SubeeTed Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 Hi ALL! I have a 1997 Subee GT Wgn. I think the rear bearings are going! Is this ANOTHER typical Subee problem? Has anyone done this latelty? How much did it cost you? Many thanks, SubeeTed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted July 9, 2005 Share Posted July 9, 2005 SubeeTed, Years ago I had a rear bearing go on my 97 OBW under warranty. I watched the mechanic do the whole job in under 45 minutes. He removed the rear wheel, its rotor and caliper, removed the links from the rear hub, and pulled the hub assembly off the half axle shaft. The hub he put into a 10 ton press and pressed the bearing assembly out and the new one in, and then reversed the process. I never got a bill, but even doing both sides should be able to be done in under 2 hours labour. How expensive can 2 rear bearing assemblies be? I don't know but I'm guessing $300 CDN should do the whole job, but that's a guess. Hope this is of some help? Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted July 9, 2005 Share Posted July 9, 2005 rear wheel bearings do seem to wear out although i have never gone through any.... you can order them on line fairly cheaply Subaru Genuine Parts: http://www.subarugenuineparts.com specifically: https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html part numbers: bearing part # 28016AA030 and you will need 3 seals for the bearing these should be right: #28015AA110 #28015AA100 # 28015AA050 hard part is getting the bearing in/out of the car they have to be pressed in/out so you will have to pay someone to do that type of work unless you have a press of your own hope this helps a little bit Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mquillen Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 This is a great site. First of all, let me say that I have been a Subaru fan for many years, and I used to be in management for another Japanese car company, which is and remains excellent. Being a 2001 Forester owner has really changed my opinion of Subaru; its image, quality, customer service--you name it. I think it is sad that they are tarnishing their image, and they seem to have forgotten what they stand for. All car companies have issues of course, but it is how they handle those issues that separates the good from the bad. I just had an experience with a Subaru dealership at which I questioned my repair invoice, thinking I had been somehow triple charged for labor, in the job and the estimate--mistakes do happen. Their response is to tell me not to question it. When I asked to see the Service Manager's boss, he said he is THE boss. When I told him I wasn't going to pay for the repair until I talked to someone, he said he's going to file charges against me. Well, I still haven't paid, and the Director of Operations called me to say they were filing charges. Please note, no one has offered to explain my bill to me. I have taken my complaint to Subaru of America, and they have assigned a case number to it--it sounds like I'll have two case numbers. I am in awe of a company that has a known design problem with a part, and proceeds to gauge you on the repair. Although I'm out of warranty, 5.5 years, I only have 41k miles on the car. Both of the rear bearings are shot (never off road with this car, short trips on good roads). One bearing I would say is a fluke, two bearings are a problem. The service rep at the dealer said my wife must have hit a pothole. Then I saw the TSB #03-50-02 that said basically there has been a durability issue with these bearings and their replacements (until the they changed the design). I saw that the TSB called for 1.5 hours to change out both bearings and I know from the sign in the dealership they charge $85/hr. I know they have overhead and everything is expensive theses days--no problem. When I get my phone estimate for both sides they qoute $910. I thought these must be some heavy duty expensive bearings. I tell them I need my car. When I get my final bill, I'm charged for 5 hours on the bearings, not the 1.5 hours noted on the TSB. I thought there must be a mistake somewhere, but no one at the dealership will even discuss the invoice. So Subaru and their dealer's method to handle a known design flaw is to gouge their customers on the repair. I've owned my own business though I'm now semi retired. I know how a customer should be treated (by the way I bought two cars from this dealer within a two year period). With a known problem, the dealer should have said, "Sir, we have had an ongoing problem with these bearings and we'd be willing to work with you on the repair expense." But no, they deny the problem and say my wife must have hit a pothole. Then they gouge me on the repair and won't even discuss my questions regarding the bill. Since I've been researching this issue, I've also come across the cylinder head problem. Yes, I was naive enough to think that the cooling system conditioner was something to help the cooling, not just a fancy stop leak. Now I'm resigned to the fact that I will never really feel comfortable taking my Forester on any long trips with any real feeling of confidence and dependability. Isn't that what we bought Subarus for in the first place (yes we love the all wheel drive, we love it for the confidence and the dependability). What the hell is Subaru thinking. It seems that Subaru is designing their vehicles for their dealers' benefit, not the end consumer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 i'm confused.. that was alot of words for my brain to take in all at once i was under the understanding that it was the impreza type bearings that were crappy, and a simple replacement with legacy type would fit it right up. I've heard from the local shop that the rear end of subarus arn't exactly... good. I have to watch my tire pressure very carefully to avoid bearing issues, because it seems like my bearings go faster than tanks of gas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
