Hi guys, I have a 97 Legacy Outback with just over 200k miles. I have a wheel bearing starting to make noise, so I am going to go ahead and replace all four of them.

 

I've been told twice now by my tire place that my passenger inner tie rod end needs to be replaced, so I figure I'll get that at the same time. My question is, what else should I address while I'm doing this other work? I'm thinking sway-bar endlinks and bushings for the front and rear, and maybe control arm bushings. I have been told that ball joints rarely fail on Subarus, so i'm not sure if those will need attention or not. I have even thought about doing the struts too.

 

My car drives and handles well overall, but I figure I'll work on what I can while I'm in there.

 

 

 

 

 

if original - your struts are certainly quite worn.

 

not sure on other stuff - rack bushings could tighten the steering....?

 

look for Febest bushings at Amazon if you replace the rear bushings on the front LCAs.

 

maybe the little parking brake shoes in the rear rotors ? inspect them at least.

Ya, struts will be most likely next culprit. If your going to change one tie rod I would go ahead an change the other while your there and keep the good one for a spare. Ball joints I wouldn't mess with unless you have to they can be a real PITA. Check the steering rack boots for age cracks, if so I would replace them while you have the tie rods off.

Also rear bearings tend to last to 300k so I wouldn't mess with those unless they are making noise, they are the worst job possible on these cars.

My 99 OBW has 231K miles on the odo. I have replaced the right front wheel bearing, actually the entire hub. No need to replace the remaining wheel bearings until they start giving you trouble. It would be an unnecessary expense.

replace bearings only if there are symptoms.  they dont' fail often enough to warrant replacing for no reason.

 

Subaru tie rods and ball joints rarely fail, dont' replace them unless necessary.  grab the tie rod and just yank on it - does it have play?

 

i just checked one today on a friend who was told they needed a new tie rod - it's tight as a brand new Subaru. pointless to replace it.  it has a cracked steering bellows so I think they're just preemptively replacing it because on some makes and models it probably makes sense on those more prone to fail.

Thanks for the replys everyone. I'll probably only replace the front wheel bearings then. I'll check and see for myself if the tie rod end does need to be replaced. I know the bellows on my rack are cracked, I'll get them while I'm at it. I'm not sure if the struts are original or not.

 

I have been hearing a slight noise going over bumps, which I think are sway bar bushings. I was just of the mind to replace everything while I was at it, but if the parts don't fail often, sounds like I can save some cash.

Bushings may cause a noise like that.

But yeah, struts is where you should probably put your saved cashed. if they're orgional