I have a 2005 Subaru Outback that has, what I thought, was a bearing noise from the right front. I replaced the hub and bearing assembly and thought that was the end of it. Yes, the old bearing did have play and appeared to be bad. I road tested and still had noise from the right side. I figured I would change the right rear bearing. Well, $300 later, I still have the noise... from the right side.

At around 40-60 mph, you can hear it pretty good. It gets a little louder if you turn the wheel to the right, a little quieter if you turn the wheel to the left. Both right side bearings are good so now... what is it?

Thoughts:

1. Abnormal tire wear (cupping), possibly caused by worn struts. Jack-up the car and look at the tires head on.

2. Normally, when going down the freeway and you turn the wheel to the right, and then bring it back, you are "loading" the wheel bearings on the right side of the car. If the wheel bearings are bad, the noise will intensify.

3. What side of the car is the transmission on? Since the release bearing is constantly active, when the engine is running, they can go bad. It tends to be a function of preloading and the mileage on the vehicle. It's amazing to me that these bearings last as long as they do. I just replaced one on a Honda last week.

My bet is the problem is with the wheel bearings on the right side, right-side tires, or sway bar link. Did you use a torque wrench to preload the bearings properly? Isolating noises, as you know, is not as easy as some think. How many miles are on the car? How many miles on the tires?

The tires seem to be fine. Not much, if any cupping. It's an AWD Subaru and the trans is in the middle and it's an automatic. 120, 000 miles on the car.

You are right, isolating noise in cars isn't simple. I used to be fairly good at it when I was in the business but haven't done it for years and seem to be a little "rusty". I may need to take it somewhere and have them diagnose it.

Sway bar links are notorious for causing noise. I've had some that required replacing after 20,000 miles.

Nah, those have been replaced and they are good. It's a groaning noise that sounds like a bearing or tires when the car is rolling. Maybe I'm just hearing it wrong and it's on the left front... lol