color-blind Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 This is what the average customer does not understand. The automotive business as a whole needs a complete overhaul. First off one must understand the difference between warranty time and cusomer pay time. Lets use your wheel bearings as an example. Assume warranty time is 1.5 hours for both bearings the tech gets paid 1.5 hours, no matter if it takes him 1.0 hour or 5 hours, he only gets paid the 1.5. Now lets assume it is customer pay time. The tech is paid 5 hours, even if he does it in 1.0 hour, he is paid 5 hours at his hourly rate. This is called flat rate. Like it or not this is how the automotive business is set up. Thus techs do not like warranty work, they prefer customer pay work. As a sub note here. Vehicles are getting much more complex, yet many consumers demand "cheap" repairs and maintenance. This is why many technicians are getting out of this field. They simply can't make it anymore, it is much easier to make more money in a different career. Soon though their will be less technicians and fewer shops. Then you will really see sky high pricing. Shops are expected to have highly skilled technicians and the latest and greatest equipment. Yet for some reason they are not allowed to bill for it. As far as the wheel bearing issue goes, you are correct. Subaru changed the design of the bearings-basically it is a Legacy bearing. Subaru should have recalled all of them and taken care of it for their customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Well, there is no need to recall ALL vehicles because of a bearing problem. However, they should not try to profit from out-of-warranty cars. In fact, the Scandinavian importer has halved the price of the bearings. Essentially selling the new type bearings at cost price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
color-blind Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 You are correct, they don't need to recall ALL of the vehicles. Yet it would have been nice if they would have stepped up to the plate on the rear bearings. Since they are the most often to fail; especially in the Forester's. Then again if Subaru recalled too many I'd be out of a job LOL. Heaven forbid they ever recall the 2.5 head gaskets, air mass meters, air fuel ratio sensors, front crank seal/oil pump o-ring, seperator plates, knock sensors, cam/crank sensors, etc, etc. Gotta love them Subaru's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 a cheaper alternative is to buy a complete rear hub assembly and you can do it yourself. buy a used unit (from a legacy if it'll bolt up and has better bearings) for $35 and install it yourself. newest/lowest miles you can find. this lets you do the job yourself and super cheap. another alternative is buy the bearings and take the hub/bearings to a machine shop. they'll press them in for $50 tops. remove/install the hub yousrelf. but i like doing things myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Just curious, how many people have had the rear driver's side go bad, compared to the passenger side? I lost mine on the driver's side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 i just lost the rear passenger side with 200k on my 95 mt. yee haa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygs71 Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Will a Legacy rear hub assembly bolt onto a forester? How hard is it to pull the rear bearing housing? The local subaru dealer wants $400 per wheel to r&r one bearing, they want $85 to press out the old bearing and press in the new if i supply the bearings/seals. Now that i fixed my bad oil seperator cover leak i am tackling my rear wheel bearings. my 99 forester sounds like i am running super swampers. larry muskegon, mi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostWater Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Both Northern and Harbor freight sell a 12 ton bearing press for under $100. You just need a good air compressor to get the bolts out of your hub. Then take your hub, put it on the press, push the old bearings out, new bearings in, set the seals, reinstall. A not so good mechanic like me can do it in under 4 hrs, both sides. I did it last year. My press is great and has found other uses since then. Buy a press, don't get screwed, do it yourself! Mark Will a Legacy rear hub assembly bolt onto a forester? How hard is it to pull the rear bearing housing? The local subaru dealer wants $400 per wheel to r&r one bearing, they want $85 to press out the old bearing and press in the new if i supply the bearings/seals. Now that i fixed my bad oil seperator cover leak i am tackling my rear wheel bearings. my 99 forester sounds like i am running super swampers.larry muskegon, mi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mquillen Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 The dealer charged $825 for both rear wheel bearings, plus another $295 for a new ignition coil. So my 2001, 41k mile Forester just had $1120 in unscheduled repairs. SOA wouldn't even talk about the wheel bearings. I've driven Honda's and Acura's for years, putting 100's of thousands of miles on them with just normal maintenance. This is the last Subaru I will ever buy. If Subaru thinks they are saving money by screwing their customers when they are repairing known defects, they are mistaken. My mother will not be buying another Subaru, nor will my cousin. I will make sure everyone I know knows how SOA and their dealers treat their customers. And the head gasket fiasco and stop leak just adds to my frustration. Many times the reason people buy a new car is because they are putting stop leak in their old one. Why would anyone want to buy a car that needs stop leak put in it? I've got a car that I don't feel comfortable driving long distances in now, not to mention that the mere fact that these cars require stop leak will effect their resale value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beetreesubie Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 m q no offence but dont people call that the rollin brick if so why do people call it that:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendly_jacek Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 I more or less like my subaru car but the subaru dealerships, at least where i live are complete jokes. Rude, incompetent, and overcharging SOBs. Toyota dealerships used to be bad but the ones I deal with are excellent nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
