Bro, thank you so much! I’ve been doing repairs on my 2012 Legacy. I live in a college town so every mechanic thinks they can up charge because the parents are most likely paying for repairs. But I am a single healthcare worker. I cannot afford these crazy prices. You’re really helping me out a lot. I just wanna tell you how much I appreciate it.
Get yourself some silver ounces my friend. The world is going to a digital gold standard currency, gotta follow the money. Gold and silver will do well.
I have the same problem with my 17 forester right now, was going to take it to the shop but after seeing this I can definitely do it myself! Thank you so much for making this!
Instead of using the pry bar method, you can grab the coil spring with your hand while you or someone else manually spins the wheel. You will feel a vibration on the coil spring with the bad wheel bearing.
A hub removal tool might not work. On my car the hub separated from the bearing leaving the bearing attached. I resorted to removing the knuckle and using my 20 ton press to separate the bearing. On the right side I damaged the back plate so much I had to replace that as well. 9 yr Forester in snow belt.
I can't believe how easy that came off. This took me 4 hours in the rust belt. I ended up using a hub buster and a 12 pound sledgehammer to get it off.
I absolutely love your approach and this channel. Just realized my rear driver side wheel bearing is done. Found the super helpful and I’m definitely going to get the same size tires. Cheers!
Thanks for the visuals! I've decided to do this job myself. The only thing I'd mention that you don't cover in this video is to be sure to put the hub bolt back on with the appropriate torque for the vehicle. In my case, 140 foot-pounds for a 2013 Forester. This is a preload on the bearing. Important for longevity. Thanks again for making the vid! Always a huge help to see the process!
@@gregripfish I did this job right down to the step where the axle will need to be removed from the hub. In my case, I used heat, sledgehammer, and pullers, but I still could not get it to budge. After 2-3 hours trying to get it loose, I accepted defeat and reassembled. I took it to my local (well-known to me) shop to do the job. They too had trouble getting the axle to loosen up, but with impact tools at their disposal, they got it done. They installed the Duralast bearing I bought from Autozone. It's been working smoothly up to this point. If you move forward with DIY for this job, I wish you better luck with the axle than I had. Or at least, better tools than I had. By the way, I do think the job was very straightforward. If the axle had not been frozen in place, I would have felt the job was mostly easy.
Awesome! You talked me into it. My wife's Forester is noisy as hell. I thought it was the worn out tires but now with new tires it's still noisy. Gonna give it a go. BTW: once you touch the prybar to the housing, you then touch the bottom of a plastic cup to the end of the prybar and it amplifies it ALOT. I have a rig in the corner that is a long metal rod with the end securely stuck to the bottom of a big disposable plastic cup. It's an awesome poor man's stethoscope I use to find noises like this.
Nice video, this was my guiding light! Mine didn't just fall off. I had rust seize the bearing and just couldn't get it off. I ended up cutting the elbow off a tire-iron and using that as a wedge between the bearing/dust shield assembly and the car. 6lb sledge and some pounding and I was finally able to separate the assembly from the car - wish I had thought of that sooner. If I have to do this again I'm going to buy a hub removal tool. Thanks for the video!
I appreciate you taking the time to post the video. But I have news for you and anyone else who attempts this repair. My old hub assembly and backing plate would not separate nice and easy like it shows in your video. I have been over two hours trying to get it to budge with no success. Taking a break now to come back and post this note.
Great video! I did my passenger side rear bearing on my '17 Forester last year and will have to do the driver's side soon. My car is from Michigan so it took plenty of heat, penetrating oil, and an air hammer to remove backing plate from the bearing assembly. Otherwise went really smoothly.
Just an fyi, use of an impact gun versus a proper torque spec with a torque wrench will cause premature bearing failure. It’s a common mistake. Many times, when replacing axles, and not bearings, the bearing will soon follow. This is due to the shortcut of using an impact gun. These bearings are designed to operate with a calibrated range of pre-load. An impact gun puts way too much tension on the bearing, shortening its service life. Most people overlook this due to the simplicity of modern bearing component replacement. A possible visual symptom of over tightening will be grease around the axle nut, bleeding out to the center of the wheel.
