strange wobble

[Chevaru]

Strangest thing...a few weeks ago my 97 Legacy Outback started wobbling, like a tire was out of balance, as I got off an on ramp...at first I thought it was the roadbed because it soon stopped...now it occurs on and off...it is not affected by speed...it can start wobbling at 25 mph and up through 65 mph...and just as quickly as it starts, it will stop...I have noticed that it will dissipate occasionally when climbing a rise in the road...I do live in the Northwestern North Carolina mountains so I do a lot of climbing and descending...checked the lugs on the wheels...tight...no strange tire wear...yet...it as if the front tires are rotating at slightly different speeds and then they balance out...any ideas?

[Huffer]

Wheel bearing, loose tophat nuts, bad Cv shaft/joint...

[Chevaru]

Wouldn't there be some kind of gravelly sound for wheel bearing...and clicking for CV...have had both go bad before on cars...there is no discernible noise...but the tophat nuts sound interesting...first...to find the top hat nuts...I think I know what they are...when I changed the oil over the weekend I noticed two nuts (that I might describe as top-hat looking, that looked to secure the wheel assembly to the frame...would those be it?

[Navi271]

Yeah, the top hats are the mounts that secure the strut and springs together as well as keep the strut/spring combo ON the car. Pop open the hood and they are the round thingers on the very far sides of the engine bay right up near the windshield. They should be black. Or you can just follow the struts and springs up under the wheel well and see where they connect to the body. Where they connect is where the top hat is. There's 3 nuts holding the top hat to the car, and 1 bigger nut to secure the strut to the top hat.

I'd say tho it's off balance wheels. My unbalanced wheels would dissipate sometimes when climbing or descending a hill, which I thought was just the weirdest thing...

[Grafton]

I don't think it's top hats, mine when mine went i had memory steer and the springs would bind
+1 out of balance wheel you never know you might have lost a weight somewhere and not noticed

[jey]

Does it only do it while braking or also while coasting?

[DarkPhoenix]

Mine does the same thing and I have sourced it to be the wheel bearings in my left rear assembly. Have you noticed if there is anything that feels like the brakes dragging? Mine started doing that recently. I had to replace the caliper a few months back because it was sticking back. The heat probably killed the grease, in turn killing the bearings.

[Huffer]

I was just about to visit here and say something about a frozen brake caliper... Good thing to check!