vic Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 I have a 1999 Forester with 169,000 miles and just had to replace the right wheel bearings for the third time. The first replacement was at 91,000 miles. The second replacement was at 102,000 miles but my mechanic did not charge me for that replacement because he said it should not have gone out that fast. Yesterday I had to replace the wheel bearings on the same wheel for the third time at 169,000 miles. I wonder what may is going on here. It is always the right rear wheel. I do know that about a month before replacing the right wheel bearing for the first time I had bounced that wheel on a culvert when a pickup truck swerved into my lane and I had to take the ditch. This was at very low speed just as I turned onto the road from a complete stop. I had just shifted into second gear when I took the ditch. Could I have done some damage elsewhere in taking that ditch that would cause the wheel bearings to keep failing? I appreciate any insights or theories you may have in this regard. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Are they putting in oem replacement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 This is covered by a TSB for the Forester. It uses an Impreza platform and the wheel bearings are not suitable for the weight evidently. I have had both a Forester and an Impreza do this. The fix is to substitute the Legacy style roller bearing wheel bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 This is covered by a TSB for the Forester. It uses an Impreza platform and the wheel bearings are not suitable for the weight evidently. I have had both a Forester and an Impreza do this. The fix is to substitute the Legacy style roller bearing wheel bearing. This is what I recall reading PLUS the bearings are very sensitive to mis-alignment during installation and care must be used to do it with proper equipment. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 So far with 140K mine are original. The alignment was a real pita, though. What year Legacy Bearings work for a '99 Forester? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 I also have a 99 Forester with original wheel bearing and well over 130,000 on it. I think CA roads and the lack of corrosion may help. I have heard folks say that the seal areas are very critical to good life on the replacement Legacy bearings. It may be necessary to replace any corroded surface to extend life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 It's also crucial to make sure that you pack the bearings with the correct kind of grease. SVX bearings come with packing grease, not bearing grease, and this has caused a lot of problems for them. I would just make sure that other Subaru bearings don't come like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 I wonder what may is going on here. It is always the right rear wheel. I do know that about a month before replacing the right wheel bearing for the first time I had bounced that wheel on a culvert when a pickup truck swerved into my lane and I had to take the ditch The knuckle itself is probably out of round, and is the reason you keep going through them. Get one from a junkyard for like $30 and have a new bearing and hub pressed in. If there is even a tiny little groove or lip on the hub, it needs to be replaced as well. Otherwise the bearing will be toast in short order. All rear bearings have been superseded to the better tapered roller bearings, so now they're all the same. Since they've been replaced that's what you have. It's also crucial to make sure that you pack the bearings with the correct kind of grease. SVX bearings come with packing grease, not bearing grease, and this has caused a lot of problems for them. I would just make sure that other Subaru bearings don't come like that. You definitely do not need to repack a new Subaru bearing. The new genuine Subaru rear wheel bearings are not to be packed with grease of any kind. The bearing is ready to install out of the box. Source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 You definitely do not need to repack a new Subaru bearing. Source And I'm saying that it's extremely common that new from Subaru SVX bearings do NOT come with the correct grease. http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/How-To/28201.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Good suggestions above however I think you have a bad hub, I would get the spindle from the wrecking yard as suggested above but I would not press new bearing and hub in, I would leave the bearing and hub in the spindle and repalce the whole thing. I dont know about the grease that comes in the bearings now but it used to have to be removed and repacked, I know because I installed one with the grease that it came with and it lasted about one month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 The first section of the following may provide some clues: http://www.endwrench.com/pdf/drivetrain/02WinterInsiderInfo.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.