Helpful, was thinking you had to buy special tools and remove the bearing itself, when in fact you can replace the whole wheel bearing housing and assembly unit.
Just yesterday, I dropped by my Subaru dealer to ask them how much to do a wheel bearing. $650.oo / bearing. I also saw a mechanic using a 12 pound sledge to get a 2018 Crosstrek wheel bearing off I couldn’t believe it. The buildings cement floor was shaking. I have a 2012 Forester.
Here in West Virginia thats alot harder to do mine was nicely rusted on. I have found any time I do any work under my car. I put Permatex Anti Seize on the threads.
Great video. I was wondering if there were torque specifications for the 4 rear mounting bolts or for the main hub nut on the front? I recently had to have a the LR bearing replaced. I suspected it was the bearing, but I wasn't sure. As far as the sound, I would describe it as if you were flying a single-engine airplane or something. Definitely a grindy-type noise. I wonder if this is some kind of design or manufacturing problem? I was in the shop (again) a few weeks later for an intermittent ignition problem, and there was a customer in the waiting room who had two bearings go on her at once.
After doing dozens if not hundreds of these wheel bearings, I have only once seen a hub assembly come off that easy on a Subaru. It's usually a torch, sledgehammer, air chisel nightmare. He must be way below the rust belt.
Thanks for the video, I found yours the most helpful when replacing my rear bearings! Shot in the dark question here: is it possible to put the new bearing back on and messing up the position of that small axle dust shield? Your video captures a great image of the part I'm referring to @ 07:28 . I ask because my ABS light came on after replacing the bearings even though we checked the sensors before we finished
Some of the aftermarket bearings have poor QC. The tone ring is built into back of the bearing, and the magnet is of poor quality. It looks like a seal, but it's the tone ring. Timkin bearings are known for not suffering from this issue. I have also used Ultra power, and SKF bearing hubs without issue on my Subaru.
Sure the hell beats cuttin an old axle bearing and collar with a dotco on a 60s car and finding a blacksmith machinist in the dirty outskirts of town to press the new ones on...
Had an axel replaced and they never jammed the hub nut in. It ended up backing off a trashing a wheel bearing! Now I have to put on a new one! They never knew what they were doing!
So I went to check my wheel bearings like you did. I jacked my car and had all 4 tires off the ground. Turned my car on. Put in in drive but only my passenger front tire would turn. My rear driver side turned for 5 minutes and I could hear the roaring from that tire but not the front. The driver front and passenger rear would not turn. Even if I turned them they would stop. After the 5 minutes the driver side rear tire quit spinning. The only one spinning, and stayed spinning, was the front passenger. The driver side front tire wanted too but wouldnt(you could see small jerking forward movements). I'm confused why they wouldn't spin. Once I lowered my car I got in and noticed 6 dash lights came on (check engine, AT temp oil, abs, hill start assist, traction warning, and my cruise control symbol flashes on and off). Now I'm really lost lol I didn't take anything apart
@@Lordofjunk Not very many miles for a wheel bearing. Did you tow and carry a lot of weight? I have always had bearings and suspension parts last 100k miles on Jap vehicles.
SHIT!! I thought I was gonna see a screwdriver get driven through someone's skull. Napa sells mechanic stethoscopes for $12. Nonetheless a very helpful video. Thanks for posting.
I've never done anything to the dent on the nut when opening it, the gun will bend it effortlessly. And on the rust belt you will have hard time getting the gearing out, I will promise you that.
