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Comments
-mike
Car has 140k miles and I am thinking wheel bearings are bad. My questions are: 1, would turning the hubs by hand give an audible indication of a wheel bearing problem at such a slow speed with no load, and 2, do I need any special tools to replace them myself, what exactly needs to be done and is it a particularly difficult job?
Dealer prices in the past have been rather expensive so I thought I might do it myself.
All the axel boots look good by the way.
Thanks for the help,
Regards,
Bill
I had the opposite experience with my Forester, 9 years no problems. I saved up enough to pay cash for its replacement.
Thanks
You might have one bad shock, is my guess.
-mike
Unless it is really bad! I have had a couple bearings (not on Subaru) that I could tell were bad by turning the wheel by hand, but that action was not necessary to make the determination! One revolution of the tire on the road cleared up any doubt!
-mike
I told my grandmother, who was driving, to watch out because the wheel was coming off! She did not notice it at first and told me I was crazy, but by the time we crested the top of the ramp, the wheel was about 2+ feet out the side of the car (clearly coming out with axle attached, at this point!). Then the car finally dropped to the ground, sparks flew, and it skidded to a stop. Rather than stopping to help, my grandmother drove around and kept going, citing the "questionable appearance" of the car.
That was a pretty crazy thing to see.
-mike
I have a decent set of tools and reasonable mechanical skills, but no specialty tools and have not worked on cars since I was a kid, but thinking of doing so based on the cost and quality of service I get at the dealer.
Thanks again,
Bill
-mike
And I bet you put the springs on right too.
Bill
thanks
momar
Paul
-mike
The dealer is not very helpful, they just say that it is going to cost a lot to solve the problem, but refuse to give me a price. Do you know exactly where the drain is?
Thanks...Colin
[Or did this dealer just want to move the expensive filters off his shelf and I got 'Tokyo Rooked'?]
They did this due to the proximity to the headers, especially on the turbo cars could cook the oil in the filter.
-mike
This is my fourth Subaru, and I have never had this problem before. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions?
Thanks, Misty
I had an old toyota crown where the automatic transmission "slipped" on first starting of theday, either direction, till it got going in 20 sec.... I figured a bad check valve in there somewhere.... May not be worth fixing though.
I haven't noticed it when going forward.
Recently felt vibration that was unfamiliar, occuring usually early in the am, after about a 2 mile drive, a quick stop for coffee, then about a mile down the road it starts...just an odd, noticeable but not head-rattling, shimmy or shake as i'm accelerating in the 3rd-4th gear, 35-45 mph region...and it doesn't last long. Had my mechanic ride in it once when it was happening, and he felt it, and thought it might be drive train related. Bad u joints perhaps. But today, when he had it, he couldn't get it to do it again, and he couldn't find anything wrong underneath. He was kinda miffed, as am I.
Any thoughts?
Oh, also have had the viscous coupling replaced about a year ago, fyi. It's aligned, tires are even and balanced, and we're confused.
thanks for any help
chris
They don't feel as grippy, but I'm not sure I want to try and do (or know how to check on) the brake fluid.
Other Subaru extensive forums?
Thanks.
Relatively easy DIY, shoot me your make, model, build date, etc and I can get you part numbers via e-mail if you want.
-mike
thanks a million.
-mike
Not likely to be trouble & someone else here might know how to correct it. Have a good autoelectrician look at the engine electrical systems.
Some stereo shops can install a Noise Suppression Kit.
These whines aren't always easy to fix or trace but ask a good stereo shop what they can do for you.
Visiting Host
extended warranty.
Recently a month back that my front right wheel is making skweaking
sound (metal rubbing) on sharp, slow turns. I took the car to the
dealer.
Dealer took a look at the car and mentioned that "The front right
wheel is touching back while taking sharp turns (mainly right)making
that sound and would require
right front strut, hat bearing, wheel liner to be replaced with approx
cost of 800.00."
I mentioned the vehicle is under warrenty, but he said this is the
result of the road hazard not the defect. My wife never experienced
any situation that would have caused this. The discussion with the
dealer was fruitless.
I asked another dealer the cost of same maintenance. He came up with
the estimate of around 550.00 so I took the vehicle to him. This
dealer mentioned that there is no damage after observation and would
require whell balancing.
I took the vehicle to the local "TiresLesSchwab" tire center. He (good
guy) also could not balance the whell and given the estimate of around
550.00 with total including parts like -
1) lower control arm 2) gr2 strut.
Now I am more confused - with questions. Any help would be
appreciated.
1) Does the extended warranty covers the struts movement, I do not
remember any road hazard situation that happened to my vehicle.
2) Why the parts naming is different with the first dealer and
the "TireLesSchwab" guy?
wheel is touching back while taking sharp turns (mainly right)making
that sound and would require
right front strut, hat bearing, wheel liner to be replaced with approx
cost of 800.00."
This seems viable, for sure, cause if the hat bearing were bent or damaged it would cause a wobble and could cause the wheel to be cocked a bit. However, it's not likely that the wheel would actually rub if it were only the strut and the hat bearing.
The LesSchwab guy is on the right track with the Lower Control Arm, because if that were bent then you would get rubbing of the wheel.
In my opinion this was caused by hitting a pothole of some sort and would not be covered under warranty. Further, I would go ahead and replace both front struts (best to always replace in pairs) and long with the lower control arm on the damaged side, and the strut-top/strut-top bearing, and the wheel well liner.
Based on the prices they are giving you, you are looking at about $1000 in damage which wouldn't be warrantyable.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
-mike
It might be worth having a look at the ower control arm fixings. Years ago, I had a similar problem with a whell alignment proving impossible. Eventually traced to a U-shaped fitting with a bush inside it surrounding the lower sway bar, which had been pushed back about an inch. Replaced the fitting and instant fix
Cheers
Graham
What do you think....Please advise as I really can't afford much.