Replace Bearings in Pairs?

[gathermewool]

Thanks for the additional comments.

in addition to the new Husky 250 ft-lbs torque wrench I purchased last night I also purchased a 32mm 6-point socket.

I believe the torque is 177 ft-lbs, though that was just one source for a non-turbo Foz. They might be the same but I need to confirm.

I had a Forester. Same issue. Funny thing is, I went to the shop and told them. it's the right side rear. Mechanic insisted it was coming from the left. So he does the left, noise stil there. So in the end, ended up doing both anyway. I would probably do just the one. Apparently these bearing are undersized for the vehicle. I'm old.....I remember a time when replacing wheel bearings was un-heard of.

I have the holiday weekend off, so Ill spend some time with the wife driving around to see if I can confirm the correct side, just in case the mechanic got it wrong.

 

[Driz]

I think I will actually t


Thanks. I saw that video and may try it myself if I can find the time and the bearing doesn't get worse.

My main question was whether to do both at the same time, which many have answered.



I was using bearing and hub assembly interchangeably, sorry. The hub assembly has to be replaced in this case.



I may attempt to do it myself. Combine that with the fact that the mechanic won't be able to offer any sort of discount (no common parts from left to right), so there's no benefit besides reduced downtime to replacing both, I think.



That may be the case, but I feel like the OE hug assembly (from Subaru Parts Warehouse) may be more durable than some aftermarket assembly. Thoughts?



My wife said he drove the car with his brother (partner) in the back, listening for which side the noise was coming from. I should do the same thing with my wife driving (me in the hatch area) to see if I can confirm the side easily.

Corrosion is my biggest concern. I'm worried that I'll not be able to get the assembly out, and that I'll be stuck with it halfway out. It would really suck if I had to tow the vehicle to the shop after getting a quote (with my tail between my legs).

Now that I've been thinking about it a while, I guess the four bolts that attach the assembly should provide enough torque to pull the assembly back to where it's supposed to be, either helping to break it loose further or putting it into a condition where I could drive it to the shop if worse came to worst.



I think this is the consensus and what I'll be doing. I want to confirm for sure that the rear left bearing is the culprit, so I'll have to take a drive while riding in the trunk. If so, I'll try to take a shot at this job myself.

The only thing I'll need to purchase is a higher-rated torque wrench. Any recommendations there for something that won't be used often? I just purchased a Husky 50-250 ft-lbs click-type for $90 due to the Lifetime warranty, but I can always return it.

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for something like that check out the Auto Zone tool Share program. I can’t say theirs go any higher than what most of us have but if they do you just buy it and return it when you’re done. I’ve used that for a lot of odd things. Not the very best tools but still quite decent.......as long as some cooter hasn’t hammered it to death. It’s worth a call at least.

 

[Chris142]

Thanks for the additional comments.

in addition to the new Husky 250 ft-lbs torque wrench I purchased last night I also purchased a 32mm 6-point socket.

I believe the torque is 177 ft-lbs, though that was just one source for a non-turbo Foz. They might be the same but I need to confirm.



I have the holiday weekend off, so Ill spend some time with the wife driving around to see if I can confirm the correct side, just in case the mechanic got it wrong.

Don't drive it much. It can cause more damage.

 

[gathermewool]

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for something like that check out the Auto Zone tool Share program. I can’t say theirs go any higher than what most of us have but if they do you just buy it and return it when you’re done. I’ve used that for a lot of odd things. Not the very best tools but still quite decent.......as long as some cooter hasn’t hammered it to death. It’s worth a call at least.

My previous torque wrench was so bad that I ended up badly pulling some suspension component fastener threads. I’m not sure I’d trust a used, banged up, shared torque wrench when I can justify to my wife the purchase of a brand new one for less than $100.

I also can’t return ”new” (used) items. I just can’t do it.

Don't drive it much. It can cause more damage.

Does damaging it more matter if it’s going to be replaced?

Is there a “point of alarm”, where more than just the hub can be damaged, that I should be aware of? My wife needs the vehicle, but CAN limit herself to only essential duties, which includes little more than taking the kiddo to school two miles away twice a week.

 

[Jetronic]

you could wear the abs sensor away if really bad, depending on the layout.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

nothing more is going to be damaged by driving it till you fix it. You’re not going to be driving it like this for enough time that it develops play and the wheel moves so much an abs sensor, brake bracket, etc is damaged.

 

[4WD]

I second only replacing the bad one. That's all I've ever done on a Civic and Honda Accord.

I think with that age and miles, just one. BiL did both on his GMC … but at 220k …

 

[gathermewool]

nothing more is going to be damaged by driving it till you fix it. You’re not going to be driving it like this for enough time that it develops play and the wheel moves so much an abs sensor, brake bracket, etc is damaged.

Right.

I forgot time mention no play on either side, checked lifted with tire on.

 

[1foxracing]

Do it yourself, looks really easy.

I'm thinking that video is worthless to the OP, that car has no rust. The OP is in New England not Arizona and I would assume has some rust. Here is the same job with a car driven in a similar environment. Bring your 10lb slide hammer.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

I had a Forester. Same issue. Funny thing is, I went to the shop and told them. it's the right side rear. Mechanic insisted it was coming from the left. So he does the left, noise stil there. So in the end, ended up doing both anyway. I would probably do just the one. Apparently these bearing are undersized for the vehicle. I'm old.....I remember a time when replacing wheel bearings was un-heard of.