Didn't your traction controll screw up your plans to have the wheels spin while off the ground and in gear? Apparently I need to learn how to bypass the system because it shut down the wheels from spinning. Could only get two to spin. Both driverside. When I touch the Gas it would make the audible sound associated with the traction control and stop all of the wheels. Luckily it was the driver side rear that was screaming bad. But I wanted to make sure the passenger side wasn't bad also. I was able to have another person hold the driver rear wheel and the passenger then would turn. Was never able to touch the gas to spin them up to anything over idle (2-3-4-5 mph) but passenger side sounded good. Is there a trick to get all of the wheels to recieve power while off the ground. I did turn the traction control off, the computer will still kick it back on when it perceives a big enough loss of traction.
BEWARE that there’s a good chance this bearing will be seized in the spindle. I wound up having to order the hub shocker tool, had to ream the holes with a dremel to make it fit, then had to wack it full strength with an 8lb sledge a dozen times before it came out. Personally I wouldn’t attempt this repair unless you already have the hub shocker tool, unless you’re ok with the loss of your vehicle for a week or so.
Without that impact gun and just hand tools its abit of a bitch of a job on a 15 year old forester i can tell you that but i got it done in the end along with new struts rides like new 😎
Should be recalled, they used poor parts at the factory that go out early, everyones bearings went out after 70k miles, meanwhile my dealer thinks its fine every time i ssk about the annoying noise coming from the resr bearing. I turned the bearing myself by hand and could feel the grinding inside.
I agree. I have a bought-new, never off roaded or hot rodded WRX w 38K miles and the bearing(s) going bad. A $1500 repair at the dealership (fortunately I had an extended warranty). Should be covered by Subaru up to 100k miles. My daily driver is a 2001 Legacy Touring w 170k miles - original wheel bearing; maybe they don't make 'em like that used to!?
@5:00 For future reference, M8 x 1.25 threaded bolts is the size to extracting the stuck rotor.
Bro, thank you so much! I’ve been doing repairs on my 2012 Legacy. I live in a college town so every mechanic thinks they can up charge because the parents are most likely paying for repairs. But I am a single healthcare worker. I cannot afford these crazy prices. You’re really helping me out a lot. I just wanna tell you how much I appreciate it.
Get yourself some silver ounces my friend. The world is going to a digital gold standard currency, gotta follow the money. Gold and silver will do well.
I have the same problem with my 17 forester right now, was going to take it to the shop but after seeing this I can definitely do it myself! Thank you so much for making this!
Instead of using the pry bar method, you can grab the coil spring with your hand while you or someone else manually spins the wheel. You will feel a vibration on the coil spring with the bad wheel bearing.
that's awesome. I've been a mechanic for 20 years and have never heard of this. it makes sense though. I will have to give it try. thanks for the tip.
A hub removal tool might not work. On my car the hub separated from the bearing leaving the bearing attached. I resorted to removing the knuckle and using my 20 ton press to separate the bearing. On the right side I damaged the back plate so much I had to replace that as well. 9 yr Forester in snow belt.
@@HarrySpatzwhy not use a bearing puller?
I can't believe how easy that came off. This took me 4 hours in the rust belt. I ended up using a hub buster and a 12 pound sledgehammer to get it off.
yes, I live in the south with unsalted roads. it definitely makes things easier.
took me 8 hours in a rusted out one two weeks ago amazing how easily it came out, i wasn’t so lucky
Same here, had to order the hub buster off eBay and took a dozen swings full strength with an 8lb sledge. Whole car was shaking.
I absolutely love your approach and this channel. Just realized my rear driver side wheel bearing is done. Found the super helpful and I’m definitely going to get the same size tires. Cheers!
"Gotta hold your mouth right" - underated and underused life advice my pops used to give me 😂 thanks for video!
Oh man this video is perfect. I happen to own a 2016 forester too, definitely going to keep checking back here. Thanks man!
Thanks for the visuals! I've decided to do this job myself. The only thing I'd mention that you don't cover in this video is to be sure to put the hub bolt back on with the appropriate torque for the vehicle. In my case, 140 foot-pounds for a 2013 Forester. This is a preload on the bearing. Important for longevity. Thanks again for making the vid! Always a huge help to see the process!
