Way too much cabin noise!

[1998subie]

Meant to say - WAY too much cabin noise.

 

Hello,

 

So...I am not only new to this message board but also new to Subaru's. I have always bought hand-me-down domestic vehicles but at my wife's request (demand) we bought a 1998 Legacy Outback about 6 months ago and I (we) LOVE IT. Winter in Chicago, snow, street parking no garage...need I say more. Anyway, from what I can tell the car is in great shape (I'm no expert.); spotless interior and body; had it looked at right away and had a few things done - CV boot, timing belt, thermostat, rebuilt the power steering pump, one caliper replaced, and a couple of other things. The only nagging issue (aside from the rough idle which I'm told is 'natural') is the cabin noise... When driving over 30mph it sounds like you are in a small aircraft. It is quite loud and increases with speed; highway roadtrips are loud until you get used to it. Is this also 'natural'??? I may have exaggerated a bit but it is BY FAR louder than any other car I have ever owned. It is silent at idle so I'm sure it is drive train related. Definitely sounds like it is coming from the rearend; perhaps the rearend/axle needs to be replaced?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edited April 27, 2009 by Legacy777

[Legacy777]

Subarus are typically a little louder, plus the wagons tend to be a tad noisier.

 

Without hearing it, it'd be difficult to say whether it's normal or not. Wheel bearings might be a culprit, but beyond that, if the rear diff fluid is good, I'd say the noise is probably normal.

 

Only other thing I can think of is tires. Cheap or worn tires tend to be rather noisy.

[1998subie]

Thanks for the quick feedback... Tires are brand new BFG all seasons. Will look into the diff fluid and bearings. Really hoping for a way/repair to quiet it down...

[davebugs]

Ever had a car with a roof rack before?

[erik litchy]

ring/pinion noise is drastically diffrent on accel or on engine overrun. on coast even the worst rear end diff will be quieter. so you have an esay way of telling right there.

 

better yet have someone ride in back and help pinpoint source

[unibrook]

Probably your rear wheel bearings.

[Rooster2]

for what it is worth, I have both a 98 and 99 OBWs. The 98 is the Limited model, and it is considerable quiter then the regular optioned 99. My guess is that the 98 has more sound deadening built into the car at time of manufacturer.

 

I carry a piece of carpeting that I place on top of the plastic sheet that sits on top of the car's interior carpeting in the 99. The extra piece of carpeting does help dampen the noise some what.

 

Yea, others here are bringing up ideas of bad wheel bearings, etc, but I will stick with the theory that Subaru does not add much sound deadening material in their standard OBW. Enjoy your car, it will give you a lot of good service, and yes the AWD is a real blessing on bad snowy days.

[nipper]

Check your tire pressures.

 

 

 

nipper

[Manarius]

Is it wind noise? Maybe one of the door gaskets isn't seated properly.

[forester2002s]

A marble in the ash-tray?

[johnceggleston]

WAY too much cabin noise.

 

i can't resist...

 

leave your kids home when you drive.

 

maybe try test driving some other outbacks to compare.

[Kilroy]

I think you are getting close john, but it's not usually the kids....it's the wife.

[Twitch de la Brat]

That sounds a lot like my car...

It would screech around corners every one in a while.

It doesn't do that anymore though...

My mom deciced she liked driving herself around better. :-p

 

On the serious side, it might be a driveshaft, or a U joint.

It also may be the alignment.

Or you may have a bad axle that's making noise.

And then again it could just be the typical urabuS rattle.

 

Twitch

[Leg93]

It's a good idea to test drive some other's of the same year and options to see if it's typical or not. I saved myself some real headaches recently by driving ''just one more'' car after finding the one I loved. The limited I loved had way less power than the car I ended up buying. It was good to realize what I thought was normal was not.

 

Subaru's are noisy. Try this...take it to a dead end circle or large empty parking lot. Turn a couple tight circles to the right, then to the left (or left then right, doesn't matter). Try it at different speeds. Don't let the back end slip, you're not trying to drift. Sometimes with AWD you run in to binding problems. This test should help you find obvious differential problems. If one of the wheels ''hops'' or you hear groaning or the noise gets worse, it is probably a diff issue. If not you may still have a diff issue, but not so serious.

 

Bearings is a good possibility. High miles+wet conditions=potential bearing issue.