ej25

Wrong! I did what I could with the tools at hand and completed the job. I hope AdventureSubaru is successful.

Apologies if I added confusion. I can see in my haste that I wasn't clear. The 3 jaw puller helped me remove a stuck CV axle. My bearing assembly was stuck, too. I didn't "unbolt a bunch of unnecessary stuff". The bearing assembly, along with the parking brake and dust shield, came loose as a unit after removing the 4 hub bolts. I did not have to remove the parking brake cable. I sat the whole thing down between two pieces of wood and was able to tap out the bearing assembly.

Muy bueno. I removed the inner CV from the differential first. I remember stubborness on the bearing assembly, not coming out easily from the housing. Wound up removing parking brake cable and taking off the whole thing, dust plate and all. Placed between two big blocks of wood and commenced to hammering. John Henry would've been proud! The bearing assembly eventually separated. The CV axle fit through the hub. I put some bearing grease around where the assembly touches the hub, in case I had to go back in there. I used a cheapo Autozone assembly.

I encountered this same problem on a 2008 Legacy, replacing a rear wheel bearing. Use a three jaw gear puller. It'll pop it right out. I used a 3 lb hammer and beat the crap out of the hub, but it wouldn't budge. I mushroomed the tip, but the gear puller pushed the tip right out. I tried to grind the tip down, but couldn't get the nut back on, so I wound up having to buy a reman CV axle, too.