Replacing Front Brake Rotors - What else at the same time?

[Smo]

So I've got 2000 Outback with 215,000 miles on it.  Survived a timing belt pulley breaking a year ago, by sheer luck and the help from this forum.

 

About 30K ago I redid the front brakes and got the rotors turned.  Sure enough the vibration that was happening resurfaced and now it's gotten pretty bad, so I'm gonna jack the car up and replace the rotors next week.  I've got a couple of other issues that have been going on, so my question is what else should I do while I'm in there?

 

One issue is a faint "whoop whoop whoop" sound that occurs when turning and *not* under acceleration.  I first noticed it while engine braking down some switchbacks.  It goes away when not turning and it happens when turning in either direction.  Could this be wheel bearings?  Not sure if they've ever been replaced, I got the car at 140K.

 

So, if I do decide to do the wheel bearings, it looks like I need to remove the CV axles.  I should probably think about maintaining them.  Thoughts?  It was my parents car and I'm pretty sure they replaced the front axles with OEM Subaru ones at 135K, so they aren't all that old.

 

I also have a torn boot, not on the CV axle but on the control arm in front of the CV axle (passenger side).  Not sure what that ones called.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Smo

[Fairtax4me]

When you get the brake vibration is it shaking the steering wheel back and forth? If it doesn't shake the wheel, it's probably the rear rotors that are warped.

If the wheel shakes, gonna be the front and that could also be the source of your noise.

 

Torn boot above/on front of the cv axle, if it looks like an accordian, it's the steering rack bellows/boot. That should be replaced ASAP to prevent dirt from getting into the inner tie rod end and steering rack. A bit more complicated than a brake job, but generally easy enough to do on your own.

[1 Lucky Texan]

you might install new brake hoses at the calipers. old one can 'balloon' a little making pedal feel somewhat softer.

 

certainly wouldn't hurt to 'rock' each wheel up-down/12 oclock-6oclock but, even if there isn't movement, soob wheel bearings can be bad with no 'typical' symptoms.

[Smo]

Finally had a day to look at the car - I jacked up the front and tested the wheels.  Found a LOT of play from side to side, no noticeable top to bottom play.  I'm taking a break from working on this while I do some more research.  If it *is* the bearings it seems possible the hubs are shot as well at this point.

[Rooster2]

Usually, I go ahead and replace the pads, since I am in there replacing the rotors. I do this even though a third of the pad is still available. Be sure to use grease to relube the slide pins, in the past I have used antisieze, but that  doesnt work very well.

[ocei77]

Make sure it's not your ball joints, both upper and lower.

If wasted you will get all sorts of slop.

 

O.

[idosubaru]

sounds like a steering rack boot - replace that immediately.  dirt getting past that boot can cause the rack to leak and need replacement. 

 

just do a visual check and replace what's broken - most of that stuff lasts a long time up front. 

check the inner axle boot, outer axle boot, ball joint boot, tie rod boots, caliper side pins for rust/grease, caliper pad clips for rust/black build up. 

 

at 200,000 miles the pad clips can often be in bad shape, rust, build up, bent - check rockauto and see if they're cheap enough to make it worth replacing.  i usually try to replace them once in the course of 200,000 or 300,000 miles.

 

use Sil Glye brake pin grease or some other quality silicone based grease.  it's far superior to regular offerings. 

The H6 outbacks of that generation have a slide pin bushing that is prone to swell and restrcit or seize the caliper.  i pull them off and throw them away, they're unnecessary.

 

CV's don't need any maintenance - they'll last the life of the car just by rebooting them when the boots crack.  

you can reboot it while it's off - the inner joint is far more likely to fail, so you can entertain just replacing that inner one and inspect the outer boot. 

grease does get very runny/watery with age so regreasing a joint would be a good thing - but since subaru axles routinely last the life of the car there's no real need for preventative maintenance.

 

subaru's don't have upper ball joints.

[idosubaru]

and do not touch that ball joint unless you absoultely have too - they can be a tremendous debacle.

 

if your hub is questionable you can buy a used knuckle assembly, do the bearing on it, and then just swap it with yours. 

www.car-part.com

[Smo]

Thanks for all the advice!

I decided to take the car in to a good mechanic for a quick inspection.  There's a Subaru-specific shop right down the street from my house and I've heard good things about them.  Money well spent given my lack of knowledge troubleshooting this kind of stuff.

 

He said my tie rods (inner and outer) looked fine.  I thought so as well but the second opinion is good.  The play is all in my steering rack.  That makes sense to me because I was watching the steering components when checking the wheel for play and it seemed like they were moving with the wheel to me.  Definitely didn't see any play in the tie rods.  It's possible that the boot has been split for some time and I didn't notice it and damaged the rack that way.  Or it's just all the dirt roads I drive.

So for now I'm going to fix the boot and do the rotors, then replace the rack if it seems to be getting worse.  There's a tiny bit of noticeable steering play while driving but mostly it doesn't seem to be a big issue, and it seems unlikely to fail catastrophically.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Smo

[1 Lucky Texan]

a rack from a wreck should be a decent bet - very rare to read about problems with soob steering racks.

[Fairtax4me]

The mounting bushings for the rack may be worn out. They get covered in oil and grease and fall apart because they're just rubber.

If the whole rack housing moves, it's probably the bushings. A set of polyurethane bushings costs about $40 and takes maybe an hour to put in.

If the movement is internal, you need a new steering rack.