someone comes in with a front end vibration or whatever I'll check the balance of the wheels. More often than not that's the issue. But if I just pulled the weights off first I'd destroy some good evidence.

[puhi]

Okay, so I rotated the tires and as I was doing it I checked a couple things. With the car jacked up, I held the wheel at 3 o clock and 9 and it doesn't move back and forth, it also doesn't move up and down. There are some movement on both front tires when I push and pull them in the directions that the wheel would steer if that makes sense.

 

This could be play in the tie-rod ends. The outer ones are visible, and the inner ones are inside of the boots at the steering rack. You need to wiggle the wheels and look at these joints to see where the play is.

[987687]

The inners rarely fail unless the boot is torn, but could be the issue...

[Fairtax4me]

I was going to suggest a bad strut but if the vibration moved after switching wheels around it's probably an improperly balanced or bent wheel.

Would be worth going over the whole front end to check for play.

[987687]

Another thing is, a bent wheel can balance out and look good on the tire machine screen. But in real life performance it'll feel like you have a flatspot on the tire. When it's spinning in the balance machine look at the wheel and see if it wobbles.

[86GLScooby]

Thank you for your replies, I've been out of town. I took my car to the shop and they did a test drive and balanced the tires... (they were all balanced and they didn't have to re-balance any of them) They said the inner tie rods have some play at the end of them and they need replacing, both left and right. The vibration is still at the front left wheel and I actually noticed that the tire is wearing way on the outside of the tire. I had the tires rotated and the wheel that was on the front left previously is also worn on the outside of the tire. Could the alignment be that much off that it's causing a slight vibration and flat spot? The previous alignment was done in a small town down south (people there told me that they don't like Subaru's here? weird...) and ever since then I've had this problem. Might get it re-aligned?

[Caboobaroo]

Tire wear indicates there is an alignment issue and/or worn parts. If the inner tie rods have movement, replace them before any alignment is performed. With tire wear on the outside edge and from the sounds of it, its only the LF wearing on the outside edge, too much positive camber could be the culprit.

 

Have the worn parts replaced and realigned. Take it to a reputable shop, no small backwater place as the equipment they might have won't have been calibrated anytime this decade.

 

Also, like said before, have the rims and tires checked for a wobbles, bends, etc.

[Fairtax4me]

The previous alignment was done in a small town down south (people there told me that they don't like Subaru's here? weird...) and ever since then I've had this problem. Might get it re-aligned?

That probably explains it.

Abnormal tire wear is certainly an alignment issue.