lewisd Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 99 legacy brighton wagon, thought I had left wheel bearing go bad but had new one pressed in and still have the sound like rythmic rubbing sound. background....initially I replaced inner and outer tie rods (kept alignment measurements and travels straight). needless to say after that I have a rythmic rubbing sound that speeds up and slows down with speed of wheel. it stays when I turn right and goes away when turning left. after tie rods replacement the rotor got hot and I replaced left rotor and brake caliper (it was a cheepo Autozone one that rusted up pretty good after couple years). after that the sound was still present so today I had wheel bearing swapped. sound is still present and now the rotor got warm again. I know it's not often issue but maybe collapsed brake line? is it easy to see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith3267 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Did you replace the right side wheel bearing? Brake hoses (the rubber sections) can delaminate and act like a one-way valve. You cannot see it from the outside. I always replace mine on the next brake pad change after the ten year mark. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 replaced the left side bearing. The brake lines are original so I may swap them out. the new caliper worked fine when I first replaced it and test drove it until I put everything back together after the bearing was done today and did another test drive. watching youtube right now for troubleshooting ideas as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Goes away when turning sounds like a wheel bearing. Could be either front or rear. Have you checked all 4 wheels for play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) +1 wheel bearing. was it properly greased? was it properly installed? if so - if the hub is hosed it'll ruin the next wheel bearing. if everything else checks out and you're replacing the bearing again - replace the hub as well. it's unlikely a brake hose. Subaru hoses are robust and rarely fail like that. Edited January 6, 2015 by grossgary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) THanks for responses fellas. yeah, sound goes away when I bank to the left and stays when I bank to the right. That's what I figure is bearing. haven't checked the rear cause i swear it sounds like the front. Shop that did it for me in the past did it again. I asked him to check the hub to just in case. said everything appeared fine. I don't have pulsing when braking so I don't think it's the rotor. but my rotor is getting warm. maybe raise car off all fours on jack stands and let car run in idle? listen, check for noise then? Edited January 6, 2015 by lewisd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 As grossgary has said in another thread, drive the car and then use a laser temp gun to check the hub temp. If you find a high on, there is your problem. Jacking and running will not tell you much as there is no load on the bearing. The only way to check a bearing by hand is to pull the brakes, the axle and then spin the hub, look feel and listen. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 If you think its the front, it's probably the right front. These bearings have atypical failure symptoms. Often what sounds like a left side is actually the right. Any deformation of the hub wil not be visible to the eye. "Looks fine" doesn't mean it is fine. But more than likely the left side isn't the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 alright, I'll try those tips. thanks fellas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith3267 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Look at your brake pads, is the outer pad wearing out faster than the inner one? If you see a big difference in the remaining pad, then you need to clean and grease the guide pins on the caliper. When they don't float easily, they hold the outer pad against the rotor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 pads were replaced not to long ago so not enough time to see uneven wear yet and caliper is brand new (NAPA). So here is update. I have car up on four jackstands, put it in neutral and the passenger side rotor spins slowly but right side obviously is being held still. same when in drive, passenger side spins at good pace but drivers side not so. I pulled caliper back to push piston back in while cracking open bleeder valve at same time. didn't help. but when I let it run in idle or drive and crack open up the bleeder valve it lets it spin again. Also I noticed that while it is running in idle or drive and I press on the brake just slightly, there is a "sweet spot" that does something to let the rotor spin freely like passenger side. So my thinking is either collapsed hose as a result of recent tie rod, and wheel bearing work when I moved whole caliper around or something or it could be dealing with master cylinder not letting fluid back in. but other noise I have been hearing appears to be on passenger side around the cv axle spinning. not the typical outside joint knocking while turning but closer to the inner joint while going straight and turning right. I'll focus on that again once I get my brake operating properly. till next time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 based on the front differential being an open differential, it is normal for one wheel to spin and not the other. maybe someone more versed in those can comment but i don't think how the tires spin is necessarily definitive. the collapsed hoses i've seen (in american vehicles) - i jacked the car up - pressed brakes and the brakes locked...let off brakes...and the offending