Preemptive wheel bearing/hub replacement, good or bad idea?

Hello All,

I am going to be doing a decent amount of work on my new-to-me 2.5GT over the next few weeks. I bought the car a few months ago with plans to restore it and enjoy it for hopefully many years.

 

I am currently struggling with getting the front ball joints out because of the infamous pinch bolts. This has brought up memories of several youtube videos of people struggling with replacing the wheel bearing/hub assemblies, especially the rears, due to corrosion. I am worried that if I wait for the wheel bearings to wear out (car is 10 years old, 108k miles), when I do go to replace them it is going to be impossible for me to do it myself.

 

Does it make sense to just replace them all now, since it will only get more difficult as time goes on? They are not horribly expensive from Rock Auto (Timkin, SKFs are a bit more spendy). I'll get one of those "hub busters" and take care of it over the next few weeks while I take care of the control arms, brakes, and other things. The car is going to be off the road while I wait for turbo coolant lines.

 

Thoughts?

You need the ole Shake N Break tool. I used them to get ball joints out of any Subaru I work on... it's a bit of a life saver.

 

In the second post of this page... https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/stewdoggs-2010-gt-269205p23.html

there's a couple links to them and a little explanation of how I use them.

You need the ole Shake N Break tool. I used them to get ball joints out of any Subaru I work on... it's a bit of a life saver.

 

In the second post of this page... https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/stewdoggs-2010-gt-269205p23.html

there's a couple links to them and a little explanation of how I use them.

 

Hmm, I do not have an air hammer or adequate air compressor to use air tools. I was going to try to use a centre punch and hammer on the threaded side to try and break-up some of the rust, I also got a MAP torch but I am hesitant to use it.

you need to get yourself one of these bad boys. they'll pop the ball joints out right quick

 

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-78620-Subaru/dp/B01JBJFK3C/ref=sr_1_3?crid=VX9C11L04FE4&dchild=1&keywords=subaru+ball+joint+tool&qid=1608758067&sprefix=subaru+ball+%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-3

you need to get yourself one of these bad boys. they'll pop the ball joints out right quick

 

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-78620-Subaru/dp/B01JBJFK3C/ref=sr_1_3?crid=VX9C11L04FE4&dchild=1&keywords=subaru+ball+joint+tool&qid=1608758067&sprefix=subaru+ball+%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-3

 

I am aware of this tool, but its around 55-60CAD so I am planning to keep them attached to the control arms and hammer the whole assembly out. I am replacing the control arms, so I do not mind damaging them, as long as I don't dent anything else

Hmm, I do not have an air hammer or adequate air compressor to use air tools. I was going to try to use a centre punch and hammer on the threaded side to try and break-up some of the rust, I also got a MAP torch but I am hesitant to use it.

 

I guess I forget that everyone doesn't have an air compressor and air tools. They really change everything when working on your own stuff.

 

I'm a firm believer that if it ain't broke... if it's a mechanical part, obviously some stuff requires preventative maintenance.

 

I don't think the control arm will be much more difficult down the road. They are difficult enough the way it is. Unless you're hearing something or your bushings are torn I would leave it alone.

You can use that control arm money towards an air compressor and impact gun...

 

Good luck either way you go!

I guess I forget that everyone doesn't have an air compressor and air tools. They really change everything when working on your own stuff.

 

I'm a firm believer that if it ain't broke... if it's a mechanical part, obviously some stuff requires preventative maintenance.

 

I don't think the control arm will be much more difficult down the road. They are difficult enough the way it is. Unless you're hearing something or your bushings are torn I would leave it alone.

You can use that control arm money towards an air compressor and impact gun...

 

Good luck either way you go!

 

I live in a neighbourhood in which using air tools would result in a bylaw officer at my door. Otherwise I would be using them all day, my electric impact gun and wrench are used far less then my breaker bars because of their poor performance.

 

The wheel bearings are not needed yet (based on my understanding of how to check them), but the control arms in the front have torn bushings and one of the rear control arms is slightly bent. I just received them along with the brake parts (front calipers are gone), the Mevotech stuff is really nice!

I am aware of this tool, but its around 55-60CAD so I am planning to keep them attached to the control arms and hammer the whole assembly out. I am replacing the control arms, so I do not mind damaging them, as long as I don't dent anything else

 

GL...had multiple ball joints stuck on multiple subarus, and no matter how much pounding on the control arm i was never able to get them to release, and i live where there's no salt and rust on the cars...i understand not wanting to drop the dime, but it really makes the whole job much, much easier...first time i used it on my old outback with 250k miles the ball joint popped out in about 30 seconds after i had heated and beated on it for 2 days.