Thinking about doing this as well, same model year too... how did it go for you? Was it as easy as the video made is seem?? 😅
@@gregripfish I did this job right down to the step where the axle will need to be removed from the hub. In my case, I used heat, sledgehammer, and pullers, but I still could not get it to budge. After 2-3 hours trying to get it loose, I accepted defeat and reassembled. I took it to my local (well-known to me) shop to do the job. They too had trouble getting the axle to loosen up, but with impact tools at their disposal, they got it done. They installed the Duralast bearing I bought from Autozone. It's been working smoothly up to this point. If you move forward with DIY for this job, I wish you better luck with the axle than I had. Or at least, better tools than I had. By the way, I do think the job was very straightforward. If the axle had not been frozen in place, I would have felt the job was mostly easy.
Awesome! You talked me into it. My wife's Forester is noisy as hell. I thought it was the worn out tires but now with new tires it's still noisy. Gonna give it a go. BTW: once you touch the prybar to the housing, you then touch the bottom of a plastic cup to the end of the prybar and it amplifies it ALOT. I have a rig in the corner that is a long metal rod with the end securely stuck to the bottom of a big disposable plastic cup. It's an awesome poor man's stethoscope I use to find noises like this.
Nice video, this was my guiding light! Mine didn't just fall off. I had rust seize the bearing and just couldn't get it off. I ended up cutting the elbow off a tire-iron and using that as a wedge between the bearing/dust shield assembly and the car. 6lb sledge and some pounding and I was finally able to separate the assembly from the car - wish I had thought of that sooner. If I have to do this again I'm going to buy a hub removal tool. Thanks for the video!
You made it look easy. Now time for a weekend project! Thanks a lot for this!!
it is very easy as long as it's not rusty.
I appreciate you taking the time to post the video. But I have news for you and anyone else who attempts this repair. My old hub assembly and backing plate would not separate nice and easy like it shows in your video. I have been over two hours trying to get it to budge with no success. Taking a break now to come back and post this note.
Did you get it?
Man the new foresters are easy.... 98 to 06 are super fun.... i wish they were that easy. I ended up replacing the whole knuckle. Lol.
Mechanic quoted me $1890 for wheel bearing on the front. I did it following this video and saved $1600!
Great video! I did my passenger side rear bearing on my '17 Forester last year and will have to do the driver's side soon. My car is from Michigan so it took plenty of heat, penetrating oil, and an air hammer to remove backing plate from the bearing assembly. Otherwise went really smoothly.
Thank you my brother.. super helpful, greetings from Greensboro NC
Just an fyi, use of an impact gun versus a proper torque spec with a torque wrench will cause premature bearing failure. It’s a common mistake. Many times, when replacing axles, and not bearings, the bearing will soon follow. This is due to the shortcut of using an impact gun. These bearings are designed to operate with a calibrated range of pre-load. An impact gun puts way too much tension on the bearing, shortening its service life. Most people overlook this due to the simplicity of modern bearing component replacement. A possible visual symptom of over tightening will be grease around the axle nut, bleeding out to the center of the wheel.
the bearing sure came out easy for you!
Helpful, was thinking you had to buy special tools and remove the bearing itself, when in fact you can replace the whole wheel bearing housing and assembly unit.
Just yesterday, I dropped by my Subaru dealer to ask them how much to do a wheel bearing. $650.oo / bearing. I also saw a mechanic using a 12 pound sledge to get a 2018 Crosstrek wheel bearing off I couldn’t believe it. The buildings cement floor was shaking. I have a 2012 Forester.
Thanks for this. I'm going to be attempting this in a week
Fine video, appreciate you taking time to make it.
Awesome, well explained, not so bad! lets save some money
Here in West Virginia thats alot harder to do mine was nicely rusted on. I have found any time I do any work under my car. I put Permatex Anti Seize on the threads.
