Bad Wheel bearing... where to go? How much should it cost?
#2
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 266
Car Info: 95 Impreza Wagon... 1.8 Litres of fury!
Hey Jeremiah, which car is this now!?!?! I'm dealing with some wheel bearing problems too, and I found a guy who will do them pretty cheap, and most importantly correctly.
Basically, find a shop that will use the Subaru tool (which isn't made by Subaru, but required and used at the dealership). This has many advantages such as:
*The knuckle stays on the car during the install, which means no need for an alignment afterwards. This saves you $60-100
*The new bearing won't fail prematurely because of force exerted on it from being pressed in with the incorrect tool.
*The tool takes an hour of shop labor off the job, resulting in you saving money. ~$75-120 saved
*The special tool applies much less force than a shop press, and is made specifically for the size and shape of subaru wheel bearings only.
Find someone who really knows their stuff and can honestly say they have done hundreds of them and none came back for re-fixes. If it's done even slightly wrong, the problem will come back sooner or later.
Also, an experienced subaru wrench will measure the hub with a micrometer to make sure it's still perfectly round, and hasn't been warped from heat generated by the failed/failing bearing. The mechanic that I mentioned quoted me $170 for parts and labor for one bearing. Thats a lot better than the $500 I was quoted by a private shop who claimed to specialize in Subarus.
Good luck.
Basically, find a shop that will use the Subaru tool (which isn't made by Subaru, but required and used at the dealership). This has many advantages such as:
*The knuckle stays on the car during the install, which means no need for an alignment afterwards. This saves you $60-100
*The new bearing won't fail prematurely because of force exerted on it from being pressed in with the incorrect tool.
*The tool takes an hour of shop labor off the job, resulting in you saving money. ~$75-120 saved
*The special tool applies much less force than a shop press, and is made specifically for the size and shape of subaru wheel bearings only.
Find someone who really knows their stuff and can honestly say they have done hundreds of them and none came back for re-fixes. If it's done even slightly wrong, the problem will come back sooner or later.
Also, an experienced subaru wrench will measure the hub with a micrometer to make sure it's still perfectly round, and hasn't been warped from heat generated by the failed/failing bearing. The mechanic that I mentioned quoted me $170 for parts and labor for one bearing. Thats a lot better than the $500 I was quoted by a private shop who claimed to specialize in Subarus.
Good luck.
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (12)
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: san francisco
Posts: 2,329
Car Info: always changing...
excellent!
I forgot to mention that this is for a friend of mine, not me. He lives in Oakland, where was it you went Impretzle? I'll pass the info along to him.
EJ25RS- that's a good suggestion as well. Thanks!
I forgot to mention that this is for a friend of mine, not me. He lives in Oakland, where was it you went Impretzle? I'll pass the info along to him.
EJ25RS- that's a good suggestion as well. Thanks!
#6
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Silly Valley, CA
Posts: 231
Car Info: 2003 Impreza WRX Sedan Midnight Black Pearl
Originally Posted by HomerJay
I think it's suggested you use wheel bearings for a legacy gt.
http://www.neosyntheticoil.com/products_gr.html
#7
i took my steering knucle off and brought wheel bearing to person with press.. i pressed it in and threw it all back together.
20k miles and no prob so far..
dont be scared to work on ur car just get some instructions/tools =P thats the only to make sure its all done right
20k miles and no prob so far..
dont be scared to work on ur car just get some instructions/tools =P thats the only to make sure its all done right
#8
VIP Member
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: CDA, ID
Posts: 2,002
Car Info: 96 Impreza L Sedan
not sure if this is related but it seems that my car has a 'wobble' at low speeds, feels like bent wheel, but with trying 3 different sets of wheels, I still have it. Is sound the only thing that tells you your wheel bearings are bad??? I have 206K miles and am wondering if I need to replace mine, how can I know?
#13
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Mountain View, CA
Posts: 627
Car Info: '07 FXT Sport / '96 STiL
I really don't remember, and I can't seem to find it in my credit card statements. (It was over a year ago). I want to say it was something like $160 labor for both rear wheel bearings, but I could be off. I know it was less than 1/4 of what the dealer wanted to charge me!
#14
Something Custom
iTrader: (9)
Originally Posted by EJ25RS
I picked up a wheel bearing from the subaru wrecking yard in sac for like $80 and had a friend install it, ever since mine's been fine...