I used the Astro ball joint separator under $30 on Amazon

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JBICZYK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

1. remove cotter pin and castle nut

2. put tension on ball joint

3. tap lower control arm with hammer ball joint will pop from control arm so I would have a cart under the wheel if you are on a lift to catch the tool

4. remove half shaft from hub or make a heat shield to protect the shaft rubber I choose to remove it.

5. heat up knuckle and bolt

6. remove bolt with impact driver

7. drive a chisel into the slot

8. air hammer (big nasty) ball joint lip to spin it and it will come right out

9. when you install it. use copious amounts of anti-seize on ball joint where it makes contact with knuckle.

10. put anti-seize on bolt shaft only and reinstall

11. reinstall half shaft

23. reinstall LCA to ball joint

 

When I did this on my 2010 outback 3.6R at 150K when replacing passenger side ball joint, axle seal and both lower control arms... Passenger side took 3 hours and driver side took one for LCA

GL...had multiple ball joints stuck on multiple subarus, and no matter how much pounding on the control arm i was never able to get them to release, and i live where there's no salt and rust on the cars...i understand not wanting to drop the dime, but it really makes the whole job much, much easier...first time i used it on my old outback with 250k miles the ball joint popped out in about 30 seconds after i had heated and beated on it for 2 days.

 

OK, I am going to try this universal ball joint service kit I got off Amazon first, it might have a cup that will work, else I'll buy the tool. Since I am replacing the control arms themselves, I was hoping to get them out with the ball joint in one piece, saves me from separating the ball joint from the control arm. I'll let you know how it goes!

I would think by leaving the ball joint in the lower control arms, it would give it better leverage. When I did my LCA I separated the ball on the 1st LCA, because realizing the new LCA already had the ball joint installed. I think I reinstalled the ball joint to remove it from the spindle. (My car is a rust free SoCal cars, so I don't have to deal with corrosion.) The 2nd one I remove the complete LCA as one piece.

 

I would probably leave the rear wheel bearings as is. It very well could be a PIA to just remove it now.

For the ball joint make sure you use a penetrating oil and take your time with the pinch bolt - if that snaps it makes the job a whole lot more involved (for that reason, since you live where there is road salt, I am inclined to go with the "if it's not broke, don't fix it' approach - you can make something that you planned as preventive maintenance turn into something pretty unpleasant...

My front left Wheel Hub/bearing needs replaced...not looking forward to this at all. When I had my LCA bushings replaced I ended up taking it to a shop to do. Cost an extra $150 in labor because even with their professional tools and experience, they had to fight the hell out of it.

FWIW, years ago my trusted mechanic asked me to just get a new knuckle to save on the labor charge of fighting the broken pinch bolt.

 

 

 

https://www.carparts.com/details/Subaru/Legacy/Replacement/2005-2014/RS28080001.html?TID=gglpla&origin=pla&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=221983653&gclid=CjwKCAiAirb_BRBNEiwALHlnD3x6CQfHEVKr92-V1ul2NPWg9rHCSwwFUuo_IJwqmw9l8HFQceOm7BoCLPwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edited December 31, 2020 by Max Capacity

FWIW, years ago my trusted mechanic asked me to just get a new knuckle to save on the labor charge of fighting the broken pinch bolt.

 

 

 

https://www.carparts.com/details/Subaru/Legacy/Replacement/2005-2014/RS28080001.html?TID=gglpla&origin=pla&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=221983653&gclid=CjwKCAiAirb_BRBNEiwALHlnD3x6CQfHEVKr92-V1ul2NPWg9rHCSwwFUuo_IJwqmw9l8HFQceOm7BoCLPwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Yeah, I spent some time both front pinch bolts this evening, after replacing the turbo coolant lines that disintegrated as soon as I laid eyes on them. They are in there reeaaal good and I now understand what people mean when they say "rust welded".

 

I think new knuckles make sense given the labour rates where I live, given that I am stuck replacing the front control arms, one of the bushings seems to have completely failed. Anyway, I am going to take a few days with no work or car repairs, I was hoping to have so much done on the car this week, but nothing seems to be turning out as planned!

I have replaced all of the wheel hub bearings on my legacy. The ball joints and control arms were replaced later. You can definitely replace just the hubs. The ball joints can be separated or left in place if unbokting the strut for removal.