wheel would still be locked up. i forget how we'd disengage the brakes...maybe bleeder screw like you said. repeat and it'd do the same thing. replaced hose and all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith3267 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 You just replaced the drivers side wheel bearing so it is going to have more drag than the passenger side. If you backed off the pads the way you described, then the brakes are OK. Wheel bearings are usually replaced in pairs unless there is an overriding reason, like a new but defective bearing, i.e new car with bad bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 You just replaced the drivers side wheel bearing so it is going to have more drag than the passenger side. If you backed off the pads the way you described, then the brakes are OK. Wheel bearings are usually replaced in pairs unless there is an overriding reason, like a new but defective bearing, i.e new car with bad bearing. I think this is incorrect. Bearings exert minimal drag. What you feel when turning the hub is insignificant compared to the momentum of a 2800 pound vehicle. Bearings CAN be replaced in pairs , as a practice, considering the reputation of Subaru wheel bearings, but it is not necesssary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Okay, I'll hold off for now and see how it does after little test driving. the hardline to softline nut is being stubborn anyways and I don't want to strip it and replace that as well. I'm gonna get the laser pinpoint temp gun to have handy to see if there is much difference on wheel/rotor temps after driving. thanks fellas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith3267 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I think this is incorrect. Bearings exert minimal drag. What you feel when turning the hub is insignificant compared to the momentum of a 2800 pound vehicle. Bearings CAN be replaced in pairs , as a practice, considering the reputation of Subaru wheel bearings, but it is not necesssary. It is correct. It is insignificant compared tot he momentum of a 2800 lb vehicle, but when the vehicle is lifted off the ground, that momentum is not a factor. The drag of a new bearing is very significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 You just replaced the drivers side wheel bearing so it is going to have more drag than the passenger side. If you backed off the pads the way you described, then the brakes are OK. Wheel bearings are usually replaced in pairs unless there is an overriding reason, like a new but defective bearing, i.e new car with bad bearing. Huh? I have heard of a lot of things that should be done in "pairs" (ie: side to side) - brake pads, tire rod ends, shocks/struts, etc - but never have I heard of wheel bearings needing to be done in "pairs"... not even on older vehicles... That is kinda like saying you need to replace both axle shafts when only one has failed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith3267 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 You must be very young heartless. Replacing wheel bearings in pairs is old school and is still recommended by most mechanics today. I replace axles in pairs as well because all my axles have failed within a few weeks of each other. Both were bad anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 no - not "very young" at all - 51 actually. It may be common practice in your neck of the woods, but not where I am (Wisconsin), nor where I grew up (Michigan). I guess we just have/were taught different ideas of what should be done when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 You must be very young heartless. Replacing wheel bearings in pairs is old school and is still recommended by most mechanics today. I replace axles in pairs as well because all my axles have failed within a few weeks of each other. Both were bad anyway. When a wheel bearing takes 15 minutes to remove I can fully understand replacing in pairs. But a Subaru bearing generally takes at least 2 hours in a shop. 3 hours or more sometimes for a home mechanic. Failures don't typically occur at the same time, and often people end up having repeat failure of the same bearing before any other bearings need to be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 When a wheel bearing takes 15 minutes to remove I can fully understand replacing in pairs. But a Subaru bearing generally takes at least 2 hours in a shop. 3 hours or more sometimes for a home mechanic. Failures don't typically occur at the same time, and often people end up having repeat failure of the same bearing before any other bearings need to be replaced. 99 legacy brighton wagon, thought I had left wheel bearing go bad but had new one pressed in and still have the sound like rythmic rubbing sound. background....initially I replaced inner and outer tie rods (kept alignment measurements and travels straight). needless to say after that I have a rythmic rubbing sound that speeds up and slows down with speed of wheel. it stays when I turn right and goes away when turning left. after tie rods replacement the rotor got hot and I replaced left rotor and brake caliper (it was a cheepo Autozone one that rusted up pretty good after couple years). after that the sound was still present so today I had wheel bearing swapped. sound is still present and now the rotor got warm again. I know it's not often issue but maybe collapsed brake line? is it easy to see? Make sure your brake backing plates are not rubbing the disc or drum. There is enough runout that the nois may only occur during turning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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