Right on Philipp10, Tapered roller bearings on front axles and roller bearings on real axles almost always outlasted the vehicle.

 

[gathermewool]

So, I have a new 250 ft-lbs torque wrench and a 32mm socket. I've got all of the other hand-tools. Based on the above video, however, I think a slide hammer is in order, too. Anything else you guys recommend for this job AND A HALF SHAFT replacement.

It's been almost a decade since I last replaced a half shaft. I got good at it then, with so many junk Cardones. This time, I went with OE for something like double the cost. I know that might make some of you who recommended used axles in my previous thread cringe, but if I'm going to do this job, I don't want to have to do it again.

Thanks again for all of the advice, and for talking me to into trying it myself.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

I’ve never replaced a Subaru rear axle and I worked in a Subaru shop almost 11-12 years.

never used a slide hammer for this job either. You’re replacing the hub so you can hit it directly. The whole backing plate will likely come off with the hub bearing. Then you’ll smack it from its backside to get it out of the backing plate. Using a slide hammer, you’ll still end up in the same situation; the backing plate is going to come off with the hub and bearing.

 

[gathermewool]

I think, after 80k miles in the north-east, rust will be an issue. So, while I might have to contend with the assembly sticking to the backing plate, the worst part might end up being breaking loose the initial rust-weld. I think the second video demonstrates how much quicker removing the assembly is with the slide hammer, too. Finally, I’d rather have a tool that may not be necessary than have a vehicle out of commission because I can’t get the dang thing fully off with the slide hammer.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

No arguing with being prepared. I haven’t watched any of the video links but I know how the slide hammer would work, just haven’t done it that way. I guess being in a shop they’ve always been replaced with the assistance of working overhead as opposed to on a jack stand laying down, and with air.

 

[Andrew1972]

Subaru gets third rate bearings or has terrible bearing engineering dept. I replaced two under warranty extended to
120k on our legacy gt and the. Yep out pocket. No other brands an issue.

 

[raburn2906]

In my experience if one is going bad, the other one isn't too far behind. If you're doing it yourself, go ahead and knock both out and be done.

 

[The Critic]

One only. The wheel bearing is most likely failing due to an impact, not normal wear.

 

[HangFire]

I agree with the previous poster... Spinning the wheel, even grabbing the spring, I could feel nothing on my Dakota. But driving it was like crunchy rocks.
No opinion on the one or both sides thing... I would go by tuhe OEM part reputation. If this is not a common problem for this model car, do one, if a common problem, do both.

 

[gathermewool]

No arguing with being prepared. I haven’t watched any of the video links but I know how the slide hammer would work, just haven’t done it that way. I guess being in a shop they’ve always been replaced with the assistance of working overhead as opposed to on a jack stand laying down, and with air.

When I was in the Reserves I had access to the base hobby shop. I miss having access to a lift

Subaru gets third rate bearings or has terrible bearing engineering dept. I replaced two under warranty extended to
120k on our legacy gt and the. Yep out pocket. No other brands an issue.

What did you end up going with? Or did you get rid of the car before the next bearing went?

In my experience if one is going bad, the other one isn't too far behind. If you're doing it yourself, go ahead and knock both out and be done.

That could very well be the case. However, there is no time saved doing both at the same time. I have more room in the middle of the garage, so I won’t be able to just lift the rear end from the rear diff and have at both sides; I’ll need to rotate the car, so the subject assembly is facing inboard.

One only. The wheel bearing is most likely failing due to an impact, not normal wear.

What kind of impact. My wife hasn’t reported sliding into anything (winter) and there’s no curb rash on any of the wheels (very rare for us to parallel park). As far as a direct impact from a pot hole, I’m sure we’ve hit several cringe-worthy holes over the years, but none recently. Since Covid, we haven’t really put any miles on this vehicle, except for the one trip to her dad’s in NH a couple of weeks ago.

I agree with the previous poster... Spinning the wheel, even grabbing the spring, I could feel nothing on my Dakota. But driving it was like crunchy rocks.
No opinion on the one or both sides thing... I would go by tuhe OEM part reputation. If this is not a common problem for this model car, do one, if a common problem, do both.

I wouldn’t say that bearing failure is prevalent in this model and year specifically, but it’s common enough to be note-worthy for Subarus in general.

We’ve had to use the vehicle, though relatively low miles, and the bearing isn’t getting any worse. Well, it could be getting 0.5% worse every drive and I guess we wouldn’t perceive it and it hasn’t been long enough for it to cumulatively get so bad to be obviously worse.

As such, I’m in no rush to get this thing replaced. I’m actually in maintenance of qual school at work, so there won’t be much time after work to work on this for the next few weeks. I still have weekends off; however, the next couple of topics are Reactor Theory and Radcon/chemistry, so I might even put in some extra hours during the weekend to ensure I pass by a good margin.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

Did you call Subaru to see if it’s under any extended coverage? I’m pretty sure it is so common that they extended coverage on it.