1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacement

Flywheel, Clutch, Transmission, Axles, etc...

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bry
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1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacement

Post by bry »

Cyclic shimmy at 70+ mph. Slight whirring noise. Put car on jackstands, right front wheel had 1/4" play as measured at OD of 175/70-14.

Disassembled to find PO had installed new half-shaft. Did not run axle nut up completely before staking. 1st gen legacy bearing is dual tapered roller (timken) in a single housing. The outer race is one piece and inner races are two piece. If the axle nut is not tightened completely, it will not pull the inner races together and properly preload the bearing.

The dual tapered bearing design is better than a dual ball path bearing (i.e. honda) as it has has a larger surface area (tapered roller) than a ball bearing and a wider bearing convergence angle. As such, legacy bearings should last a LONG time in comparison. If your car is all original, and you have less than 200k miles on it, make sure the "bearing noise" you are hearing is not worn tires....


PO had also separted lower ball joint during axle install. This ruined the boot due to picklefork. NOTE: Lower ball joint need not be separated to install new axle/halfshaft. Instead, remove caps on inner control arm bushings!!!

Bearing is not too hard to remove and replace, but you must have a press (or special tools).

A word on parts: DO NOT USE TIMKEN BRAND SEALS! These are metal cased single lip. Instead use SKF, original design and quality. DO NOT USE AUTOZONE AXLE NUT. These are made in China and are not accurate. Use only genuine Subaru or Beck Arnley.[/b]

Bearing Removal
  • remove knuckle from car. things that must be removed or separated include: caliper, caliper bracket, rotor, splash shield, lower ball joint, 2x strut bolts
  • using a 6" split bearing puller, install on the outer side of the hub and flush against the circumferential shoulder located on the housing. nice of subaru to cast that feature as it works perfectly with the 6" bearing puller.
  • now take to the press and using two 4x4 blocks of wood (or whatever) to act as a riser, place assembly outer side down so bearing puller bridges across wooden blocks. this clearance is needed to give the wheel hub somewhere to go.
  • using a driver smaller than id of inner bearing cone (1.25" diameter works), press against face of splined hub shaft until wheel hub drops out, then remove split bearing puller. note that the outer seal and bearing cone will still be attached to the hub shaft.
  • now to remove cone from wheel hub. install the split bearing puller between the seal and the bearing cone. usinng the 4x4 blocks as a riser, place the assembly hub face down so bearing puller bridges across wooden blocks.
  • using same drive previously used, press hub free of outer bearing cone.
  • remove inner seal with a screw driver. note that it has a megaphone shaped face seal that presses against the face of the halfshaft.
  • using standard inside snap ring pliers, remove the snap ring. i know the snap ring looks different than what you are used to, but standard snap ring pliers are what you use to remove it.
  • remove the inner cone and save for use in removing the cup.
  • position knuckle on press, inner side down. you will need to use a riser (about 1") to level the knuckle. in this position, it will be standing on two points, the tie rod arm and another portion of the housing. this works just fine, don't be scared.
  • place the cone into the cup, and using a 2" diameter piece of bar stock, press against the cone. the cone will press against the cup and cause it to slide out the bearing bore. it may be a little tight. don't give up.
  • clean knuckle bearing bore and wheel hub seal and shaft areas with kerosene.
Bearing Installation
  • remove the new inner bearing cones from the outer cup and clean away the "protective" grease applied at the bearing factory. use kerosene as a solvent. DO NOT DROP THE CONES, THE CAGES ARE BRITTLE PLASTIC AND WILL CRACK! blow the kerosene away with compressed air, or just roll on a towel until it is gone. i assure you, timken does NOT pack enough grease for road use.
  • pack the bearing by hand, smashing it under the edges of the bearing cage with the palm of your hand. for taper bearings, i use good old moly-sulfide "disc brake bearing grease" from STA-LUBE.
  • go to your press, and using a piece of round steel (i used 3.25" diameter x 3" tall) as bottom support, place the knuckle outer side down onto it.
  • next, apply a light coat of grease to the inner bore of the knuckle. the grease will help things press together easily.
  • using the outer race or cup from the old bearing, press in the new cup all the way until it stops. don't worry, the old race won't get stuck in the bore. subaru is pretty good about their design work.
  • reinstall the snap ring
  • install a cone on the inner side of the knuckle.
  • apply grease to the inner seal lip AND outer diameter, then using the old timken cup and a hammer, carefully tap the seal in until it is against the snap ring. CAREFULLY!!
  • flip the knuckle over and drop in the other cone.
  • Again, apply grease to the outer seal lip and the outer diameter. using only a hammer, alternately tap around the perimeter of the seal until it is flush with the face of the knuckle.
  • smear a little grease on both wheel hub seal and shaft areas . again, the grease helps things press together.
  • using the same piece of round steel used previously, place the wheel hub face down so that the steel is within the wheel studs.
  • on top, place the knuckle outer side down onto the wheel hub shaft. this will place the hub shaft into the bore of the outer cone. next, find a socket or something that fits inside the inner seal, but is larger than the bore of the inner bearing cone (i used 2" diameter x 4" long).
  • carefully align, the assembly and begin pressing. after the hub shaft has started, release the press pressure and get another bite (this helps eliminate the potential for misalignment). continue pressing until it suddenly becomes very stiff, then release the press pressure. note that you are pressing the inner cone against the outer cone and against the hub shaft in a sandwich. the hub will just slide in until its shoulder bottoms against the face of the outer cone.
  • hold the knuckle in your hand and wiggle the wheel hub, making sure there is zero slop. if all is well, it's ready to go back on the car!!!
kleinkid
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Post by kleinkid »

