allwheeldad Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Hey all...something I have been curious about for a while, how hard is it to replace wheel bearings on a 99 legacy? I have access to a nice heated shop with lots of tools and have pulled the motor out of my wife's 00 legacy, so I am no stranger to mechanics or subies. My contact at Subaru warned me against trying to do the bearings myself saying that other garages have gone to do them and then had to flatbed the cars over when they got it wrong. I have done bearings on other cars, what makes these ones so hard? I have come to rely on and appreciate the knowledge shared on the USMB and was wondering if anyone out there has done these bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Subaru has there own "on car" wheel bearing kit...Are you planning on doing the front or rear? Either way Subaru has kits from I believe OTC for either doing the fronts or rears...If you have this kit there not to bad to do at all..Personally I have never done a wheel bearing on a Subaru without this kit ( I work for Subaru..lol) ..If you are doing the rears and you have this kit the only foreseeable problem I can imagine is the rear Lateral link bolt that goes through the knuckle gets seized in there like a mother..if this is the case...just mark the rear toe adjustment on the rear lateral link and take a 17mm and I believe a 22mm and loosen those lateral link bolts from the rear diff crossmember/housing and you can lower those lateral links to remove the axle from the hub... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 I was planning on doing the fronts some point soon. I can't feel any play in them but there is a droning sound coming from the front left corner that makes me think there will be something wrong very soon. Does Subaru sell those tool kits to the public or that a NAPA type of purchase? It costs almost $500 everytime I've had to take either of our cars in and I plan to own subies after these ones are gone, so I don't mind spending the money up front for tools. As long as they don't cost more than the car anyways. I have lots of experience with rusted bolts on these cars. I always add extra time and acetylene cost to any project I get into. The real *************** is when the bolts snap off in the frame. You won't find my solution for that anywhere in the recommended service procedures manuals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I was planning on doing the fronts some point soon. I can't feel any play in them but there is a droning sound coming from the front left corner that makes me think there will be something wrong very soon. Does Subaru sell those tool kits to the public or that a NAPA type of purchase? It costs almost $500 everytime I've had to take either of our cars in and I plan to own subies after these ones are gone, so I don't mind spending the money up front for tools. As long as they don't cost more than the car anyways. I have lots of experience with rusted bolts on these cars. I always add extra time and acetylene cost to any project I get into. The real *************** is when the bolts snap off in the frame. You won't find my solution for that anywhere in the recommended service procedures manuals. Hmmm I would prob try a company like Kentmoore.perhaps they sell the kits..I honestly have not really gotten into them as far as where the specialty tools I use come from...I cant imagine the kit being that cheap though..also there are two seperate kits for the front and rear.. AH..here we are.... this is the kit for the rear... http://www.costplustools.com/Kent-Moore-J-45697-HUB-REMOVERREPLACER-KIT-for-Subaru_p_10579.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 Thanks for the link. I'll keep those tools in mind in case they are needed. I may want to replace other wear items at the same time, so I was considering removing the entire knuckle. If I go that route, can I assume that a regular press can be used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Pull the knuckles and take them to a shop to have the bearings pressed. $15 labor each is what I pay. Far better than fooling around with a one sided screw press. Mow the lawn or shovel the driveway while you wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogstar7055 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Thanks for the link. I'll keep those tools in mind in case they are needed. I may want to replace other wear items at the same time, so I was considering removing the entire knuckle. If I go that route, can I assume that a regular press can be used? I just did all four of mine and I removed the knuckles and pressed the bearings out at work. Had too run a small bead of weld on the inside of two of the races to get them too break loose from the knuckle even in the press. Not a hard job to do if you got tools or access to them and a little bit of wrenching under your belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Harbor Freight sells a "FWD hub service set" or something along those lines, that has all the stuff you need except a puller to remove the outboard inner race from the hub - but that's just a generic bearing seperator job. The kit is $80 and has all the needed adaptor sizes just like the "hub tamer" that's often talked about - just a whole lot cheaper. You need an impact and it does take a bit of know-how with pressing/pulling bearings in general to set it up as it comes without any good instructions - I looked at the Hub Tamer's instruction sheet for the Subaru specific setup (found it online) and setup the HF unit in a similar fashion. Works great - just make sure you have a powerful 1/2 impact as it takes some pretty serious force to pull the race out of/back into the hub. I did it without even removing the knuckle from the car. If a shop can't figure out how to do a wheel bearing with a simple puller/pusher setup then I would be afraid to take them my kid's tricycle to work on. A press would be nice - I would