Replace Bearings in Pairs?

[gathermewool]

do a pic of that thing ( the bore too) and was it rust or something else?

I’ll be dropping by tomorrow morning to drop things off. If I have time and it’s still open I’ll get a pic for sure!

 

[spasm3]

do a pic of that thing ( the bore too) and was it rust or something else?

I bet it will look like the front hub on my avalanche. I got it out with chisels and a BFH.

Pic of removed and then cleaned up a bit.

 

[Delta]

Looks like you got it sorted! Been watching this thread rooting for ya, but sometimes you gotta throw in the towel.

I'm an avid DIY'er, but sometimes I know something is beyond my means. Case in point the rear wheel bearing on my truck. While solid axle it has a hub style bearing, and there's several DIY articles on it and can be done without a press. Something told me it would be stuck, and sure enough the shop I took it to broke his 20 ton press trying to get it out. Still only charged me 2 hours labor.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

sometimes you just have to have a good old fashioned CO2/Alcohol soak followed by a smoke wrench massage in a 100 ton vise to get a stubborn fits attention

 

[Trav]

The rust belt is awful! I am glad I didn't recommend the Sawzall which is many a time the last resort. Cut through it almost fully then hit it with an air chisel to break it. On something like this if you did go through very slightly it would make much different at all but if it used an external seal then you have a problem.
Unless you have some experience and know what you can get away with and what you cant its best not to mess around with some of these techniques.

 

[gathermewool]

They still need to test drive the vehicle when they have time this afternoon, so I’m not out of the woods just yet! Fingers and toes crossed, knocking on wood over here!

I stopped by and shot the chit with the my mechanics for a bit this morning. They had trouble with the CV shaft but said they got it after a while, using the old clip - I saw it and the clip looked perfect, for whatever that’s worth. I called multiple parts departments and none of them carry the circlip! They each told me that I had to buy a new CV shaft!!!

The clip I drove down to get last night was the wrong one. She checked again today and confirmed that there isn’t a separate part for the clip.

Anyway, I want to thank all of you for your help and votes of confidence! Gotta love this forum!

Here‘s a pic of the knuckle hole after they cleaned it up nicely. I feel shame when I say that it doesn’t look as bad as Spasm3’s but still bested me! All well, it was honestly fun trying.


Now I wait for the bill...

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

Wow, that inner surface really looks like a hard corrosion weld.

You have nothing to be ashamed of on that one. Its like Prego- "its in there"

 

[Trav]

They still need to test drive the vehicle when they have time this afternoon, so I’m not out of the woods just yet! Fingers and toes crossed, knocking on wood over here!

I stopped by and shot the chit with the my mechanics for a bit this morning. They had trouble with the CV shaft but said they got it after a while, using the old clip - I saw it and the clip looked perfect, for whatever that’s worth. I called multiple parts departments and none of them carry the circlip! They each told me that I had to buy a new CV shaft!!!

The clip I drove down to get last night was the wrong one. She checked again today and confirmed that there isn’t a separate part for the clip.

Anyway, I want to thank all of you for your help and votes of confidence! Gotta love this forum!

Here‘s a pic of the knuckle hole after they cleaned it up nicely. I feel shame when I say that it doesn’t look as bad as Spasm3’s but still bested me! All well, it was honestly fun trying.


Now I wait for the bill...

That looked almost like it was welded in there, kudos for giving it your best shot!

 

[mattd]

I would have took the knuckle off the car and used a hydraulic press to get it out.

 

[Trav]

That had been discussed earlier in the thread.

 

[mattd]

I’m aware of that I read the thread. As soon as it wouldn’t move after that first bout of “hammering” it would have gone right in the press and saved a lot of that hassle

 

[Trav]

IIRC he wasnt sure he could get that apart either, some of these Subaru parts get bad rust. I almost always remove them and press it but I have a big press right here and get myself out of trouble when if it happens..

 

[gathermewool]

I’m aware of that I read the thread. As soon as it wouldn’t move after that first bout of “hammering” it would have gone right in the press and saved a lot of that hassle

You’re absolutely right. I was concerned about destroying the two ball joints while removing the knuckle, however, removing the knuckle was very likely within my capabilities. If I had the confidence (read experience) I would have done what you said much sooner. In the end, I could also have likely saved money by replacing the knuckle entirely!

Live and learn.

One of the reasons I gave up and didn’t do as you say was due to tweaking my neck pretty badly early on. Even still, I kept hope for most of the time that I was one more hit away from this thing coming loose. I gave it my all and finally called it quits when my mechanics agreed to drive over to my place, take a look at things, coach me along or, as happened, help me decide that the next course of action included getting this thing up on their lift.

Depending on how much this one hub assembly costs me in the end will weigh very heavily on whether doing the other side is worth my time, should that side fail before we get rid of the car :knocks on wood:

 

[doitmyself]

Do it yourself, looks really easy.

LOL, your very first reply (thanks Nick 1994!) kind of put the jinx on the project right away. 8 pages later.......... How many times have we DIYer's started a project and ended up on a late Saturday night wondering what to do until the parts places, help, etc., open up on Monday morning?

 

[Nick1994]

LOL, your very first reply (thanks Nick 1994!) kind of put the jinx on the project right away. 8 pages later.......... How many times have we DIYer's started a project and ended up on a late Saturday night wondering what to do until the parts places, help, etc., open up on Monday morning?

Very true, but we don’t have rust to deal with in Arizona. When my Jeep was 20 years old I did the front wheel bearings (similar setup to this) and they just fell off after unbolting.

 

[Trav]

I wish I could say the same thing. I have to do 2 engine oil pipes later today and I can already see they are going to war against me. LOL

 

[gathermewool]

Well, we've got her back and the noise is reduced between 1/3 and 3/4 depending on speed. I haven't spent any time in the trunk, but it sounds from the driver's seat to be the rear left still, though lower amplitude.

Cost: 1.1 hrs for coming to my house +3.8 shop hrs, ($135 for tow minus $135 USAA tow reimbursement) = $490 for just the one bearing.
-----If it had been much higher I would have argued that they spent too much time messing with the axle circlip when a new axle would cost less in man-hours.

All well, still cheaper than a couple of car payments!

//

I'm hoping the residual noise is due to tire noise. Any thoughts?

Tire: Yokohama Avid Ascend GT's
Install: 9/2019
Rotated: 3/25/20 @ 5184 miles on them (noted excessive wear on outside of both rear tires by 1-2/32" (i.e., 7/32" vs 8-9/32")
Aligned: 3/26 (found excessive tow-in all around, except for front right)
Link: Ascend Wearing Badly

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

Run your hands around the tires especially the edges. See if you feel them cupped. If a tire is cupped to the point it’s noisy you can typically feel it.

 

[gathermewool]

Run your hands around the tires especially the edges. See if you feel them cupped. If a tire is cupped to the point it’s noisy you can typically feel it.

I'll try that tomorrow. I could also put the winter wheels/tires on there for a test drive.

 

[gathermewool]

I just submitted the towing claim for $135 and USAA instantly reimbursed me the whole amount. Nice. I've had their Roadside Assistance for a while now and never made a claim, so maybe that's why.