 

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Happy New Year! After watching a video on YT, it was clearer to me on leaving the ball joint when replacing the hub. The hub seems pretty easy actually, even if you need to bang the hell out of it to remove the old one. With that said, I'm pretty sure my ball joints are rough anyway.. I like the idea of just replacing the entire knuckle. Nice and clean, for minimal cost. Pretty easy to leverage the LCA compared to the rest of the assembly.

Happy New Year! After watching a video on YT, it was clearer to me on leaving the ball joint when replacing the hub. The hub seems pretty easy actually, even if you need to bang the hell out of it to remove the old one. With that said, I'm pretty sure my ball joints are rough anyway.. I like the idea of just replacing the entire knuckle. Nice and clean, for minimal cost. Pretty easy to leverage the LCA compared to the rest of the assembly.

 

Happy New Year to you too! Things took a turn for the worse over the weekend, I found that a portion of the engine cradle that the driver's side control arm mounts to was in really bad shape (see image). I ended-up taking it to a local mechanic with alot of Subaru experience, the new engine cradle, control arms, and bushings (steering rack and sway bar) were installed today. It should be fully reassembled with an alignment tomorrow.

 

I really wanted to do as much work myself as possible, but the pinch bolts scared me enough, when I realized how bad the engine cradle was it was game-over. I have new front calipers, brake lines all-around, camber-adjustable rear end-links, and a few other goodies that I had the mechanic install now that my delusions of mechanical grandeur have been crushed.

 

The bright side is that I should be able to enjoy the car alot more once this is done, even with the all $$$ spent.

oooof, that's a big old hurt. glad to hear you're getting it all fixed though. for every DIY guy there's a point where it's better to just throw up your hands and let a professional take care of it. don't let it rock your confidence, keep going and do the stuff you want to/can do.

The rust doesn't look good. I looked the part number up 50527AJ00A list price is $516.51, it interchangeable between all 5th Gen years (2010-2014) engines (2.5i, 3.6R and GT), transmission and transmissions.

 

I wonder if yours is bad luck or if this will be more common going forward in the rust belt.

The rust doesn't look good. I looked the part number up 50527AJ00A list price is $516.51, it interchangeable between all 5th Gen years (2010-2014) engines (2.5i, 3.6R and GT), transmission and transmissions.

 

I wonder if yours is bad luck or if this will be more common going forward in the rust belt.

 

I took it to a local shop (All About Imports in Mississauga), the owner has done several of these and mentioned that it is a design flaw where there is no drainage for water/snow/ice that accumulates in the area around the engine cradle where the control arms mount (see attached image). I definitely do not think it was bad luck, this area of the engine cradle was in FAR worse shape than the rest of it, so it does seem like a design flaw. If you look at 2015+ Legacy subframes, they have a different design of that area of the engine cradle...

 

The strange thing is that the local Subaru dealer indicated that that replacement subframe should be 50527AJ01A, not 50527AJ00A like it says on Subaru's website. I assume this is a revision to the original subframe, but it looks almost the same from the picture on the website, so I'll send some pictures of this area from the installed unit once I get it back from the shop on ?Monday?. BTW, in Canada this is a 1000CAD part, but everything is more expensive here compared to the US.

Edited January 10, 2021 by motorbreath

Wow. Now I'm going to be looking all around when I get under there lol although I'm in the rust belt, I don't anticipate the same levels as from further up north. Will be ordering parts today... vibrations seem to be increasing and a little bit of drift has begun. We'll see if I have to tap out as well once I get knee deep. My neighbor is a mechanic so I might need to extend some neighborly IOUs for some help.

 

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What brand/retailer did you end up going with? The TRQ ball joints and hubs are cheap... but i know other brands on Rockauto are more commonly discussed here.

What brand/retailer did you end up going with? The TRQ ball joints and hubs are cheap... but i know other brands on Rockauto are more commonly discussed here.

 

I replaced the coils with OEM and the dampers/mounts with KYB (all 2013/2014 3.6R versions) a month ago. For the front control arms I used Mevotech "Supreme" based on what the mechanic from the South Main Auto channel on youtube recommends. They come with the ball joint pre-installed and new pinch bolts. For the rear lower rearward end link I went with Moog, they were the only camber-adjustable one apart from ACDelco, which is the same part just marked-up.

 

I have not done the hubs/bearings yet, my mechanic says the existing ones are fine, but when I do it will be either Timkin or SKF. My uncle (a mechanic) recommends Timkin, SKF are pricier but seem to have a great reputation.

I was under the car now that it has the new subframe, seems to be the same design as in the picture above, not revised. This is quite disappointing, I'll be under the car a few times a year to apply fluid film and get on top of rust as it will eventually form around the mounting points for the control arms...