Wheel Bearing/CV Joint Issues?

[kaz98gt]

Hey guys I recently got a 98 legacy gt with 142,000 miles on it. Everything about the legacy is in great working order except for a strange vibration that we're trying to figure; it's at the front of the car. It seems to happen with every rotation of the tire (the noise is more frequent as speed increases), and it is tire-independant (we tried rotating tires to see if the noise would follow the tire, and it didn't). It sounds like a metal-on-metal rubbing/scraping (in both forward and reverse), and there is no contact between the tire and wheel-well. The pads and rotors are fresh, too. The previous owner said she just got the CV joints replaced recently, and the ones at the differential look new, but not at the hub. We're around a couple days into diagnostics, but still looking to pinpoint the issue...I thought I'd throw this out onto the forum and see what happens. But we were thinking because of the miles on it, it's probably the wheel bearings. Idk, I was hoping anyone else had this kind of issue?

[Platinum_Racing]

Although it is possible to replace just CV joints, most people replace the entire shaft, as it is generally cheaper, and you don't need a bunch of tools to tear apart the CV joint itself. Chances are the entire shaft has been replaced. A CV shaft sounds more like a clicking, and happens more frequently in reverse, or wile cornering under acceleration. A grinding noise is most likely coming from a wheel bearing, the brakes (Which you claim are new), or possibly the shield behind the rotor. Since the brakes are new, check to make sure the shield behind he rotors isn't contacting the rotor as it spins. If it is, simply bend it away with your hand until there's clearance.

 

One way to check a CV shaft is to grab a hold of it and twist. If there's enough endplay so that the shaft "Clunks" when you move it around, it's the shaft. They're between $65 and $130 depending on where you go and what year the vehicle is. I installed one in my 92 for about $70 after the core charge and it took me about an hour and a half to two hours to install. As far as I know, the front shafts are interchangeable left to right, as are the rears, but the front and rear are different part numbers. If you are serious aout replacing the CV shaft, and you can afford it, you may want to consider replacing both, then taking the car to get realigned. If you mark the position of the eccentric bolts on the knuckle wih a Sharpie, you can reinstall the bolts without getting an alignment, but it's pretty cheap to have them balance and align all 4 corners ($100-150).

 

Again, if the car is making a grinding noise, chances are it isn't the CV shaft. I've seen a couple cars ('94 Pontiac Bonneville & '88 Buick Skyhawk) break sway bar end links and make grinding noises. When the links break sometimes the links, or the swaybar itself can come into contact with the rotor and cause a grinding noise, but you should be able to feel a lot of body roll going around corners.

 

Anyway... I'd put my money on a bad wheel bearing or the plate behind the rotors. That's where I stand anyway, someone else might have another idea...

 

Let us know how it works out man!

[kaz98gt]

Yeah that's what I was hoping you'd say...we looked at the assembly last nite but didn't dive in too far to any taking apart of the rotors and links. The struts look good, nothing is bad as far as we can tell...but we didnt check behind the rotor that's interesting. Now that aside, could a rubbing noise like the one I was describing come from steering that isn't properly aligned, or an issue with tires as well? We don't have any records of when the car was last aligned, and there does seem to be a problem with tracking (pulls to the right), but here's what's off: we have two hanook tires up front and two yokohama tires in the rear. And, the two hanooks are different as well, with different tread and wear. So idk if the tires are out of balance or something, and if that's causing an issue? Or if it's the alignment? This stuff is new to me so try to bear with...but thanks for the info!