2006 Legacy - its whining like a spoilt child
Discussion
My Legacy has developed a rather annoying whine which increases in pitch as you increase road speed. It appears unrelated to engine speed as the pitch is unchanged if you switch between 4th and 5th gear.
I'm wondering about bearings somewhere, the gearbox or the fluid levels in one of the diffs. The noise is towards the front of the car and I checked the fluid level of the front diff with was just below full.
What are the thoughts of the informed PH collective before I book it in and prepared for a severe wallet raping?
I'm wondering about bearings somewhere, the gearbox or the fluid levels in one of the diffs. The noise is towards the front of the car and I checked the fluid level of the front diff with was just below full.
What are the thoughts of the informed PH collective before I book it in and prepared for a severe wallet raping?
Generally speaking the diffs on any Subaru you care to mention as pretty bullet proof. The only time you might get whining is if they were run very low or dry in which case any diff on any car would whine. If the whine is not relative to engine speed you can rule out things like worn cambelt, accessory belts, oil pump, clutch release bearing.
Have to you checked to see if the whine changes pitch for sure dependent on road speed? You haven't mentioned it so i'm asking.
If you are confident it's coming from the front and if it is dependent on road speed then it may well be the centre or front diff, but more likely either of the wheel bearings that need replacement. Could well be a wheel bearing gone as i've heard of a handful of cases in the last couple of years so it's certainly not uncommon. I hope it is just a wheel bearing as that is a cheap fix.
Have to you checked to see if the whine changes pitch for sure dependent on road speed? You haven't mentioned it so i'm asking.
If you are confident it's coming from the front and if it is dependent on road speed then it may well be the centre or front diff, but more likely either of the wheel bearings that need replacement. Could well be a wheel bearing gone as i've heard of a handful of cases in the last couple of years so it's certainly not uncommon. I hope it is just a wheel bearing as that is a cheap fix.
Wheel bearings are very easy to replace yourself, if you've a selection of sockets and some modicum of mechanical experience.
And you can get them VERY cheap from a guy on Ebay in the US. Subaru wanted over £800 to change my rears with genuine Subaru parts and over £600 to change them for aftermarket ones. In the end they couldn't get the aftermarket ones and I wasn't prepared to spend £800+ so bought them from this guy for £110 DELIVERED... all the way from Detroit. They're spot-on too.
Took me about 3 hours to do the first one and an hour to do the second one (once I'd learned how it all goes together). I have PDFs explaining the process if you're interested.
Ebay seller is detroit_axle.
And you can get them VERY cheap from a guy on Ebay in the US. Subaru wanted over £800 to change my rears with genuine Subaru parts and over £600 to change them for aftermarket ones. In the end they couldn't get the aftermarket ones and I wasn't prepared to spend £800+ so bought them from this guy for £110 DELIVERED... all the way from Detroit. They're spot-on too.
Took me about 3 hours to do the first one and an hour to do the second one (once I'd learned how it all goes together). I have PDFs explaining the process if you're interested.
Ebay seller is detroit_axle.
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