Are there any kits out there that will press in and out on a early 90s legacy with out having to pull the spindles out and taking them somewhere?

'hub tamer' or similar kits - I think Harbor Freight has one, I'd also call around larger parts stores to see if they loan/rent some kinda kit.

Harbor Freight kit works good

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/front-wheel-bearing-adapters-63260.html

Also where and what is a good bearing to go with

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Edited October 11, 20178 yr by Evil02outback

Yes the hub tamer, that’s what I had as well. Ideally with an impact gun. By hand is beastly.

 

Someone else would know better but I use Subaru as might look at Beck Arnely for Subaru wheel bearings.

on an older car I wouldn't hesitate to use a name-brand aftermarket bearing. The Timken I put in my daughter's Impala seemed very nice and lasted for the next several years until she replaced the car.

 

Subaru wheel bearings fail frequently enough that I'm not convinced they are all that special. Still, yours seems to have lasted 25 years so - there's that.

I've put both Subaru (Koyo made in Japan) and aftermarket (Timken made in Japan).  Haven't been in long enough to fail and a couple of bearings may not be a large enough sample.

I have done a number of 2003, 2005 front wheel bearings (subarus and a toyota matrix), on none of them could I even get the snap ring off with the spindle on the car!

Just too much northeast rust and hardened grime.

 

I have the horror-fright FWD service kit and was willing to give it a shot. It's a handy tool even so.

 

How many tons of pressure can one of those hub-tamer type tools apply? I have had to lean on the long handle of my 20T A-frame press every time to get the bearing moving.

I use an OTC Hub grappler and have used it by hand and with an impact gun.

Not sure how much pressure it applies, but if it loads up and won't turn anymore the end is made to be hammered on.

4lb with a good swing and it pops loose right away. If I had a stronger impact gun I probably wouldn't need to hammer on it. By hand it pretty much takes the hammer to get the initial pop to get the bearing started moving out.

 

Only one I've done that was severely rusty, the snap ring was so rusted to bits it a wasn't removeable without doing some serious cutting. I tossed the whole knuckle and put a used one on the car. For $60 it wasn't worth my labor time to get the rusty one apart.

 

For bearings I've used a few brands. Subaru OE you repack with grease and pop them in and they last pretty much the remaining life of the car.

I started using bearings that are already packed and have the rubber seals built in. Beck arnley, a handful of other brands have some. Local parts store carries one that I've used a few times. Not real sure about longevity of them but the ones that I've done seem to hold up pretty well.

i have used timken on rockauto theyre 26 bucks.

Thanks for all the info. Found a bearing press kit on amazon plus a slide hammer went out and back in really easy had to heat up the outer race to get it off