use one if I had one, but it's also nice to be able to do it with the knuckle still on the car. You would still benefit from the HF kit though as it has all the right sized spacers for pushing the race around, etc. As for taking it somewhere - I don't trust monkey's with hydraulic presses. And Subaru cautions against doing that without special adaptors as you can deform the knuckle. GD Edited January 10, 2010 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 You can also deform the knuckle by overtightening the lateral link bolt. All the ones I've done at home I "pressed" the bearings in and out with a hand sledge and sockets. You use the old empty bearing housing to press in the new one. To get the inner race off of the hub, I cut a diagonal in the race with my cutoff wheel, then wrap a rag around it and split the diagonal cut with a chisel. You have to be carefull of shrapnel though, which is why I use a rag as a shield. Main thing in the northeast is the damn lateral link bolt. It's exposed in the middle so the rust gets to work on it from all ends. Usually the two bolts on the rear subframe where the lateral links attach to that are just as bad so I prefer to do my torchwork out at the hub instead of in by the gas tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 It always seemed a little strange that any shop wouldn't be able to handle a bearing job. Subie's are great cars, but we're not talking about rocket science here. I know what you mean about rust and torches. We salt the crap out of our roads in Ontario and after ten years the entire bottom of my car is covered in ferous oxide loctite:mad:. I replaced my struts and springs in September, but am considering going to a coilover set-up off my my brother's WRX. If I do I will also replace the all the bushings at the same time. It seems like a good idea to do some preventative maintainence while I have everything apart. I was looking through the technical manuals and saw that they were calling for some kind of bench support for the knuckle. I am a licenced welder, so if I need to fabricate a jig to support and restrain the knuckles while in the press it shouldn't be a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I snagged a harbor freight 20ton press and bearing splitter, and have a lot of bits and pieces to use as press adapters, and found the job to be straightforwards. An on-car tool would have been worth while, and not necessitated knuckle removal, but would have been a tool that only did one thing- a press is more useful to me than the convenience of not removing the knuckle (it's not that hard, at least on the front). There are a few times where you need to be VERY aware of what you are pressing on, and what is taking the force on the receiving end. Tightening the axle nut is an easy time to screw up the whole job. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 The bearing service set from HF is pretty useful - it can be used on other brands/models, and it's cheap enough to own even for an occasional use. Plus the fact that not removing the knuckle means no screwing with the alignment which is a plus in my book. I know you can mark it, etc - but I would just rather not mess with it if I don't have to. I also feel that I have more control over the "manual" puller/pusher system than with a press. That is - there is almost no possibility of deforming the knuckle and I can feel how much pressure is being put on things a little easier. Although a manuallly operated press would probably be alright as well - I'm used to the big, powered hydraulic machines that put down 150 tons at the pull of a lever - probably a case of using the right tool for the job and that's not the right tool GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 The bearing service set from HF is pretty useful - it can be used on other brands/models, and it's cheap enough to own even for an occasional use. Plus the fact that not removing the knuckle means no screwing with the alignment which is a plus in my book. I know you can mark it, etc - but I would just rather not mess with it if I don't have to. I also feel that I have more control over the "manual" puller/pusher system than with a press. That is - there is almost no possibility of deforming the knuckle and I can feel how much pressure is being put on things a little easier. Although a manuallly operated press would probably be alright as well - I'm used to the big, powered hydraulic machines that put down 150 tons at the pull of a lever - probably a case of using the right tool for the job and that's not the right tool GD Yes, 'feel' does play into it quite a bit. A manual hydraulic gives you a good idea of what's going on, I would be hesitant to use a powered one. There are only 2 operations that involve the knuckle taking the force of the pressing, and getting a good setup (shimming the knuckle) is critical if the force is to be seen evenly across the knuckle. If you rush it or go at it ham-fisted, yeah, it could be ugly. Other than being a single-use tool, the only negative to me is that I am skeptical the on-car screw-tool could have gotten the bearing out of the knuckle (on my car). That took a *lot* of force, and made me glad I sprung for the 20-ton press instead of the 15-ton. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Yeah - they are REALLY tight in there. My 1/2" impact was straining and probably took 5 minutes to get it out. New one didn't go in a lot easier either. Not a job I would want to do without air tools or a press. If I had to use the manual tool with a breaker bar....... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Glad to hear Hbr Frt has a cheaper alternative to the Hub Tamer now. I own and used the Hub Tamer and I am very happy with it....but I think it cost me $350, so not cheap! PM me if you want my step by step notes on doing Forester rear wheel bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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