DerFahrer Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Since we all know Subarus have Jell-O for wheel bearings, I thought I should post my experience with replacing all 4 of my wheel bearings on my 1991 Legacy AWD. It was a difficult, expensive, and frustrating project, but I finally finished it and am happy with the results. Warning 1: There are plenty of pics, so 56k be warned Warning 2: There is some colorful language in this thread, all mine http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=21223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Very informative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Thanks subylvr! After 10 years and 230,000 kilometers, my bearings are still ok, but i know it's only a matter of time before they begin giving up the ghost. After reading your thread, I feel much more confident I will be able to tackle this job. I even have a 12 tons shop press waiting that i bought cheap last summer at an auction. I also have both an electrical and air impact wrench. So things might be even easier for me. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottbaru Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Yikes! Many yikes! How much did you spend total, and how much time? Estimating, I'm guessing you approached a quarter of what I paid for my Legacy this winter, and you went cheap and got deals. And your time and frustration - priceless:rolleyes:. That much time on my part-time side job would've paid for all your parts. I rebuilt both axles on my Landcruiser, including twelve new bearings and seals, for a fraction of that time and $. And I'm not a mechanic, and I didn't even pull my airtools out. I'm having serious doubts about long-term Subaru ownership and maintenance. I bought it because it was inexpensive and easy to maintain. On the scale of built-to-be-maintained or stamped-together-disposable, things are not sounding great for my Subaru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerFahrer Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 Don't use my cost as an estimation for yourself, as I did a whole bunch of other stuff that wasn't really related to the bearings themselves. I also replaced my struts, replaced both my outer tie-rod ends, replaced all my wheelstuds, fixed my loose tranny crossmember, rebuilt my parking brake, etc. etc. Don't use my timeframe either, as I get discouraged very easily and there were actually times when I didn't touch the car for 2 weeks. However, I don't see how the stingiest person in the world could do just the bearings for less that $500 or in a couple days. Plain and simple, this is the last big project I'm doing with hand tools. I'm already looking at air guns and compressors and all that. Not only is it much, much, MUCH more difficult, but it's impossible to get some stuff tight enough with hand tools (like the nuts on the strut rods that I had to have the guy at my job hit with the impact wrench). The best thing I can tell you, is BE VERY CAREFUL when removing wheelstuds. I do not in any way recommend pounding them out with a hammer, as that's what ruined my old bearings. If you can find a way to press them out hydraulically or some such way, I recommend that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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