Great writeup, thanks for doing this.
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Post by N1446 »

i ve read somwhere along this fourm that packing the wheel-bearing is not recommended because of the location of the part

supposedly, the excess grease acts as a dirt-magnet effectively wearing out the bearing pre-maturly ?!

i do know where to look when i do this in the spring! excellent write up !
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Post by Legacy777 »

We've been through this. There's a post around by Michael, DerFahrer about not needing extra grease.
Josh

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Post by RJ93SS »

all that and no pics???

kidding.

welcome to the board
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bry
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Re:

Post by bry »

N1446 wrote:i ve read somwhere along this fourm that packing the wheel-bearing is not recommended, the excess grease acts as a dirt-magnet effectively wearing out the bearing pre-maturly ?!
maybe back in the day additional grease was not needed. this is the day of stiff asian competition and insane ceo compensation. timken used to be a respected brand. now they re-label cheap crap as their own and sell for the same price as premium, just so the ceo makes a big bonus and the stockholders are happy. same goes for the grease in the bearing. the less grease they pack in the bearing, the more money the company saves. the timken bearing i used was packed only on one side! the other side had zero grease!

if the bearing is fully packed, then sure, use it as is. but check it first, as i doubt you really want to do this job twice.

as for dirt magnet, that is why there are seals... to seal out dirt and moisture. the skf seals are as good as the original, and should do a super job of keeping out the nasties.
glennda5id
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by glennda5id »

I am replacing the wheel bearings this weekend on a 93 L. I bought Timken bearings and seals. Per your note I ran to the dealer and bought some OEM seals. I will compare and see what I think about the difference.
bry
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by bry »

cool... you will be happy that you did.. that timken or should i say NOK seal, is a total POS!!! greedy bastards trying to trick us into buying crap that won't work worth a flip! really boils my blood! it doesn't cost that much more to make it right, as evidenced by the same price at Napa for an original design seal....

please do report what you find. your findings will match mine and will help others from wasting time and money....
glennda5id
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by glennda5id »

My findings match yours. Basically the outer part of the Timken seal is only metal and has no rubber. Since I am not a wheel bearing engineer, I can't say if the design is sufficient, but I decided to install the Subaru OEM part. There is a reason all my cars I own are Subaru's....the engineering.

The Timken bearing I installed did say Japan on in it. It also seemed like it had a good amount of grease in it so I didn't add any.

This was my first time replacing a pressed in bearing. I ended up buying a 12 ton press half way through the process. The special tool I had borrowed from the local parts store was not able to get the bearing out. Also, I think without the press that I would not have been able to press the hub back in, not sure though.

I could not figure out how in the heck you were orientating the knuckle for extraction of the bearing outer race. I ended up using some spacers so that the hub was resting on the arm that would connect to the strut, and the arm that connects to the ball joint.

I did the drivers side bearing on Saturday (that one was bad) and I will do the passenger side next weekend. I expect it to go much smoother. I'm also replacing the struts, inner and outer tie rods and ball joints. She will be a new ride!
bry
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by bry »

to press out the wheel hub (and outer race), i did the same thing as you. stood the knuckle up on the tie rod arm and the part that connects to the strut. i had to use a spacer to level bore relative to the press cylinder (one of the plates that came with your press works just fine).

i am so happy that i finally bought a press (a few years back). it has paid for itself many times over!!!!
glennda5id
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by glennda5id »

