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Since my car is entering its ninth year and its ninth long and corrosive Montreal winter, I took profit of the relatively strong canadian dollar (not sure it will last) to order from 1stSubaruparts a load of parts I will likely have to replace in the not so far future.

Amongst them, four struts.

1) First thing I would like to know from those with older cars and having replaced some struts, is what are the chances I will have also to relplace the strut support (the part on top of the strut) and maybe other suspension parts as well. If so this will give me the chance to order in advance.

2) Also, if the gods permit, I will replace at the same time, the complete clutch assembly, crank and cam seals, struts, front bearings and frond drive axles.

Anyone done this and have some advice to share with me ?

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The rear struts, springs, strut mounts, and wheel bearings for our 99 outback are on their way from 1stsubaruparts. I haven't done a whole lot of struts, but the mounts always seem to be in need of replacement by the time the struts are worn out. I would always replace the front strut mounts when replacing the front struts because of the bearing in the front strut mount. Usually I don't replace the springs, but the rear end of our car seems to be sagging especially when loaded with groceries or the dog. It has about 145k miles on it.

 

Doing bearings on a front/all wheel drive is a pain in the neck. The ones I did in the past I did the old fashioned way, with a hydraulic press with the steering knuckle removed from the car. I recently invested in a hub tamer which allows replacement of the bearing with the knuckle on the car. It should almost pay for itself when I do the rear bearings on the outback. I have used it several times already for other things. It is a very versatile set of tools. If I were you I would search around and see if someone rents out hub tamers or similar tool sets.

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Thanks a lot 990bw.

Regarding the bearings, my intention was to remove the knuckles and bring them to a mchine shop or to a dealer to have the old bearings removed and the new on pressed in.

But the idea of buying a «hub tamer» and doing it myself appeals to me.

Could you give me some more info on that tool. What brand you bought, etc.?

And thanks again.

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http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/OTC-6490.html

 

Endwrench has some info on subaru recommended procedures for doing the bearings. They no longer recommend using a hydraulic press because it may damage the new bearings.

 

I am not sure if the hub tamer can actually remove the hub. I am almost positive it can, but I haven't used it for that yet. In the subaru procedure they use a slide hammer to remove the hub.

 

http://www.endwrench.com/current/Current6/03/Wheel%20Bearing%20PDFs/MSA5TT0201.pdf

 

http://www.endwrench.com/current/Current6/03/WhBearRep.pdf

 

http://www.endwrench.com/current/Current6/03/Wheel%20Bearing%20PDFs/03-50-02.pdf

 

Those may or may not apply to your car, but the information may be useful anyway.

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I think the links I posted are for the rear bearings only, though the procedure with the front should be similar. I posted the endwrench links to serve as an example of how the job can be done on the car, and also for people with the affected cars as an FYI. I would be curious to know what it will cost to have the parts pressed out/in plus alignment and how that compares to the cost of the hub tamer. It might take several jobs to pay for it, maybe not the least expensive short term option.

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I had to replace a hub and I thought it would be a good idea to replace the bearing before slapping it in. I brought the hub to an amoco service station, as I had trouble finding someone who would or could perform the procedure, which is strange in Duluth since there are tons of subarus. Anyways, it took him and hour so it cost me about $60. Needless to say I was not happy after that. I find it hard to believe that pressing a bearing in and out with new seals to be that involved.

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