Front wheel bearing? or something else?

[guy123]

Hi everyone,

 

It's been a while since I've posted on the board, mostly on account of how well my car's been running. I've been having an issue, though, with my 96 Legacy L wagon for a few years now, but it has just recently started getting noticeably worse. It began as a sound seeming to come from the front drivers side wheel, sort of like the sound you get when you drive at high speed over a rough patch of highway, only sort of pulsating... but it only seemed to be coming from that side only. The sound seemed to sort of reverberate up the drivers side A-pillar.

 

This has been audible for the past couple years, but just recently it has gotten considerably louder. It's audible from outside of the vehicle now, from what I can tell while driving with the window down. It's been accompanied within the last few months by a rattling / jingling sound as I go over small bumps.

 

The sound is sort or periodic, sort of pulsating. Seems to match how fast the wheels turn. Faster speeds = a faster pulsation. The sound is louder when I turn to the right at speed... I assume because this puts pressure on the drivers side wheel being on the outside of the turn. It basically goes away when I turn to the left.

 

So I'm wondering what this could be. I'm thinking a front wheel bearing but I've heard that they give off a whurring sound. I've never had one go out before so I'm not really sure what to expect. The front CV axles were completely replaced about 2 yeas ago. Since this sound is coming from one side, I don't think it's from the front diff but who knows. Can anyone give me at least an idea about what this could be? Thanks for all your help.

[Suzam]

Most likely a wheel bearing. When mine went out it was after about 4 years of noise getting louder as time went on. it ended up making a rubbing type of noise while driving sort of a (don't laugh) WUB-WUB-WUB at a low pitch that was louder while turning that wheel when it was on the outside of a turn, mine was the front passenger side.

 

Your discription sounds similar to mine except for the rattle and jingle. That might be unrelated.

[guy123]

WUB-WUB-WUB. Brilliant. That sounds very much like what I think I'm experiencing. The rattling came up a little bit after the last tire-rotation I had. It may have been related to that but I thought I'd include it here just to be thorough.

 

Any ideas on how long the bearing can last in the state it's in? I assume if it has lasted this long it's not going to suddenly fail completely, but I don't want to jeopordize any of my good parts like the CV axles that were replaced 2 years ago. If I can wait a few more weeks I'll have time to fix it.

 

If someone else has another idea, please chime in, but thanks much for your help!

[Wxman]

I don't know if there is much difference in the front wheel bearings between your '96 and my '00 Outback. However, both of the front wheel bearings went bad on my car in the past few months (120K miles). They went from no noise to severe noise in very short order. In both cases, the bearing caused damage to the hub and both hubs needed to be replaced too. Your experience may not be the same, if in fact it is the bearings, but new hubs were about $125 a pop. In making your decision, consider the potential that more damage could be occurring.

[idosubaru]

check your heat shields too.

[msmithmmx]

WUB-WUB-WUB, thats awesome. That is exactly what mine sounds like. I have been driving mine for 30K. It is real bad at low speeds and is covered by the sound of the tires and the road at high speeds. Out of site out of mind. Not sure why I have not fixed yet. I have the parts.