I think you mean the ball joint arm, not the tie rod arm. If we are thinking about this like a clock and strut arm is 12:00, then the ball joint arm is 6:00 and the tierod arm is 9:00.
bry
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by bry »

yeah, that makes sense. not sure if it was the ball joint arm or not... i remember the tie rod arm and some other part of the knuckle. don't remember which part, but it stood straight up when shimmed and pressure applied to the wheel hub shaft. was very stable. i'm sure that is what you used as it is really the only easy way to get the thing apart....
glennda5id
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by glennda5id »

The drivers side bearing was bad, but I generally like to do things in pairs, and since I was already doing the passenger side strut I decided to do the passenger side wheel bearing. I noticed some things as I started to take everything apart on the passenger side. The dust shield was missing. Then I noticed that the strut camber bolt was missing the washer. I was like hmmm, why was this ever taken apart. Sure enough, when I got to popping out the bearing seals I could tell that they weren't Subaru seals and that they were the metal cased single lip seals that Timken (and probably other brands) make. So I guess the passenger wheel bearing had been done in the past, and by a real pro!

Do you think I need to get a dust shield?
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by kytomcmil »

if u get napa altrom bearings the are koyos with a new part number label on the box
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93Leg-c
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by 93Leg-c »

bry wrote:DO NOT USE AUTOZONE AXLE NUT. These are made in China and are not accurate. Use only genuine Subaru or Beck Arnley.[/b]
bry, first of all, excellent write-up!

I've got some questions: When you posted that the Chinese axle nuts are not accurate, what do you mean by that? Do you mean that the thread pitch on them are wrong? Or that they do not hold the torque properly?

I'm asking because I've got a clunking sound in my front suspension somewhere and everything seems tight--ball joints, tie rod ends, struts have no play; I tried getting play when holding the tire at 12 and 6 o clock position as well as the 9 and 3 position and got absolutely no play at all) except that the clunking is getting worse over the last several weeks. Something is definitely loose but I can't track it down and I got to wondering if the axle nuts are not holding the torque and allowing the axles to move in and out. The axles that are on the car are made in China (Empi brand, new, not rebuilt) and, of course, the axle nuts are made in China.

Could the loose clunking sound come from loose axles due to the axle nut?

I'd appreciate your thoughts and anyone else's too.

Thanks!
'94 TW
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by Apex3 »

93Leg-c wrote:
bry wrote:DO NOT USE AUTOZONE AXLE NUT. These are made in China and are not accurate. Use only genuine Subaru or Beck Arnley.[/b]
bry, first of all, excellent write-up!

I've got some questions: When you posted that the Chinese axle nuts are not accurate, what do you mean by that? Do you mean that the thread pitch on them are wrong? Or that they do not hold the torque properly?

I'm asking because I've got a clunking sound in my front suspension somewhere and everything seems tight--ball joints, tie rod ends, struts have no play; I tried getting play when holding the tire at 12 and 6 o clock position as well as the 9 and 3 position and got absolutely no play at all) except that the clunking is getting worse over the last several weeks. Something is definitely loose but I can't track it down and I got to wondering if the axle nuts are not holding the torque and allowing the axles to move in and out. The axles that are on the car are made in China (Empi brand, new, not rebuilt) and, of course, the axle nuts are made in China.

Could the loose clunking sound come from loose axles due to the axle nut?

I'd appreciate your thoughts and anyone else's too.

Thanks!
What kind of clunk? Is it a consistent clunk like it would be with a wheel bearing or CV? Or is it just sometimes?
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by 93Leg-c »

Well, I've never had a wheel bearing or cv joint start clunking on me. On my cars, when the wheel bearings went bad, it would either have a cyclic "whirbly" hum to it or start squeaking. And the cv joints would always start clicking.

The clunkings I'm hearing appear under a variety of conditions with slightly different noises. I'll try to describe them:
1--the noise appears under lighter load conditions, during low speed residential driving; I've haven't heard it while driving at highway speeds or while cornering semi-aggressively or harder,
2--the noise appears while going in and out of driveways, over speed bumps in parking lots, and especially when the wheels are not in the straight-forward position, or it can appear while just driving under 20 mph,
3--the noise is a heavy clunking, almost like when one of my front top strut mounts went bad and the strut was loose,
4--in addition to the heavy, dull clunking, at times there is a higher pitched metallic sound, like metal to metal contact, like one piece of metal hitting another,
5--just yesterday, when I got into my car and started sitting in the driver's seat, the loose clunking and metallic sound appeared; I tried to make the sound reappear but couldn't, despite getting out of the car and moving its weight up and down and side to side.

