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Old 12-20-2004, 09:07 PM   #1
cptomes
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Default rear wheel bearing replacement

To start off, I have replaced the wheel bearings on both a 1982 Mercedes 300SD and a 1985 Golf GTI. So wheel bearing replacement is something I am familiar with.

I have a 1999 Forester S. I have what appears to be the standard Subaru rear wheel bearing failure. 117k miles, no record of previous bearing replacements. Bought used from local lot, who bought it at auction (ie no history).

It appears to be a standard cartridge type, similar to the Volkswagen. Apparently there are two inner and one outer seals.

I do not have the maintenance manual for this car yet. What unusual steps are necessary for this car? I would prefer to buy or make tools rather than pay money for a dealership to (apparently, according to experience here) get into a repetitive loop of replacing the bearings every few thousand miles. I've got 17k miles on it since we bought it this past May. We like this car and would prefer not to sell it, but if this is going to be a crap shoot with regular wheel bearing failures I will sell it and buy something more reliable.

CP
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Old 12-20-2004, 11:36 PM   #2
drees
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IIRC, if you have the standard tools to replace bearings (IE, press, puller, etc) I'm pretty sure you can handle the wheel bearings on a Subie.

The trick to keeping the new bearings from going bad is to use some high quality synthetic wheel bearing grease after cleaning out the grease that the bearings come packed with.

You also may be able to "upgrade" the bearings, I think that with the Impreza, Legacy wheel bearings will fit which are beefier than stock. Not sure about the Forester, however...
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Old 12-20-2004, 11:51 PM   #3
Pakin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cptomes
It appears to be a standard cartridge type, similar to the Volkswagen. Apparently there are two inner and one outer seals.
Correct. Subaru's bearings are very similar to the common VW.

We call it a "Volkwagen set" at work (a Subaru shop, and we prefer it over other procedures as it works very well), a set of cups and a long screw drive shaft with a 30mm-ish or so at the end. All it uses is that and an impact gun. Use an impact to drive out the old one by pulling it against the hub lip and use the old bearing casing to push the new ones in.

Most people who've done Volkswagen bearings has used this. So I'm guessing you might have used it.

If so, it should be the same setup and procedure. I will say I never personally changed bearings on a VW, but I'm going on the hearsay of my fellow technician that has worked at an indie shop before and delt with those VW bearings.

-paK +1
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Old 12-21-2004, 01:34 AM   #4
00Maddog
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yes legacy bearings will fit, that's what most dealers install now. you can tell by the type, the legacy's use a roller type and the impreza/forester use a ball type. the ball types will fail. I have installed many with the supplied grease with no problems.
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Old 12-21-2004, 10:16 AM   #5
Jon [in CT]
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I'd say, after reading http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/WheelBearing.pdf and http://www.endwrench.com/current/Cur...MSA5TT0201.pdf, that certain steps are non-trivial and require special tools. Maybe you could get your Subaru dealer to perform those few steps.

BTW, SOA has revised that Wheel Bearing Installation Guide since it was published, so YMMV.

Last edited by Jon [in CT]; 12-21-2004 at 10:23 AM.
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Old 12-21-2004, 03:37 PM   #6
cptomes
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Thanks for the links, Jon. That's what I needed to see.

I made the equivalent tools for the Mercedes bearing replacement, and that had separate inner and outer bearings, with separate inner and outer races. This thing looks like the outer races are integral to the spacer sleeve, same as the Volkswagen. Half the trouble. Seating depth of the bearings was critical there, but also I had to torque the retaining nut to get something stupid like .002 radial play. "About that tight" didn't cut it. I tried, just for the fun of it, and I was at ~.010 when I stopped feeling play. The bearing would have failed in a few thousand miles, according to more experienced hands.

I'd rather buy/make the tools and do it right myself than hand problems like this over to unknown mechanics in my area. The ones I trust are appointment-only, book ~30 days in advance, and charge more than I can afford. The rest hire anyone who will show up on time and it shows. I'd consider going into business myself but unfortunately fixing Mr. Gates products' "features" pays more and has benefits.
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Old 12-30-2004, 09:42 PM   #7
cptomes
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I removed the offending parts and took them to a local independent shop that was familiar with the Subaru rear bearings, they had all the adapters on hand to press the bearings out and in.

The lateral link bolt and washer were a real pita. I used my impact driver to spin the bolt after I removed the nut (took about 30 min of max torque impact driver to loosen the bolt from the bushings) and then beat on it with a 3lb hammer and drift to get it out. Now I understand the warnings I got about possibly having to cut the lateral link arms to remove the bearing carrier from the car.

Of course, the ABS sensor bolt sheared off in the bearing carrier, and I drilled it out off-center. I hope the 3/4 threads left in the carrier will be enough. All is going back together tonight. $115 for the labor to r/r the bearing from the carrier and stub axle I took to the independent shop. $100 for the parts, also from the same shop, who had prices identical to the rest of the parts stores around here.
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Old 12-31-2004, 04:03 AM   #8
00Maddog
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nice. I have had fits over those damned lateral link bolts, sometimes I use so much heat the bushings melt. I thought the abs sensor bolt went into a tack welded thread boss on the backing plate ??! If it does just knock it off and use a nut.

Jerry
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Old 01-04-2005, 10:33 AM   #9
cptomes
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 00Maddog
nice. I have had fits over those damned lateral link bolts, sometimes I use so much heat the bushings melt. I thought the abs sensor bolt went into a tack welded thread boss on the backing plate ??! If it does just knock it off and use a nut.
I was about to, but it ended up ok. I pulled the drum brake hardware back off the reassembled and reinstalled carrier, threaded a new bolt in from the wheel side to clean out the threads, then put it all back together the right way.

I remember now why I hate drum brakes. Use one hand to support the hardware in alignment. The other hand to keep the retaining pin from drooping. The other hand to hold the spring and cup in place, and your fourth hand to compress the spring/cup and rotate the pin to lock it in place.

We're at about 500 miles with no problems so far. I'm anticipating the same problem on the other side.

Now I get to replace front brakes. We have a big shudder at highway speeds that turns into pulsating brakes at lower speeds. No pulsating in the brake pedal, just changes in the braking force applied to the car.

My assumption is out of true rotor from some cause. Either warped or bent rotor, or bent stub axle. Supposedly it was turned right before we bought it, but the problem came back within a couple thousand miles. I'm betting warped rotor.
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