Outback wagon - rear disc removal?

[JohnSellers]

I'm going to throw this question at you guys - I've browsed Outback forums a little bit, but don't read them nearly as much as I do here. I know some people here have Outback wagons as well as Imprezas.

I tackled rotor and pad replacement on my wife's 2003 Outback wagon this past weekend, and everything went smoothly for the front end. When I moved to the rear wheels, I found there's no way to access the bolt heads for the caliper support bracket. Both bolt heads are shaded by the knuckle assembly. It's possible to get an offset box end wrench on the lower bolt (if the offset is EXACTLY the right amount), but the upper bolt head is covered up by casting for the upper lateral link attachment.

The factory service manual has a diagram that shows the lower bolt, and it depicts an offset wrench used on this bolt. But, text in the FSM says "remove both bolts" and doesn't give any hints about method.

I ended up changing the pads only in the rear, and put the new rear discs back in the box until figuring out how I can replace them.

I don't doubt that Subaru experienced mechanics have done this replacement, but I'm stumped for an easy method. It looks to me like the entire hub will need to come away from the suspension arms and strut.

Anybody here know what the job involves?

Thanks,
John

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