while driving slowly (say 20Mph) i can hear and feel a knocking noise what sounds like the speed of the rotating tire.

 

can this be a wheel bearing? or even worse one of the drive shafts?

all thou i think that a drive shaft spins faster then i hear the noise.

 

when i have some time i will change the tires from front to back to isolate the possibility that it's one of the tires making this noise. i hoop it's a tire as that's makes it an easy fix...

 

 

wheel bearings I have found make more of a grinding noise CV joints more of a clunking / knocking noise - hopefully you can narrow it down a bit

OK thx, will see if i can record it with my CarCam

 

i did by the way jack up the rear and tested both side for play but i cannot feel any play in the wheels

Other than having play in all directions ,worn Bearings will normally make more noise when turning . Try with the clutch dipped whilst cornering (under load will "humm") To determine what side.

You could also try engine breaking at low speed to see if the noise is rear drivetrain/diff orientated .

If the noise happens more then.

Mabye check rear drive shaft gators ,propshaft uj and diff oil level .

I hope it's something simple , keep us updated fella

Driveshafts rotate same wheel speed but being rear it unlikely as they have quite easy life compared to front but worth inspection.

Prop is spinning faster but pro-rata to speed & could cause symptoms like you mention.

Most usual faults are :

wneel bearing

rear diff

gearbox viscous diff

propshaft

 

sounds like maybe more than wheel bearing but I have seen a few bad wheel bearings make notchy feeling & due to AWD it hard check well by jacking up.

Wheel bearing is cheap & easy.

other things could get pricey ...

today after a 20 miles drive checked the rear hubs for heat but they were both cold

yep, yep, i know all of you are with a beer in the garden 

 

but i investigated the noise coming from the rear of my Forester as it was only 23 degrade according the outside temp gauge.

 

first i swapped the spare tire with the rear left side and took her for a test drive, noise still there, bugger. 

then i swapped the right side and test drove her, bingo noise gone!  :)

 

checked this tire and i could see a small bubble and lots of small cracks so no wonder... this Geolandar G900 is from 2011

 

the spare tire is from 2006 (probably same age as the car) and is in good shape so now i'm off to source two new tires as the other rear tire is also from 2011. both fronts are from 2013.

 

happy with an easy fix  B)

Result [emoji106]

Glad you've found the problem and it was nothing serious or expensive [emoji6]

Glad to hear mate nice find :D 

thx guys  :)