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Front Wheel Bearing on my 01 OBW, how hard to replace ??

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I am noticing a worn bearing noise from the front of my 01 OBW and was wondering how much of a PIA it would be to replace them myself... :banghead:

 

The noise continually gets worse when accellerating, worsens on corners and disappears on moderate braking... Just rotated tires, no change...

 

I will be replacing brake pads shortly, and either new rotors or resurfacing, was hoping to do all that at once, it not too bad to get at the bearing.

 

TIA to all that respond...

since you need a press to put the new bearing in, that means paying for shop time hours and all that jazz, it would probably be the same cost to just get a reman. one or one from a JY or something, check to make sure your axle nut is torqued down all the way, i have a 98 legacy sedan that "had" a front left bearing going south, just tightened up the loose axle nut, and behold. fixed.

 

 

 

 

~Josh~

  • Author
since you need a press to put the new bearing in, that means paying for shop time hours and all that jazz, it would probably be the same cost to just get a reman. one or one from a JY or something, check to make sure your axle nut is torqued down all the way, i have a 98 legacy sedan that "had" a front left bearing going south, just tightened up the loose axle nut, and behold. fixed.

 

 

 

 

~Josh~

 

Had the pass side tranny/axle seal replaced in Jan/Feb. I'll pull the pass side front tire and check the nut...

 

Thanks, I'll be in touch with the results...

 

Didn't know about the "pressing" issues with the hubs. I might just as well let my buddy (has his own shop, works on Fleet trucks, Ambulances, etc...) do the job. He's always willing to work on cars too.

  • 4 weeks later...
  • Author

Just got it back today from my buddy's shop. He works on large "Fleet" vehicles (Ambulances, Small busses, vans, trucks, etc) Since he's now on his own, he's not turning down the chance to try his hand at other vehicles...

 

Found that the inner hub seal was "boogered" up by the last shop that replaced the axle seal in February. The bearings were kinda rusted out... Little did he know that it required pressing in. To top it all off, he busted the bolt head off the bottom knuckle bolt. He wasn't too happy...:banghead:

 

I was able to get all the parts for him this morning :banana: (new seals and the bolt) and he was able to get the rest of his bays open again. It was blocking 3 of his bays...

 

and now, he's pulled out a Beck Arnley World parts sign that says "Import Service done here " that he's modified with a Circle and Slash... No more Subaru's in his shop....

 

Guess I'm still on the look for a decent Sube Mechanic in the Rochester NY area... Still want to avoid the 3 area dealers if I can...

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