Norm Shea

@idosubaru, sure, I know them both well. And I'm right down the hall from the Inshore Fisheries Section, they're the ones with the real inside scoop. Let me know! Took the car for a long trip today, checked the hubs and both were what I would consider a "normal" temperature, so I'm optimistic. And, although it's probably just my imagination, it just feels like it drives more effortlessly. I'll be interested to see what the gas mileage looks like.

Well, the Subaru gets me back and forth to the boat, so it's kinda crucial. Yeah, I work for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The section I'm in is responsible for monitoring the health of the creeks, estuaries, and saltmarsh throughout the entire coast. Here's an image of one of our sites that we visit. Not a bad gig.

@idosubaru and @moosens, Thanks for the quick replies and sorry for the long delay in replying myselt. It was a busy week of field work (I attached a couple of images) so the prep and the actual work made for some really long days. Not a lot was able to be accomplished car-wise during the week. I did get a chance to work on it over the last couple of days though (third attached image). Given the condition of the driver side, I decided to do the passenger side, as well. I was able to get all of the pins to come out of the mounting brackets on both without too much difficulty and without damaging anything in the process. Even the rubber boots seemed to be in good condition once they were cleaned up a bit. And, after wire brushing, the mounting brackets looked pretty respectable. I bought new pads and some synthetic brake grease and got it all put back together earlier this evening. I wasn't able to do a long drive to heat things up and check the hubs but the squealing is definitely gone. So, things seem promising. @moosens, I didn't do the bearings because there just seemed to be conflicting information about them. I found an electronic service manual for the car that I'd forgot I had and, from the bearing section, it still appeared like they needed to be pressed in. Again, thanks @ocei77, @idosubaru, and @moosens for the assistance. I'll update once I've had it on the road a bit more.

Yes, I guess I should have said the pin going through the bushing will not move. So, how aggressive should I be? Should I put the mounting bracket in the vice and tap on the pin with a hammer? And, if you're talking about a torch, I'm assuming I'm cutting the bushing off first? And is the pin and bushing something that is replaceable? Sorry, for the newbie questions; my Dad and I did a lot on cars but this was not one of them, and he's not around to ask anymore.

@idosubaru, so I think I'm leaning more towards brakes. I jacked the other side up and rotated the wheels (actually, my daughter provided the labor) and I listened. There was absolutely no noise (I did not use a stethoscope, though) on the driver-side. The only noise was a periodic sound that seemed to coincide with a dragging on the passenger-side now. Not a squealing (I guess I meant that more than squeaking in my initial post) but just a low, light "scrape" from about 3 o'clock to 8 o'clock on every rotation (looks like I'll be pulling that apart next!). I included some images of the brake shoes off of the driver-side. The first two are the top and bottom of the inside pad, the one that had the least wear. Then the next two are of the top and bottom of the outside pad, the one with the most wear. Lastly, I have the mounting bracket. The bushing on the top moves in and out freely but the one on the bottom will not move at all. What impact does that have?

@idosubaru, again, thanks for the input. I'll get back on it first thing in the AM and then provide an update. Sorry, I know the squeaking was not that beneficial of a diagnostic. To elaborate, the sound was an episodic, high-pitched noise that kind of pulsed with the rotation of the wheel, speeding up as the rotation speed increased. It was not a consistent gravely noise.

@ocei77 and @idosubaru, Thank you both for the input. So, this is where I am now (first attachment). To @idosubaru's comment, I did notice that the pads had a disparate amount of wear (second attachment). Do you think it could be the caliper causing the problem? Does it warrant investigating that first? I will admit to not having actually spun the wheel when it was first jacked up (I did have the parking brake set until I realized that was making rotor removal more challenging). Is there some amount of play in the hub that I should notice if it is indeed the bearings?

I have the above mentioned vehicle and I recently noticed some squeaking from the driver-side, rear wheel. I checked the hubs when I got home and the driver-side hub was substantially hotter than the passenger-side hub; really too hot to touch for more than an instant. Having previously repacked/replaced wheel bearings on other vehicles (old Chevies and VWs), I dove in. After getting the rotor off and looking at the emergency brake setup, I thought I'd better refer to YouTube. This sobering video, refers to pressing the bearings into the bore and hub into the bearings. This was a little more than I bargained for so I'd like to get some input. I don't have a press so I'm wondering if this is something I should proceed with or if I should button it back up and take it to Suby Doctors? Thanks for any input.