[the_gille]

I put this ? on nasioc.com too but...

I need new wheel bearings in the rear of my '01 RS and a buddy of mine told me it isnt too hard but hes not familiar with my car so he couldnt be sure. I found the bearings that I need but I got a little confused when I started looking at seals. So basicly I need to know what kind of seals and grease Im going to need, and some kind of basic procedure for doing the job. Thanks for any help!

Ben

 

[Guest]

The rear wheel bearings are pressed into the hub/knuckle on your awd car. The job is a PITA! The safest way to do it once is to remove the knuckle(the cast part that everything is attached to) assy from the car and have a machine shop press the new bearings in. You can try to do it in the car, but any damage to the new bearing and you are doing the whole thing over again. Subaru has 'special tool' to handle rear wheel bearing replacement. How many miles on your car? Subaru has a problem with rear wheel bearings(mostly Forester) on cars made in Japan, including Impreza. You may be able to get warranty help from the dealer. The warranty for wheel bearings is 36,000 miles. If you are anywhere close to that I would want subaru to do the work. If you need detailed instructions, call or PM me.

Sean Sexton ceo
Rallitek Performance Inc
[www.rallitek.com]
[email protected]

 

[scrubaru]

I had a rear drivers side wheel bearing go over the summer. I took it into subaru and they said I was too far over warranty and they wanted to charge me over $400 to replace the bad bearing. I ended up taking it to a local guy and he did it for less than $200. The parts were only like $35 but labor is where most of the money went. Oh well I wasn't about to do it when I found out what was involved.

 

[10th Warrior]

when i first got my car, every 6k miles like clockwork one/both of the rear bearings would fail. they finally replaced both rear hub assemblies, all under warrenty of course.

unfortunately, as Rallitek pointed out, all the bearings on our cars are sealed. generally, the only place one finds non-sealed wheel bearings is on non-drive wheels. those are pretty easy to replace, though wheel bearing grease takes the prize for the nastiest grease ever. anyway, you'll need a hydrolic press to get the bearings out and put the new ones in. if you havn't purchased the bearings yet, don't get OEM replacements. Subaru went cheap on the RS and used a caged type bearing. these are very weak. on the legacy and the WRX, they used a tapered roller bearing, which is much, much stronger. these fit our cars. or you could probably find a rally/race bearing somewhere for cheaper then OEM stuff. good luck ben.

 

[Peaty]

My rear one is starting to go too I think. I usually do things myself but I'm gonna let the dealer do it. I don't want to mess it up. Looks like there are too many mistakes I could make. Look here:

http://www.endwrench.com/pdf/drivetrain/BearingReplacementInfoF99.pdf

and here:

http://www.endwrench.com/pdf/drivetrain/02WinterInsiderInfo.pdf

 

[the_gille]

Thanks for the help guys. I just rolled over 40,000 and the service guy even called the extended warenty place and tried to talk them into it, but no luck. I guess Ill just get some WRX bearings and have the dealer put them in. Any recomendations on places to get bearings for a good price? Thanks again for the help!
Ben

 

[Guest]

10th Warrior picked up on subaru's design flaw. Impreza/Forester models used weak bearing. Legacy used tapered roller bearing. Subaru has an internal memo(service bulletin) about using the Legacy bearing when replacing rear wheel bearing on Impreza/Forester. If you only have 40,000 miles SUBARU WILL FIX YOUR CAR! I was a subaru service manager for seven years. As a service manager if your car is within 12 months or 12,000 miles OVER factory warranty I didn't even have to call Subaru to approve the repairs. It sound to me like your dealer is not being very helpful. Call 800-subaru3 and complain, go back and ask to see the service manager instead of the advisor you would usually talk to. SUBARU WILL PAY 100% of your wheel bearing if your car is '01 with 40,000 miles on it. They know they have a problem. Is your extended warranty a subaru factory policy?(added security) Subaru added security extended warranty will cover the wheel bearing. Make some noise!

sean

 

[Peaty]

From what I understand they have a new part number for the Impreza rear bearings which are basically just the Legacy ones. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Guest]

Peaty , you are correct, use Legacy part#'s for Impreza/Forester rear wheel bearing.

sean

 

[Peaty]

Thanks I feel better having checked

 

[the_gille]

Thanks for the info RalliTek, but its my fault that I need new bearings. I got a little ouchy in the snow. I may try it anyway though.
Ben

 

[10th Warrior]

like peaty said, there are alot of ways to screw up the install, even the dealer's guys can fuck it up in my experience

 

[Peaty]

like peaty said, there are alot of ways to screw up the install, even the dealer's guys can fuck it up in my experience

This is very true, the good thing about them doing it is they have to redo it not you. The only thing is the cost. I got 2 quotes, one from my dealer in Lawrence around 420 and in Topeka 240 I think. I'm not sure why the big difference.

 

[the_gille]

Thanks a lot for all your help guys!
Ben

 

[Peaty]

Ben,

If you do get it fixed somewhere soon, let me know what they charge I'm curious.

Peaty

PS The KC Scooby guys need to get together again soon it's been a while.

 

[the_gille]

We do need to get together. Ill be sure to let you know where I get it done at, Im going to call a bunch of places in the next few days.
Ben

 

[10th Warrior]

are any of you KC guys coming down to 100 Acre Wood?

 

[the_gille]

Peaty, I got it done at the dealership, and for some reason they decided to do it under the extended waranty. I didnt find any place in the phone book that I was comfortable taking my car to so I just had them do it.
Ben

 

[2.5rsleeper]

Let the ressurection begin:

I have a 2001 RS with 45k on it. Like gille up there, i got a little too friendly with a curb and i may have fucked my right front bearing. Are there big differences between the rear and the front bearing and, do you think i could still get this replaced under warranty, even though i have not extended it?

 

[2.5rsleeper]

bump.....can anyone help?