Great video. I was wondering if there were torque specifications for the 4 rear mounting bolts or for the main hub nut on the front?
I recently had to have a the LR bearing replaced. I suspected it was the bearing, but I wasn't sure. As far as the sound, I would describe it as if you were flying a single-engine airplane or something. Definitely a grindy-type noise. I wonder if this is some kind of design or manufacturing problem? I was in the shop (again) a few weeks later for an intermittent ignition problem, and there was a customer in the waiting room who had two bearings go on her at once.
I always replace both sides. My rationale is that if one went bad, the other is close behind. Or, it might just be OCD...
Can this be done on a 2006 Forrester of the rear? People are saying it’s a different bearing for the rear because there’s drum brakes?
Wonder how long those Timkins lasts?
Thanks bro, great video and straight to the point. I owe you a beer for sure!
Can't find these kits. where did you get them? GREAT VID THANKS ! !
rockauto has them
Another fun one, thanks for the content!
After doing dozens if not hundreds of these wheel bearings, I have only once seen a hub assembly come off that easy on a Subaru. It's usually a torch, sledgehammer, air chisel nightmare. He must be way below the rust belt.
Thanks for the video, I found yours the most helpful when replacing my rear bearings! Shot in the dark question here: is it possible to put the new bearing back on and messing up the position of that small axle dust shield? Your video captures a great image of the part I'm referring to @ 07:28 . I ask because my ABS light came on after replacing the bearings even though we checked the sensors before we finished
i really don't think you can screw up the bolt holes on the backing plate,, but you could have bent it. I would pull the wheel and inspect your work
Some of the aftermarket bearings have poor QC. The tone ring is built into back of the bearing, and the magnet is of poor quality. It looks like a seal, but it's the tone ring. Timkin bearings are known for not suffering from this issue. I have also used Ultra power, and SKF bearing hubs without issue on my Subaru.
Also don't forget to keep any magnets away from the tone ring on the new hub/bearing.@@williamallen7836
What is the hub nut torque specification, 17 Outback, rear?
How did the bearings hold up? I keep changing mines every 6 months!
Hey what brand tires did you put on that Forester? Thanks!
it had nitto Terra grapplers when this video was posted. it has some goodyears on it now.
What would you say the quality of that TIMIKN Bearing was, or is?
2 years and 30k miles later I have had zero issues with the bearings. I would say good quality.
How many miles did you have when the noise started.? I have a black 16 forester as well, and I’m hearing a slight vibration starting around 40ish. Mph
it was about 65k miles. mine did not have a vibration, but it had a roar that got worse over time.
You had me at "hellacious."
Sure the hell beats cuttin an old axle bearing and collar with a dotco on a 60s car and finding a blacksmith machinist in the dirty outskirts of town to press the new ones on...
Had an axel replaced and they never jammed the hub nut in. It ended up backing off a trashing a wheel bearing! Now I have to put on a new one! They never knew what they were doing!
Anyone know if this would be the correct fit for a 2003 forester??
Different arrangement back then - a real pain - see th-cam.com/video/w7rYxh0XWuA/w-d-xo.html Good luck!
So I went to check my wheel bearings like you did. I jacked my car and had all 4 tires off the ground. Turned my car on. Put in in drive but only my passenger front tire would turn. My rear driver side turned for 5 minutes and I could hear the roaring from that tire but not the front. The driver front and passenger rear would not turn. Even if I turned them they would stop. After the 5 minutes the driver side rear tire quit spinning. The only one spinning, and stayed spinning, was the front passenger. The driver side front tire wanted too but wouldnt(you could see small jerking forward movements). I'm confused why they wouldn't spin. Once I lowered my car I got in and noticed 6 dash lights came on (check engine, AT temp oil, abs, hill start assist, traction warning, and my cruise control symbol flashes on and off). Now I'm really lost lol I didn't take anything apart
How many miles are on this Forester?
when this was filmed, it was like 70k
@@Lordofjunk Not very many miles for a wheel bearing. Did you tow and carry a lot of weight? I have always had bearings and suspension parts last 100k miles on Jap vehicles.
nope, just a grocery getter for a family of four. I agree, they should've lasted longer. evidently, they are known for this.
