STI5300

iTrader: (4)

I think I have found what the whine was in the back, wife removed and it was still there !!!! I have found a sloppy LHS bell joint on the wheel side of the rear drive shaft. The car is a MY 97 Type RA are these a common part to all Imprezas or will the RA have special ones.Where is the best place to get a replacement.

Thanks in advance.

dij

If you mean wheel bearing then yes it is a common problem on these cars (inc all other variants of the impreza).

I know that the hubs are different,but dont know if the bearing kit is the same.

StickyMicky

diiiing dooong

whats a bell joint?

ball joint?
do they have ball joints on the rear

dij

If its whining even without the wife,then it must be a wheel bearing.

I would like to know what a bell joint is however.

IIRC,there are no ball joints on the rear suspension.

STI5300

iTrader: (4)

Bell Joint - I looked on the Electronic Parts Catalogue and the joint on the rear drive shaft nearest the wheel bearing was refered to as a Bell Joint. I presume it was named after the man who invented it !!!!
Subaru Workshop Manual, Section 4-2 Wheels and Axles part D, Rear Drive Shaft. "Differential side has a DOJ (double offset joint). Tire side has a BJ (bell joint)".
Basically the BJ has a larger operating angle than the DOJ 46 degrees as opposed to 23 degrees for the DOJ.
Don't forget to pass this onto your mates down the pub !!!!!!!

dij

thanks for that info
I will be carefull when asking for a BJ in future.

OK,well if its the part you describe (I would call it a cv joint (constant velocity)),then AFAIK the RA has a different one to standard turbo ones.
There are more splines on the shaft(cant remember how many,23 I think),and this is the same part on a 22b (I stand to be corrected).

Im surprised that the cv joint (or BJ) can make a whining noise,I would suspect that it is the wheel bearing as this is directly connected to the outer joint(well it does apear this way when looking on the micro fish (sp)).

BTW,IMO it would be called a beell joint because of the shape of the cv joint case ie similar to a bell.......???