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Front Wheel Bearing -- DIY Walkthrough


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The axle looks fine, It was an original hub that came off (car has 105,000 miles) the hub is a TIMKEN HA590315 which is the correct and well-tested hub it seems according to posts on here.

 

As I said I can get the axle into the hub but its just out of reach of being able to start threading the axle nut on. I tried to push it further but its not budging.

 

Has anyone tried heat, or a certain lube on the axle? How about raising up the suspension with a jack to shorten the axle span? Thanks! -Paul

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think my front right wheel bearing is going

 

Im a big stickler for new noises, and there is a low/medium hum going around 60/70mph

 

I can feel vibration that matches the hum on the steering wheel and brake pedals

 

this seems like a straight forward install.. just need to confirm if it is def a wheel bearing

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  • I Donated
I think my front right wheel bearing is going

 

Im a big stickler for new noises, and there is a low/medium hum going around 60/70mph

 

I can feel vibration that matches the hum on the steering wheel and brake pedals

 

this seems like a straight forward install.. just need to confirm if it is def a wheel bearing

 

Does it get worse when you turn a particular direction?

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Could be the axle. Replaced already? Reman or new? Some reman axles are known to have hum/vibration issues.

 

Turn your steering wheel at higher speeds and there should be a change in both noise and intensity... either a lack of, or increase in, both. If no change, I'd suspect other than wheel bearing, absent a physical evaluation with the wheel off the ground.

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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Does it get worse when you turn a particular direction?

 

Could be the axle. Replaced already? Reman or new? Some reman axles are known to have hum/vibration issues.

 

Turn your steering wheel at higher speeds and there should be a change in both noise and intensity... either a lack of, or increase in, both. If no change, I'd suspect other than wheel bearing, absent a physical evaluation with the wheel off the ground.

^ will try this out, thanks ^

 

 

 

when looking under the car I have these axles. the only reason why i think they are the same is because of the green "can" that is on the axle

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/attachments/problems-maintenance/215681d1446477290-oem-reman-axles-more-axle-talk-again-004-medium-.jpg

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I'm getting a wheel bearing replaced tomorrow morning, and that humming noise starting at 40 mph is what clued me in that it is going bad. If I wasn't scheduled to work the 100 Acre Wood Rally (which means about 700 miles of driving over four days & starts Friday morning) I'd be willing to try fixing it in the driveway this weekend.
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  • 1 year later...
Just make sure you put on the brake dust shield back on correctly...ask me how I know.

:lol: I did this same thing.. I was like wtf I ben't it out of the way but it's still rubbing that's when I looked at the other side and that's when I got pissed.

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  • 1 month later...

Tomorrow will be my third day of fighting my stuck bearing. Only working on it in the evenings after work though, so not as much time as it seems. Wish I had read through the majority of this thread before tackling this project. I buggered up the studs pretty bad, so the slide hammer and old rotor tricks seem to be out of the picture.

 

I was feeling a bit defeated today and thought popping the ball joint down and sliding the axle out would give me a little more room to beat on the bearing from the rear. It definitely opened things up a bit, however the space is still really congested and there's not much room to swing a hammer.

 

Going to try to get my hands on an air chisel tomorrow. This thing has been soaking in penetrating oil for about 24 hours now. Great thread btw, thanks for everyone's contribution.

Edited by pawling11
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Tomorrow will be my third day of fighting my stuck bearing. Only working on it in the evenings after work though, so not as much time as it seems. Wish I had read through the majority of this thread before tackling this project. I buggered up the studs pretty bad, so the slide hammer and old rotor tricks seem to be out of the picture.

 

I was feeling a bit defeated today and thought popping the ball joint down and sliding the axle out would give me a little more room to beat on the bearing from the rear. It definitely opened things up a bit, however the space is still really congested and there's not much room to swing a hammer.

 

Going to try to get my hands on an air chisel tomorrow. This thing has been soaking in penetrating oil for about 24 hours now. Great thread btw, thanks for everyone's contribution.

 

I would strongly suggest heading over to your local Autozone/Oreillys and renting one of their wheel bearing pullers. I went down a similar road as you before doing so with no luck. Got the puller and 15 minutes later, it was off.

 

Looks similar to this:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kqMqoDU7WLY/SiYhKFaVX2I/AAAAAAAAH5Y/VJ5OgcuzdSg/s800/CIMG0717.JPG

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  • 2 weeks later...
I need to add that the left front axle is a non oem one and has about 25k on it. I paid 50 bucks on ebay for it :rolleyes:.

 

 

That's more likely the issue. Replace that with a Cardone (OEM spec'd rebuilds for Subaru) version and, if the AM on your was like the one on my BD, the sound will be gone. Your front diff bearings may be suspect as well.

 

 

 

Sound clip?

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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I had a Duralast bearing on my left rear, it lasted maybe 40k before it started screaming.

 

Huh. Interesting.

 

That's more likely the issue. Replace that with a Cardone (OEM spec'd rebuilds for Subaru) version and, if the AM on your was like the one on my BD, the sound will be gone. Your front diff bearings may be suspect as well.

 

 

Sound clip?

 

I will have to replace it anyway. I punctured the outer cv boot in the process :mad:. Thanks for the tip on the brand to get.

I don't have a sound clip yet but MAN it is loud. It is louder than my AVO mufflers! It kinna gets louder when I add load on the left front bearing. But when I decrease the load on it, the sound level barely decreases.

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Same thing on my BD. Change out the axle. Tighten the nut using the brake pedal, don't put the wheel back on the ground and torque it. Risk borking the hub bearings. Once the wheel is on the ground, then do a final torque and dimple the nut.
- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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Quick update...

 

 

After some troubleshooting (putting car on four jack stands), it was obvious that the left front axle and left front wheel bearing were not generating the noise. Additional checking showed that the right front wheel bearing was most likely the culprit. 'Luckily', I had a spare Timken bearing in my garage. So I installed it last night, including replacing the passenger inner CV boot (for the fourth time!). This morning, had my wife run the car (still on four jack stands) and had it go 50-60 mph a few times. Horrible sound gone!!! So relieved that it was not the front or center diff or something like that.

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  • 2 months later...

Alright my turn. Replaced my front left axle and wheel bearing (timken) with seemingly recommended parts.

 

I'm pretty sure i removed the speed sensor early enough for it to avoid any damage from fire and hammer sliding. Although i did snap off the speed sensor bolt and drilled and tapped the spindle.

 

Either way, get it all back together and the car is clearly not registering the sensor anymore. (ABS light, cruise light)

 

Pull the sensor out and remove any schmoo. looks good. Same lights on.

 

What's the move, find another one? Will duralast work in this situation? new from dealer? Also, how the hell do you get to the speed sensor wire connector? it's on the frame rail and i can't reach from bay side or below.

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305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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