destey Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 That's good advice gg. I also had a rear bearing go. Sounded like a rumble that got progressively louder wi th speed. a cheaper alternative is to buy a complete rear hub assembly and you can do it yourself. another alternative is buy the bearings and take the hub/bearings to a machine shop. they'll press them in for $50 tops. remove/install the hub yousrelf. but i like doing things myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkapopolis Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Just curious, how many people have had the rear driver's side go bad, compared to the passenger side? I lost mine on the driver's side. Coming back from our innaugural road trip in our new 98 forester on sun, heard the passenger rear tire start to rub and make lots of noise. finished the trip and confirmed it was the wheel bearing. A shop quoted me $500 to have it machined. Being the primary family car and not having much time to research I went for it. Picked it up today and they said it would be $600! I asked why and they said taxes and "stuff." I looked at the bill. They charged me $210 labor to remove and replace the bearing in the car at their shop. I asked them if it really took 3.5 hours to do that and the guy looked kinda puzzled, then said, yeah. The shop where they farmed out the machining of the bearing was paid their one hour work. After whining that $100 bucks on top of the estimate seemed high, they punched some buttons on the computer and asked, 'how does $534 sound?" (not as good as $345, lol.) hoping that's the only bearing i have to deal with on this car but if not, I'm gonna try other means to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 at those prices i'd buy a used hub and have a shop install it. used hubs are $35. wheel bearings don't typically blow up or fail, you'll have some time to fix it when you first start hearing the noise. order a used hub, have it installed and you're done for $100. i'm sorry you've had bad experience with subaru dealerships. other companies are little different though. they are all businesses and have profit margins as a main objective. subaru has over and over paid for peoples head gasket repairs after warranty and gone out of their way for people in many other areas. they have also left people hang dry. if you look at the big picture you won't see a huge difference between manufacturers. to assume one instance shows the tendency of a company falsley narrows down your options, makes you physically and emotionally vulnerable to chance and leaves you less happy in the long run. anytime you rely on dealerships and mechanics that you don't know very well you're really in a bad situation. i work on cars all the time for friends and family, i have plenty of horror stories about honda, Ford, toyota and subaru. if i used similar logic i wouldn't have a car manufacturer left to buy from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hi ALL!I have a 1997 Subee GT Wgn. I think the rear bearings are going! Is this ANOTHER typical Subee problem? Has anyone done this latelty? How much did it cost you? Many thanks, SubeeTed er um ... its a 9 year old car ! nothing lasts for ever guy. 9 years on a set of wheel bearings is not an unreasonable amount of time. ANything that breaks after 7 years cant be blamed on the car design, its called wear and tear. BTW what is the mileage on the car nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanski06 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 just in time...i recently just pulled off my studded tires b/c it was march 15th and thats just what u do....and im hearing an annoying chirp coming from what it sounds my rear driver side wheel..so right aways i figured it was my wheel bearing i always thought it was cheap to replace a wheel bearing i remember a few years ago my uncle had to replace his front wheel bearings and he did it himself...it could be possible that he used a press but my uncle is pretty old school... is it possible to remove them with a whole lot of elbow greese and some prying?...he pulled them outta an older ford if that helps at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 you can get bearing out w/ a hammer and a stick of metal if you're careful... i got through a bearing every say.. 40k miles.. alternates sides... i'm due for one right now.. it's starting to make noise.. .gonna get some new hubs this time i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugbyben Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 My passenger rear went out last summer. Luckily i have a very good "small shop" mechanic who did it for like $350 out the door. That included an oil change and gear & differential oil since i was at about 65K miles. On a side note. Saturn dealerships seem have excellent service for fair prices. I took my car to them ocasionally since there is one next to my office and i wouldnt have to hitch rides back and forth from work to drop off or pick up. I was pleasantly suprised. They did good work and were friendly and professional, and really fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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