Noise in the rear sounds like going over bridge grating.

[skidder]

I have owned my Legacy AWD Turbo Sport for about 3 years now. The noise I am hearing in the rear has never gotten any better or worse in that time. It sounds almost exactly like I am going over a bridge with grating. The car sat on dirt in the same place for about 2-3 years before I owned it.

I have done all of the eliminating I can do before it starts to cost big money and time. I have changed out the fluid in the rear axle and the old had normal wear. I have had the car on floor jacks and put it in drive and did not hear the noise. I attributed that if it was a bearing, it may have to be under load to make the noise. When I had it up in the air I checked for play in bearings on all 4 tires and nothing. I am stumped.

I was told by a mechanic to swerve back and forth when driving at about 30mph and listen to the rear. He said when I hear the side that makes the noise, it will be the opposite side with a bad bearing. I heard nothing change when I did the test and it did not get louder on any more quiet. He also said that I would not be able to tell if a bearing is bad by yanking back and forth on it when on jacks. Because of the type of bearings.

The only thing I can think of now is that the tires are warped from sitting in the same spot on dirt for too long. They only had about 6000 miles on them before it was parked. Has anyone ever heard of tires getting unbalanced or warping from sitting too long?

Well, this is where I am at on this before it starts to cost the big bucks. Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else out there. Thanks for reading.

[91legss]

I had the exact same problem in my ss it had sat for a year in our driveway, when i got it going again i had that noise(only in the front). i guessed it was the bearings bought a press and replaced them, a couple hours later, i had a quiet car... that would be my best guess as to what your prob is...

[rallyak]

I've had to change wheel bearings but I was able to pinpoint which one by jacking it up and spinning the wheel by hand. Most of the time you can feel a not so smooth almost notchy feeling.

[Legacy777]

I'd probably suggest wheel bearings as well.

[91legss]

The cheapest place i could find was here http://www.partspluscarparts.com, I got 2 lower tie rod ends, 2 bearings, 2 front wheel hubs, and a passenger cv shaft for $168.91. along with 4 kyb gr2's (bought separately of coarse) and replaced it all the same day, and haven't had a problem sense. i found it easyer to just buy the front hub because it is almost a 22 year old car and new parts never hurt