loose front wheel

[Busdriver]

Helloes,

I have a 1991 Legacy L AWD wagon, when I did a stock brake pad swap I noticed that my front left wheel was loose, when all the lug nuts were tight, so I wiggled the tire while looking behind it. There I saw that my CV boot is completely destroied, I noticed this before and am planning on changing the whole half shaft since the other boot is ripped too and they are making loud noise when making a left turn...
What I saw was that the whole CV body was moving around in the inside hub!! Now my question is, will this be thightened with a new CV or is the bearing shot?? Are there two bearings on these like an inside and outside bearing?? How can I best fix it??
Thank you!!

Bus driver turned Sooby scooder

[Manarius]

The wheel is typically loose when the bearing is shot. You're looking at a $200 job right there unless you have a press.

[professor]

you need to determine if the wheel is loose, or the steering knuckle (hub) is loose.

if the wheel only the wheel bearing is trashed

if the whole knuckle is moving, then likely the ball joint is trashed, and also check the steering tie rod. it is really the ball joint, tie rod and strut bolts that locate the knuckle, so the undue movemet is a problem there. the CV joint is a symptom or unfortunate second problem

note a bad wheel bearing can take down the other items if not attended, by beating everything to death with vibration

I like to do front work in pairs, it saves the inevitable same job on the other side

[Busdriver]

When I wiggled the wheel (front wheels were above ground) I could see the CV joint move inside the knuckle. everything else seemed to look tight.
So do you think I can take off the knuckle and take it to subaru to have them press in a new bearing? How much of a process is all that, e.g. taking the knuckle off.
Because if I take it to a shop they will do the same plus install a new axle which is probaly overpriced...

Thanks

[professor]

you should not be able to feel any real free play when you pull / push the wheel front to back (if you do, worn tie rod ends, could be inner or outer or both, look for ripped rack boots which kills the inner), or up and down (worn ball joint). other than that the other mount point is the bottom of the strut which has two large bolts. make sure they are tight, and make sure the three strut mount bolts under the hood are tight, and check the shock rod while you are at it.

the cv joint does not hold the hub on or hold it steady. It should be free to move a bit if you grab the half shaft, they move more easily when shot. but the wheel itself should be rock solid

there are plenty of threads to search for for how to do these things, and the Haynes manual actually is OK for the most part for this job

usually a dealer will refuse to do a partial job for liability reasons, but many independent shops will press bearings for a fee. I'm not convinced you have a bearing problem, though

[Busdriver]

Thanks Prof,
I will check that when I get home
My steering wheel vibrates very slightly when on the freeway...