Torque bind 1996 Legacy LS wagon

[darsdoug]

I've been driving this puppy with torque bind for ten years now and I've finally noticed bearing noise coming from the right rear. Problem is when I put it on a lift and check for any play there is none and the cv axle appears fine. The noise doesn't seem to get any worse even after rolling for the last 4000 miles. hmmm? Can a rear differential failure transfer noise to just one rear wheel?

[idosubaru]

 

24 minutes ago, darsdoug said:

Can a rear differential failure transfer noise to just one rear wheel?

Are you saying it's on one side?  If so then  replace that one rear wheel bearing.  That has nothing to do with the diff/trans. 

25 minutes ago, darsdoug said:

The noise doesn't seem to get any worse even after rolling for the last 4000 miles.

That's normal for wheel bearings, particularly OEM ones, they can take a long time to get worse when they first start.  Eventually they start getting worse quickly.  I routinely drive wheel bearings thousands of miles while humming/groaning. Got one right now, not worried about it, just did a 500 mile road trip this weekend. 

I like to turn the steering wheel rather sharply momentarily at higher speeds, like 50 mph, (tough to find good road conditions to do this) to change the loading, you'll often hear the noise momentarily disappear.  This guarantees it's a wheel bearing. 

If you don't think it's on one side or think it could be something else, drain rear diff fluid and check for metallic discoloration of the fluid. 

 

 

[el_freddo]

If you don’t think it’s a wheel bearing I’d be dropping the rear diff oil and inspecting its condition and how much comes out - and check to see if there are any obvious leaks occurring. Fresh oil in there will only be a good thing if the seals are still holding up well.

The EJ wheel bearings are quite robust and will go the distance and then some to get you out of trouble. But keep running on it could lead to other issues. I recently had to replace the front hub that the wheel bolts to and the bearing mounts to on its internal surface. The hub snout had worn its chrome like finish off from the bearing inner wiggling away as the tyre rotated. This didn’t give a good tight fit with any of the old bearings so I wasn’t going to run the new bearings on it either. 

The other thing they can do is pack it in completely at the most inconvenient time for you. Get on to it while it suits you  

Cheers 

Bennie