Tire sidewall issue (sidewall on interior side) 98 Subaru

[weibo]

Hi, the front drivers side tire on my Subaru blew out. I thought nothing of it as they were getting quit old, just assumed they needed to be replaced. I wasn't the driver when this happened but he did say there was an obvious hole in the sidewall and there was a rubbing noise just before it blew out. The original thought was that there was some ice jammed in and that finished it off. I was looking over the tire and see that on the sidewall that was towards the inside of the car there is an obvious rub/wear mark all the way around the tire. i don't think it was just some ice and I want to make sure before I put new tires on. Any suggestions of what I should be looking at as the culprit?

[XXX-er]

that always happens on those lesbian cars

with the tire on the car seeif something is rubbing

[mcski]

Doesn’t take much. A ding to the rim is usually visible and will cause a blowout and not always immediate. Annoying as fuck tho

[weibo]

That's the plan, I have a summer tire I can throw on that is the same size. Just wondering if there is something specific I should check

[wolfy]

The rub mark shows a mechanical cause- so you need to figure out the gremlin that did it. It could have been a rock, rock in ice, piece of wood that wore into the side wall until it popped. It's also very likely to be a part of the car that rubbed through. A Suby that old will have rust issues- jack up the front end with good supports, off with the rim and tire- get a good light and start checking anything you can see or touch. Look at suspension parts, strut mounts, coil springs (these are known to break and flatten tires). Poke around with a nail puller/prybar and see if anything moves. If it passes all that take the tire/rim off the passenger side, bolt it up and try shaking it with hands at 6-12, then at 3-9. Then spin it while watching with a light from front or back.
Hopefully you'll find your problem- a friends kid had this issue after getting his '99 pulled out of a snowbank- broken coil spring. Good luck

[mcski]

You can have the tire guy double check the rim for a ding. He will probably find one but it may or may not to be corrected

[weibo]

The wear make and blow out were about halfway up the sidewall so I don't think it was a dent but I will have them check

[XXX-er]

That's the plan, I have a summer tire I can throw on that is the same size. Just wondering if there is something specific I should check

shit rubbing

[mcski]

The wear make and blow out were about halfway up the sidewall so I don't think it was a dent but I will have them check

That would still be a typical blowout result but they would be able to find it easily if there was indeed a dent from a curb strike or something like that

[stuckathuntermtn]

A tire shop good probably tell you.

[bjorn240]

Subaru has macpherson struts up front so the only thing that can rub there on the side of the tire is the spring (up top) or the inside fender liner on the back side of the wheel well (when the wheel is turned out).

Stick your iPhone camera above your tire and video while someone bounces on the spring. Turn the wheel all the way out on that side, and drive and listen for scraping on the fender.

The former would take some massive camber misalignment so I suspect the latter.

But yeah this is easy to inspect.

Christian (Subaru Rally Team USA 2005-2009 LOL)

[weibo]

Broken spring is the culprit. Easy to see once I was actually able to get home to look at it. On to the repair steps now Bad time would be less work for me (no work) but what are you going to do.