The noise is loud enough to cause pedestrians to sometimes look at me (or the car). It sounds very loose like it's going to fall apart in the not-too-distant future.
'94 TW
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by 93Leg-c »

bry wrote:the theads were tapered (chinese shyt) and it only ran up so far before hitting proper torque. unfortunately, it didn't preload the bearing and it was destroyed.
From another thread, I just found this post bry made, so that answers my question about the threads on at least some (or possibly all) Chinese-made axle nuts.

So, based on that post, it's very possible that my bearing is going bad.

Anyone care to confirm that possibility?
'94 TW
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by Legacy777 »

Anything's possible :)

Sounds plausible though.
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by beatersubi »

93Leg-C: sounds like an strut rod nut is loose to me.

Here is confirmation against buying SKF brand seals. I just did my fronts and ordered all my parts from rockauto, having not read the write-up beforehand. I got all SKF parts mainly to cut down on shipping time and cost. The seals are cheap and did not fit correctly. I had to silicone the OD of the outer seals as they fit loosely in the hubs. Very disappointed. Please, for your own sake, DO NOT BUY SKF WHEEL SEALS.
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by kimokalihi »

1991 Turbo Legacy Sedan Part Numbers

Wheel Bearings and Seals
------------------------
Front - Two of Each

Oil Seal In - 28015AA021
Baffle Plate - 28037AA012
Snap Ring - 28035AA010
Bearing - 28016AA011NT
Oil Seal out - 906250020
Ball Joint - 21067GA050

Rear - Two of Each

Oil Seal (In 2) - 28015AA110
Oil Seal (In 1) - 28015AA100
Bearing - 28016AA020NT
Snap Ring - 28035AA020
Oil Seal Out - 28015AA050

$377 + shipping and tax.
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bammer
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by bammer »

I'm working on my '93 Legacy wagon to do the wheel bearing.
I've gotten the knuckle out, but I had to unhook the ABS sensor cable and keep it with the knuckle. I cant get that thing to come out. I've removed the bolt. I've pried on it. Soaking it in penetrating oil.
I cant get the shield off with out pulling out the ABS sensor.
Anyone else ever had to deal with a seized ABS sensor in the knuckle?
Any ideas how to get it out and not destroying it?

Thanks
Britt
Legacy777
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by Legacy777 »

Unfortunately, you may have to beat it out and then replace the sensor. You may be able to find a used one. You can try keep soaking it in penetrating oil and see if you can eventually get it out.
Josh

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bammer
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by bammer »

Update,
Pressed out the hub today with the shield in place, then I was able to press out the ABS sensor with a deep well socket that was about the same size as the ABS sensor.
Outer bearing was ok, but the grease was quite dry.
The inner bearing had flakes of metal in it...ouch.
Hope my uncle can get me the bearing and seals at Napa tomorrow at his shop discount.

About 3 years ago I replaced the axle on this side with one from AutoZone for the previous owner. I used the nut that came with the axle. I wonder if that contributed to the wearing out of the bearing if it wasn't preloaded properly? But the car does have 230k miles on it, so maybe it was just its time.

Found out that the CV boot is torn also, but at least its a life time part replacement for free from AZ.

Still need to get a bearing separator to get the outer bearing off the hub. More fun tomorrow.

Britt
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Re: 1990 - 1994 Subaru Legacy Front Wheel Bearing Replacemen

Post by bammer »

Well the project goes on and on and on....
Got the bearing and seals today, then on my way back home stopped by the local AZ to get the axle, and it didn't get shipped to the store ( drove right by the one in the big city that had one eirler in the day). Bummer, so that threw me off, so I forgot to ask if they had a split bearing puller.

Back at grandpas' shop I pressed out the race and pressed in the new bearing assembly.

Image

Then I got to looking at the bearing on the hub. Messed with a 3 arm puller, no luck. Think I could have made it work if i had an extra arm or a 4" ratchet/pipe clamp.

Called the woman, she was in the big town and could stop by Harbor Freight to get the big split bearing puller, but first I went back to the small town AZ to find one on the tool rental list, but the guy gave me a dumb look and showed me the list of stuff they have for rent.

Bingo, thought I would try this for $108.

Image

It was a bit weak looking for a 2 ton puller, and two of the locks were broken off the main stay, BUT it still worked just fine!

So then I pressed i the hub back in to the knuckle using one of the old bearings as a spacer.

Later I got home and since I had left the cir-clip here, went to put it in.
As I was putting it in.....I noticed the ABS sensor ring, I left at home, that wasn't bolted to the hub. DOH!
So I guess I get to press out the hub again tomorrow :-) and try it again!!!

UGHHH!!!

Bammer
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