Thanks, I have a 2016 Imprezza, just turned 62k. I will keep my ears open. I'm following, nice to have a honest You Tuber.
SHIT!! I thought I was gonna see a screwdriver get driven through someone's skull. Napa sells mechanic stethoscopes for $12. Nonetheless a very helpful video. Thanks for posting.
You have a sexy voice and i like watching a man work on cars
Man that was easy, mine was corroded onto the knuckle and was a pain to remove.
I've never done anything to the dent on the nut when opening it, the gun will bend it effortlessly. And on the rust belt you will have hard time getting the gearing out, I will promise you that.
you can use a stethoscope for the car. Dont use the doctor type
Great!
Step One: Live in an area where components and fasteners don't rust.
lol i wish i lived somewhere where rust didnt exist.
My wife has a 2018 with114,000 miles. I noticed a "snow-tire" like sound from the rear. I'm guessing rear bearings are shot. Crap.
THIS MUST BE FLORIDA OR A SUNSHINE STATE
Didn't your traction controll screw up your plans to have the wheels spin while off the ground and in gear? Apparently I need to learn how to bypass the system because it shut down the wheels from spinning. Could only get two to spin. Both driverside. When I touch the Gas it would make the audible sound associated with the traction control and stop all of the wheels. Luckily it was the driver side rear that was screaming bad. But I wanted to make sure the passenger side wasn't bad also. I was able to have another person hold the driver rear wheel and the passenger then would turn. Was never able to touch the gas to spin them up to anything over idle (2-3-4-5 mph) but passenger side sounded good.
Is there a trick to get all of the wheels to recieve power while off the ground. I did turn the traction control off, the computer will still kick it back on when it perceives a big enough loss of traction.
I just put it in drive and all the wheels were spinning. I just never touched the throttle.
Mine is a 15 crosstrek, maybe it has different traction control stuff. 🤷♂️
Got it done regardless.
BEWARE that there’s a good chance this bearing will be seized in the spindle. I wound up having to order the hub shocker tool, had to ream the holes with a dremel to make it fit, then had to wack it full strength with an 8lb sledge a dozen times before it came out. Personally I wouldn’t attempt this repair unless you already have the hub shocker tool, unless you’re ok with the loss of your vehicle for a week or so.
Subaru wanted 900 😂😂 for me I’m going this same thing
Without that impact gun and just hand tools its abit of a bitch of a job on a 15 year old forester i can tell you that but i got it done in the end along with new struts rides like new 😎
Thanks..
bearing is now trash need to torque to spec for proper preload.
this is a unit bearing, not a taper bearing. it does not require a preload procedure.
You can buy a stethoscope for checking this
That sure isn't a Pennsylvania car.
Bill statement bearings: $100 each, install: 2 hours per bearing $90 hour, and all he parts they broke extra 1k 😂😂😂
For a Volvo it is $175+ and hour, quoted 1.5 to 3 hours.
Definitely not in the rust belt
Wtf. 1k for bearings? 2 hubs for 200$ or 160$ and an hour to do 2 of them.
agreed.
Should be recalled, they used poor parts at the factory that go out early, everyones bearings went out after 70k miles, meanwhile my dealer thinks its fine every time i ssk about the annoying noise coming from the resr bearing. I turned the bearing myself by hand and could feel the grinding inside.
I agree. I have a bought-new, never off roaded or hot rodded WRX w 38K miles and the bearing(s) going bad. A $1500 repair at the dealership (fortunately I had an extended warranty). Should be covered by Subaru up to 100k miles. My daily driver is a 2001 Legacy Touring w 170k miles - original wheel bearing; maybe they don't make 'em like that used to!?