2003 Subaru Impreza grinding at low speeds accelerating

Hi all,
I have a 2003 Impreza with 143,000 miles on it. It has recently re-tooled head gaskets, four new wheel bearings, and a few other services but it is making a strange noise.

When I am accelerating from 0-30ish I am likely to hear a slight whirring noise from the front end and it then disappears. I’m less concerned about that than the noise that can be best described as grinding while in first and second gear (automatic). When the grinding occurs it is in the middle of the gear. If I accelerate a little harder it will go away, eventually reaching the next gear change - which goes smoothly.

Other thoughts on things that it could be - perhaps a belt is in need of repair or replacement? The timing belt was last done at 126k 3 years ago. My car seems slow to break, but that is usually with more people in the car. I have not heard any squealing noises. My only additional hypothesis would be suspension problems.

Please help! Need to know if I should start car shopping if the repair is too much of a money sink.

Thank you!

I would suggest you take it in for a mechanic to look it over - unless you are a DIY type person.

Maybe brake calipers sticking and rubbing, maybe on brake pad is worn to the metal, maybe CV joints are starting to fail, impossible to say over the internet, easy to diagnose on a hoist. It may be a transmission but cheap and easy stuff first.

Awesome, I have an appointment with the local dealership set for tomorrow - but I want to make sure they are looking at all the things. How hard are CV joint problems or other suspension problems to diagnose?

Not hard. I suggest you tell the dealer EVERYthing you are hearing and experiencing. Let them do the diagnosis, that is what they are trained to do. If you tell them what to do, they will do that and maybe only that. You won’t get the problem solved that way.

In any event, fix what’s wrong irrespective of whether you are going to keep or trade the car. The cost of any repair needed will be taken off the trade price or a private sale price and likely even more.

Then you can decide to keep or sell it.

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Thank you @Mustangman ! Also, sorry for the duplicate post. New to the site and didn’t think this one got put up.

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