Tire changing and other musings

[LarryIII]

Hello All,

Saturday morning, in front of my house, I switched the rear tires & rims between the burundy '97 LSi (SUBYDOO) and the pearl '92 LSL (SVXY). It was hotter than H*** and I must have lost 10 lbs in perspiration. I will explain my reasons for this. Coming back from Indiana, I noticed that the sound from the rear of the car was very very loud. I sounded similar to posted descriptions of the dreaded wheel bearing sound.

The '97 was shod with pretty new Dunlop Sport 5000 AS tires all around. I couldn't tell if the sound was the tires or bearings. The '92 had half worn Yoko AVS dBs on three of it's wheel and one half worn Toyo Proxes T1-S on the right front.

I theorized that if I switched the back tires on both cars I would find out if the '97 sound is tires or bearings. Please don't post about different size tires (front/rear) being no good for the drive train. This will be a short duration test and there is enough slop loose tolerances in the '92 drive train to permit this.

The following is a summary of what is now on each car:
97 Burgundy (Bordeaux Pearl)LSI:
front: 2 light colored rims with new Dunlop Sport 5000 tires
rear: 2 dark colored rims with half worn Yoko AVS dB tires

92 Pearl LSL:
Left Front: dark colored rim with a half worn Yoko AVS dB tire
R-Front: dark colored rim with a half worn Toyo Proxes T1-S tire.
Rear: 2 light colored rims with new Dunlop Sport 5000 tires

Results:

The results are inconclusive to me. When I drive the 92 Pearly it is almost the same sound, but it is not as loud as on the '97.
When I drove the 97, now the sound seems to be coming from the front where the Dunlop tires are located.

Conclusion:
I will have to extend the test and switch the front tires next weekend to confirm the sound on the 97 as either tire noise or bad bearings.

If it is bad rear bearings I will be very disappointed. The 97 only has 47.5 k miles on it. It is covered by warranty.

Larry III
PS: I guess "My favorite S-Turn" may have finally caught up with me.
PPS: I guess I learned how to underline text on this site.

[Paisan]

Do you happen to have 4 tires that are the same? I'd run 4 of the same tires on both vehicles and take it from there.

-mike

[mattski]

I rotated tires front to back this Saturday and ran into a different problem. I could not find the lug nut wrench. It was not in the spare tire recess and the owner's manual makes no mention of its location. Is there a special hiding spot or is it just missing?

[Ron Mummert]

I'd bet on the bearing, Larry. As you may remember I had 4 half worn Dunlops on the car when I bought it. There was always a very low drone coming from ? The sound was like a snowtire. The sound never got any louder in 25K miles, so I assumed it was the Dunlops. I then got the AVS dbs. Same sound! I took the car to the dealer for all the pre-anniversary trip maintenance. Had the bearings checked. Yup - one rear was bad. Replaced - QUIET!
And yours is under warranty? Go for it.

Ron.

[1994SubaruSVX]

i just have time for those kinds of things on the weekend.

Larry, I hate to consider myself an unwilling expert in this ('92, 7+ bearings), but I guess I am. I don't know if anyone has asked you (forgive me if you have) if you can tell which side it is coming from? Switching tires in your next weekend road test would help there as well. Does the noise increase with speed?

Obviously, tire noise will as well, but this is a definite growl.


maria

Taking a ride with one or both sides of the rear seat down will tell you which side offends. (split seats in later years) If you hear both sides, it's the not a bearing. (or mebbe both )

[wawazat??]

I pulled the engine out of my pearlie in the heat. The car will be gone soon, but the scar from the stitches will remain to remind me of her.

Todd

[dromano]

Originally posted by mattski
I rotated tires front to back this Saturday and ran into a different problem. I could not find the lug nut wrench. It was not in the spare tire recess and the owner's manual makes no mention of its location. Is there a special hiding spot or is it just missing?

The OEM lug wrench would be in the black vinyl
tool pouch. A rachet and socket work better & you need a torque wrench to tighten properly.