Yup, it was a wheel bearing. It needed work on the brakes, too, to the tune of more than three bills.
Further, the local guy (who comes insanely highly recommended; it's been years since I've seen a small shop with such nearly universal rave reviews) won't do rear wheel bearings on Subarus, and recommended taking it to the dealer, so it still needs a wheel bearing.
FML.
Still, it's got over 200k on the odo and after more than 3,000 miles the oil is unburned and it hasn't used a drop, and you don't eat a pig like that all at once, so I guess I'm going to be calling around to get the wheel bearing fixed...
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21 comments:
The shop needs a press to do the bearing. If they don't have it....
The updated bearing will require an updated hub too, if I remember correctly.
You may spend more money on the part, but save in labor by buying the entire hub assembly. I'd at least check it out before committing to rape from a dealer.
If not, take lots of lube with you, for you, not the car.
Ouch, hope you can get it repaired for a 'reasonable' price.
The fact the mechanic wouldn't change the bearing made me curious, so I looked the procedure up on the internet.
It takes special tools, removing the axle and someone that knows the inherent problems associated with the specialty assembly.
Bummer.
Japanese auto engineering is often "interesting". I think if I ever find the absolutely wonderful person who designed the front rotors on my 77 Accord I would still cheerfully shake his throat.
Been learning with Manda's little subie, lots of mechanics are scared of the "all-wheel-drive" and screwing something up.
Is the Zed Drei fixed up enough you can fall back on it?
You should be getting perfect weather for drop top driving up there.
On the chance misery loves company I discovered the plunger tube on my Taurus 1911 is loose last night.
I discovered it after it allowed the plunger to slip past the safety during my draw stroke bringing everything to a halt. Safety was half off allowing hammer to fall to half cock but still locked the slide so a tap-rack-bang was impossible.
I got it going after a loss of 20 seconds or so ruining what had been a pretty good match up to that point.
Carteach is dead nuts on. Doing the bearing itself is a massive drag.
Your mechanic will probably be very willing to do this if you can find him a knuckle. A lot of subies have this issue, most of them get fixed early on, and when wrecked, they go to the yard with the nice new knuckle still in good shape. If you can find one, and no they're not common but not impossible, you might be able to go to the yard, get the knuckle (Which has the new bearing and hub already installed) at which point it's a matter of yanking the bolts out of the suspension bushings and swapping out the whole assembly instead of merely the part.
it should not cost too much to have this done, even if you go to Subaru, though. And it will be worth it.
What Og said.
>It takes special tools...
Funny, that sounds like my old POS Subaru...
Wait till you see the $400, potted in epoxy, two transistor, installed without heat-sink-grease module that stands in for points and condenser.
-SM
Japanese auto engineering is often "interesting".
This trait carries over to mechanical and electro-mechanical devices such as cash handling equipment. (Coin wrappers, currency counters/sorters, cash dispensers, etc.)
And another "What og said."
Local U-Pull-It has 2 '98s and a '01 Forester, the knuckle is $25. Lemme know if that part will work and if you want it.
What Og, Paul, and rickn8or said.
Also, cars that don't burn oil actually do, they just replace the burned oil with dissolved sludge and condensate water. Something to consider each 6,000 miles or so.
OKay, every anwer above is eithe non-responsive or wrong. I have replaced several Subaru rear-whell bearings, or had it done. It is matter-of-fact straightforward and inexpensive if you have a modicum of mechanical skill and the ability to take the hub to a standard auto machine shop for pressing.
1. The axle nut comes off.
2. Marke the camber bolt so you can put it back int eh same place.
3. Remove teh camber bolts.
4. Remove teh lower control arm bolt
5. Take the hub to the auto machine sho.
6. Politely ask "Would you please press this old bearing out and pout a new one in? And coule you put in a new inner seal too please?"
Wait for your phone to ring 3-4 hours later.
Go get your hub and bolt it back together.
Ask at www.ultimatesubaru.org if you are still skeptical or would rather rely on random opinionating from non-mechanical non-Subaru drivers.
Yeesh.
orly?
perhaps you can show us how that's done, o wise one. No doubt you are much smarter than Carteach and I, two ASE certified auto mechanics with 60+ years of experience between us. Oh, and Tam has tools required to do light gunsmithing, and probably not a lot more.
I like how you say "The axle nut comes off". Last AWD vehicle I worked on, that took a half hour and a 3/4" drive breaker bar with a 6' piece of pipe. I'm sure Tam is gonna jump right out and get to work on that right away.
the suggestions above were intended to be helpful;, all of them basically were, and not snide and dismissive. Tellya what, if it's so easy just sneak on by Tams house and do it for her. If I lived 100 miles closer, it would already be on jackstands in my garage being fixed. I would imagine Carteach feels about the same.
non mechanical. lol. This is one of the major reasons I DON'T drive a subie, a powerful lot of them are insufferable assholes.
WV: ufuctur recedes. ufuctur recedes there.
Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory strikes again.
Reinforcing og's comments, I can say the click wrench used in the factory to confirm the torque on a Subie nut is a big sumbitch.
Oh, I dunno, Og. I've never had a problem getting the axle nuts to turn on a Subaru.
It's getting the rest of the car to stay still that's an issue. ;)
Jeez I wish I'd known this before doing twenty or thirty Subie wheel bearings in the recentish past. Personally I haven't found them to be all that big of a deal to do, certainly no worse than the rear WB's of a BMW or MB. Buying a used replacement knuckle is a reasonable way too solve the problem for a while but Subies do tend to go through them faster than some brands.
As an aside I start working at a Toyota dealer next week so if you still want one of those Subaru/Toyota thingies II'll be able to put a word in. And they are much better looking in person.
You people are making me wonder if I bought the right car. Perhaps the newer Subies are a bit better in this regard.
Subies are great Freeholder, don't let this sort of thing scare you off. They have very few expensive pattern failures. My only real complaint with them is doing valve adjustments on the DOHC 2.5s but that is more my inability to add and subtract correctly so I usually need to swap shims aa couple times per valve and by the end I'm looking for a brick wall to beat my head against. Fortunately one rarely actually needs to change the shims when checking valve clearances. Pretty bulletproof cars overall.
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