replace all wheel bearings & cv boots '96 legacy brighton?

[porcupine73]

Howdy, planning to do a turnaround on my '96 legacy brighton 2.2L AT 105k miles. Wondering if I should preemtively replace all four wheel bearings and the inner and outer cv joint boots and repack with redline cv-2 on all four shafts; not really noticing any issues other than boots have little crack marks on them but aren't torn. Would probably pick up a hubtamer if I do it.

 

Also wondering if there's anything else I should just do at this time in addition to what I'm already planning to do: replace timing belt (includes check oil pump back plate screws and reseal and o-ring, replace cam and crank seals, replace water pump) replace brake rotors (warped), brake pads, rebuild capliers (have oe kit), replace strut&spring assemblies with outback components for lift for winter and trailing, change coolant and oil. Thanks!

 

edit: oh forgot tires are cupping on inside edge so also checking ball joints, suspension shake down, and alignment, hopefully at alignment specialist or dealer, after complete.

[Sube dude]

...I'm already planning to do: replace timing belt (includes check oil pump back plate screws and reseal and o-ring, ...

 

Given its' age, I'd throw in a new oil pump while the front of the engine is accessible. I'm told by a very experienced Sube wrench that the '95 & '96 EJ22 has a poor oil pump with similarily poor longevity. Mine expired at +/- 150 k mi. FWIW, I'd use a new OEM OP, not aftermarket one. HTH.

[tcspeer]

I would not change the back wheel bearing, I have 322,000 miles on the bearing in the rear of my Legacy wagon and they are still good, however the front ones have been changed around two or three times. I also would not change the shafts until the boots break. The other things probably need changing.

Howdy, planning to do a turnaround on my '96 legacy brighton 2.2L AT 105k miles. Wondering if I should preemtively replace all four wheel bearings and the inner and outer cv joint boots and repack with redline cv-2 on all four shafts; not really noticing any issues other than boots have little crack marks on them but aren't torn. Would probably pick up a hubtamer if I do it.

 

Also wondering if there's anything else I should just do at this time in addition to what I'm already planning to do: replace timing belt (includes check oil pump back plate screws and reseal and o-ring, replace cam and crank seals, replace water pump) replace brake rotors (warped), brake pads, rebuild capliers (have oe kit), replace strut&spring assemblies with outback components for lift for winter and trailing, change coolant and oil. Thanks!

 

edit: oh forgot tires are cupping on inside edge so also checking ball joints, suspension shake down, and alignment, hopefully at alignment specialist or dealer, after complete.

[avk]

Sube dude: are 1995-96 oil pumps worse than 1990-94? They're probably the same part. I don't remember hearing about them having problems, other than loose screws on the back cover.

[RallyKeith]

I wouldn't touch any bearings or the pump. If it aint broke don't fix it. My 95 has 198,000 miles on it with all original parts outside wear items like brakes, clutch, and one front half shaft. I've only replaced the rear main while replacing a clutch, and the cam seals while doing the timing belt because I was there and it was a total of $30 extra. My car doesn't burn or leak a drop of oil and has no oil pressure issues, and personally this is the first I'm hearing anthing about 95-96 having oil pump issues. In fact, everything I've ever read says 95-96 are the best years for the 2.2, but that's me, and I'm only a statistical sample of one.

 

Keith

[idosubaru]

at 105,000 i'd definitely hold off. i've put over 50,000 miles on broken boots with clicking CV's...they are not going to fail and be a reliability issue. so when they finally do break you have pleeeeennnnttty of time to have them done with a brake job or something like that. same with bearings, they should give you ample warning, i've never had any bearing failures on a couple of 200,000+ mile soobs. i pre-emptively had my replaced at a little over 150,000 on one vehicle just because it was very old and i was redoing alot of front end work, but the originals were fine...and i think they're now on someone else's vehicle!

 

the EJ's do have some wheel bearing issues, more so than older soobs but i'd still wait. they make noise and give you a heads up, i wouldn't do it as maintenance. 105k seems early.

[porcupine73]

Ok great, thanks for all the input guys. I will stick with what I had originally planned doing and will pull the oil pump to replace the o-ring and check for the loose screws. I just figured since I'll have the rotors, calipers, and struts out, if I were going to do the bearings and boots it would be a good time to do it.

 

I just did that on my '00OBW and a few of the screws were a little loose but two were so tight I had to use easyouts on them. But I bent the pump case getting it off anyway and the rotors were at the upper clearance limit so I just replaced the whole thing.

[hohieu]

I had my front inner right and left boots fail at 90K and 107K miles, respectively. If it were me, those are the things I would preememptively replace rather than waiting until they split, especially as you will be doing the struts.

 

I did mine on car by just pulling the joint from the differential stub. The inner joint disassembles, which allows you to clean all the old gease out. I believe that Subaru uses a Hydroxy II Stearate based CV grease so mixing with other greases of the same base should not cause chemical degradation of the mixture. I was extra careful and ordered a Subaru grease (yellow) for the front outer bell joints. I cleaned some of the old grease out with a rag and repacked with the oem grease.

 

If you wait until after the boots break, it's hard to know how much dirt and water made its way into the joint. But if you do it now, you'll know your oem joints are still good and won't have to mess with aftermarket half shafts.

 

From what grossgary's says, it would seem that oem NKN joints are bulletproof and worth preserving.

[RallyKeith]

As a point of reference for anyone reading, the inner boots on a Subaru are always the first to go. It's a simple fact because they are located so close to the catalytic convertor. Something else to keep in mind is that when replacing then you should use one piece replacements from the Subaru Dealer. Subaru has invested a lot of time in the material used for those boots because of their proximity to the heat. A new replacement boot from the dealer should last a very long time, as do most orinigals these days.

 

Keith