Signs of a bad diff?

[outbackid]

Hey all, I have an '05 LGT, 5EAT, 147k, currently stock other than a VF46 and an EJ257 block. I've been hearing a whining/grinding noise from the rear of my car for a while, and I thought it was my brakes since my rears were wearing really strange and my wheel bearings seem to be fine (no play when you try to move the wheel around with it in the air). I installed new rear pads and rotors (slide pins are fine too) and the noise is still there. It does get worse with speed and seems to get louder at certain speeds specifically, like at exactly 60mph. Like it will be very noisy at 60mph but relativley quiet at 59 or 61mph. It also doesn't get any better or worse when turning as far as I can tell. My brother has said he can somewhat hear it from outside the car when I drive by. I'm kinda stumped since there isn't a whole lot of info on here pertaining to diff failure, and it does seem to be coming from the passenger rear specifically, which doesn't jibe with it being a rear diff. Anbody have any experience with this? I don't want to drop the coin on wheel bearings to find out it's a diff or vice versa. And I REALLY don't want a wheel bearing OR a diff to fail at speed.

 

Greg

[JJr]

When I had my rear wheel bearings replaced (@70k, warranty) by the dealer, there was no wheel movement either, just whining/humming, no grinding though! Mine sounded like it was coming from the passenger rear too @ 60 mph. I had a dealer mechanic drive it to try and diagnose it, he knew instantly what it was.

[BoostedSubie]

The hub bearing assemblies on our cars will not show wheel play when the car is in the air. If the sound coincides with speed its most likely bearings. Ask me how I know lol

[outbackid]

Thanks for the response guys. I've never dealt with this style of bearing so I'm glad I asked. I think I'm gonna pick up a Timken bearing assembly then and get it done so I can feel safe again before I get all my stage 3+ parts installed and get tuned. I know everyone always says that you should just get the OEM bearings but I trust the hell out of Timken. I'll be a happy man when I don't have to turn the radio up to not constantly cringe at the noise.

[98legwag]

If you can try to get all four wheels up, like on jack stands and drive the car up and have someone listen. My 98 wagon makes a noise very similar to what you are describing. My friend put it on a lift at his shop and drove it 60 mph while someone else listened with a stethoscope and determined I do need a rear diff.

[Max Capacity]

Timken 's will work for the rears.

 

You should ride in the back seat while someone drives your car, you can hear a lot from back there. Take the car on the highway on a flyover ramp if you can, the side loading will tell if its a bad bearing/hub.

 

Detroit Axle hubs work too, they are much cheaper price wise. Read the threads here about wheel bearings.

 

read thru here lots of info there.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/idea-web-links-saved-various-parts-219238.html

 

 

Try Amazon they have detroit axle hubs.

[outbackid]

I thought about getting one of those but I've heard some people have run into issues with ABS sensors not working right causing a loss of cruise control. Was that these or a different brand?

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Detroit-Axle-Bearing-Assembly-512293/dp/B006WQS0V2/ref=au_as_r?ie=UTF8&Make=Subaru%7C13&Model=Legacy%7C64&Year=2005%7C2005&carId=001&n=15684181&newCar=1&s=automotive&vehicleType=automotive]Amazon.com: Detroit Axle: Rear Wheel Hub Bearing Assembly 512293 - 5 Lug with ABS: Automotive[/ame]