Ruthmic knocking noise when going straight down the road

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 1996 Subaru Legacy L wagon with a 2.2l 4 cylinder engine.

As I am driving down the road, I hear a rythymic knocking noise when driving straight. When I turn, it goes away until I straighten it out, which it starts again. It is variable in sound and how often it comes up.

I checked the tires, I tightened the lug nuts to torque specs. I know the tie rods are loose, replaced a bad wheel bearing. It does have ABS but the hub assembly that my dad and I put on came from a rig without ABS but the sound started before we replaced the wheel bearing.

I have read a few things on but I cannot figure out where it’s coming from. I am at a loss. Any ideas as to what to look at? Oh, my dad says my CV joints appear to be in working order.

2

How old are the tires? How worned are they?Did you hit a curb that could have damaged one of your front rim?

3

tires are like brand new. I’ve hit a curb a few times but there is no damage I can see to the tires. I don’t think I damaged the rim but I will look again. Any other possible places to look? I thought about the sway bars but idk how to test those

4

Lift one corner of the vehicule and put it on a jackstand.Grab the tire at the 6 and 12 o’clock position and check for play.If a good amount of play is found,the wheel bearing is kaput. I owned a few Subarus that had constant wheel bearing failure.

5

I replaced the wheel bearing that was bad a week ago. My father and I checked the other bearings and they were fine. I will double check the wheel bearing again. Anything else I could check?

6

Is the noise there if you put the transmission in neutral and coasting?How are the brakes…anything touching the rotors? Was thinking of the dust shield that could be bent out of shape and touching the rotors.

7

no. only when the car is in motion. It goes away when I turn the wheel back and forth and comes back.

8

Stabilizer links could be bad also.They make a dull knocking sound when they go bad.Does the knocking increase on bad roads?

9

knocking sound. 1 bad wheel bearing. 1 bad tierod. how are the other parts? right tierod goes bad usually means the left tierod is not far behind. how old are ball joints? control arm bushings? struts? strut mount? and so on

10

I would assume everything except the passenger side wheel bearing are original. My dad found the car and bought it and sold it to me. It was in good shape when I bought it except for a small oil leak. But over time, parts have started showing their age. Yes, the sound gets louder on bumpier roads. I know the tierods are loose and I plan on replacing those as soon as I can.