jdd

I left my 98 impreza l parked for a few weeks because I needed to replace a rear wheel bearing and the snow piled up a little too deep and the temps got a little to cold. So yesterday I swept off the remaining snow to start it and take it for a little warm up drive. To my surprise the brakes were oddly week. I popped the hood and the previously full reservoir was basically empty. I refilled it but it's not going to be that simple. Any ideas?

Thank you so much everyone for all the tips and shedding the lift on son concepts I just didn't quite understand. I'll enjoy some egg nogg for a couple of days away then get after it when I get home with a hammer and a torch. Hopefully in a friends driveway instead of a dirt road. Thanks again.

I've officially been shut down by a bearing replacement. I just can't break the bolts loose even with an 18" bar and 175 lbs of monkey. So do I go to a shop and pay the 400 or do I go buy a compressor and impact wrench?

Ok this is getting ridiculous, so i decided to disconnect the strut from the knuckle first thinking it would help relieve tension from the lateral bolt. The things is swimming in pb blaster and has been. With an 18'' breaker bar and 175 lbs of monkey I couldn't get a single thing to budge. WTF? What is this the twilight zone? I've got it sitting in the lot saturating but what is the next step? I've heard people talking about the blue wrench. Will a simple torch work do for that, the kind you use to sweat pipes? As well I guess I should mop up the pb blaster. If it means anything I do live on a dirt road in Colorado so it's not real warm or dust free. PLease help, I've gotta go on the road soon and can't keep borrowing cars.

got it, it's the bearing, now all i have to do is figure out how to break the lateral bolt loose. Should I disconnect the strut first to help alleviate added pressure? or is that ridiculous?

thank you for the link to that thread. Now how does going between fwd and awd help to determine what the issue is?

That is a lot to take in and I really appreciate it. As it stands I went out to remove the rear knuckle and taker it to a shop to have the bearing replaced however I was unsuccessful at breaking the lateral bolt loose after letting it sit with pb blaster for 24 hours. It should be said I am doing this work on a dirt road with a couple inches of snow and a high of 30. I've noticed in the past that living on a dirt road causes things to get crusty and wasn't sure if the kinda low temps would effect how a crusty bolt might break loose. Either way, after reading everyone's posts i'm not sure of what I should be doing. Was I just chasing the wrong animal thinking it was the bearing? The sound is attuned to speed and gets louder when the speed increases and subsequently decreases. I had my gf drive while i got in the back and stuck my head out the door on each side to listen and you could really only here the sound inside, i'm sure the road and wind contributed to that. It was difficult at first to be sure which side it was coming from but it is from the passenger side. So what's up with this fuse test? I've never heard of this fwd awd option (excuse my ignorance) and can that be applied on a 98 impreza? if so what would it do? Thanks a lot everyone really do appreciate all the info. And if it is thought to be the bearing, any insight on as to how to break that bolt loose?

I need to replace a rear wheel bearing and napa sells the bearing in a new hub already and the guy at the counter was saying it would be much easier. I was just going to remove the whole knuckle and take it to a shop to have new bearings pressed in for 50 bucks. Then of course i get into it and I can't break the lateral bolt loose to get the knuckle off and I'm beginning to think pulling the hub from the knuckle might be a nice idea but can't figure out how to get it out. I removed the 4 bolts that look like they are holding the hub to the knuckle and it is not moving. Am I nuts? Should the hub just come out easily? I'm working on a 98 impreza awd L (rear drum brakes)

thanks a lot y'all. it's coming apart tomorrow.

Oh, I see what you're saying. Great idea with the stethoscope. I'll give that a try tomorrow. Thanks a lot.

so are you saying the diff would be shot? I did the tires already. How would I know if the diff is out? I would hate to work on one thing and have it be another.

A few months ago i started getting that typical decrepit bearing sound from the rear and just got around to dealing with it, because I went out of town. Oddly the sound was coming from the back and when I jacked up the rear the wheels were solid so I tried the front and sure enough passenger side was loose so I replaced it and that heinous sound is gone but it's disappearance uncovered another whirling sound still coming from the rear. I tried swapping out my full size spare and sound was still there. I checked the wheels for the bearings again and they are solid. Brakes are solid and free of debris. Drive shaft solid and I just changed the diff oil and still the sound persists. PLease someone tell me you know what this is. It's driving me crazy.