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Front Wheel Bearings, 86 GL-10


86deathwagon
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My front wheel bearings are bad according to a mechanic at a firestone shop, he says i need a bearing press and new wheel bearings to fix it and they said it will cost $600 bucks. I know for a fact this can be done cheaper than that can anyone sell me front wheel bearings i need 2 of them. Front left driver, Front left passenger. i know something is up cause it shakes when you slow down so the c clamps are loose on the hub and i tightened it but it still persists

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86 deathwagon.... cool username.

 

On to your trouble, 600 bucks is a TOTAL scam.

 

You dont need a press to do them either. :rolleyes: Once the front hubs are off the car, you can drift the bearings out with a punch and hammer.

 

You CAN get your parts at NAPA, but all the aftermarket bearings come from China (and suck)

 

The bearing and seal kit from Subaru is your best bet, and has everything you should need. I have one in front of me right now

 

$47.95 Part # 699901010

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I've gone over this many times so a search would yeild a ton of info....

 

1. Bearings are standard 6000 series ball bearings. Go to a bearing house and ask for two 6207-2RS-C3 ball bearings. Should be about $12 each. By buying them this way you will get higher quality and sealed bearings for $10 less than the dealer "kit" that comes with open bearings.

 

2. The seals are $6 or so from any good parts house. The inner and outer are different diameters on the EA82's so make sure you get both and not two of the same one.

 

3. Remove the axle, and optionally remove the knuckle frome the car. Drift the old bearings out with a brass punch. If you are really fancy like me, you can cut the outer race off one of the old bearings, weld it back together and to a pipe nipple + cap for a driver tool to use on the new one's.

 

You don't need a press and you don't even have to pull the knuckle off the car. It does help to disconnect the tie-rod end from the knuckle so you can spin the knuckle 180 degrees and drive from the back with your punch though.

 

GD

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i'll run through real quick to give you an idea

 

place your jackstand somewhere on the frame and not the lower control arm as you will need to drop this down

 

remove the tab that secures the parking brake cables, and use a pliers to slip the cable nub from the parking brake mechanism

 

remove the caliper by removing the 14mm bolt on the bottom and swing it up, tie ut up with a hanger to keep from stressing the brake line.

 

remove the 2 17mm bolts that hold on the caliper bracket

 

remove the axle nut and washers and the hub/rotor will slip off

(experienced folks can accomplish this with the rotor and hub still present, if only changing the axle)

 

rotate the axle so the dimple side on the inner end is facing you, and drive a 3/16 drift punch to knock out the roll pin(be aware of the alignment when going back together as the hole only lines up one way)

 

use a ball joint separator (pickle fork) to pop the ball joint after removing the nut on the bottom. if you do not have a pickle fork you can remove the pinch bolt to tha ball joint and pop it out of the knuckle. be aware that if the bolt is too rusty, it can break off, and the ball joint may be seized due to rust. you can try to splay the pinch open with a chisel or fat screwdriver but be careful not to break anything!

 

if you have the ball joint loose, slip a long pipe over the control arm and under the axle and butt the end up under the strut rod mount, push down to lower the control arm enough the ball joint pops out.

 

if this proves too difficult or you do not have the proper tools, look up edrach's method in the ultimate subaru repair manual)

 

once you do all this you can pull the axle off the transmission stub. use a block of wood and a 3 lb hammer to drive the axle out of the hub. you can spin on the axle nut for more surface area if need be. you will need a pipe or the round end of a ball peen hammer to hit against to pop the axle through the inner bearing

 

now you are looking at a bare knukle. go ahead and pip the tie rod out and you can rotoate the knuckle to get to the back side as well

 

remove the inner and outer seals, you can either pry hem off with a seal tool, or knock them out along with the bearings. insert your drift punch into the knuckle and drive out the inner bearing. flip the knuckle around and do the same.

 

there is a collar between the bearings, dont lose or forget to install it!

 

now you have the barings out, fit the new bearing into the knuckle. use a block of wood, or as i prefer, my axle nut socket and a hammer to drive the bearing in. make sure to drive against the OUTER race and not the inner to not compromise the bearing itself. drive the bearing in until it fits against the lip machined into the knuckle.

 

flip the knuckle around and inset the collar that goes between the bearings. pack in bearing grease(the red stuff) around the negative space around the collar, and drive in the other bearing

 

now you can inset the seals. if you do not have a seal driver, use your drift punch and tap lightly around the circumfrence of the seal to work it in. be careful not to put a dent in the seal face

 

the larger seal goes in back and the smaller seal goes in front. the bearings themselves are the same for inner and outer, left and right

 

slide the axle in from behind and ut it through the bearings as much as you can by hand, then line up t eh hole on the trans stub and insert the roll pin, again from the dimpled hole. insert yout punch throug the hole to make sure its lined up before driving the pin, otherwise you risk getting the pin stuck

 

now the axle is on the trans, you can use your 3 lb hammer and a block of wood to tap around the knuckle face to drive it onto the axle enough that the axle threads come through the hub. then you can use the axle nut to pull the axle through all the way. remove nut and install the washers.

 

make sure you install the washers correctly. the cone washer goes on first, then the flat washer. pay attention to the flat washer as it is slightly bowl shaped, with the round side facing away from the axle, this is designed to hold torque. if the washer is on backwards the nut will back off and compromise the wheel bearings or hub splines

 

its a good idea to get new washers as some wheel bearing failures are die to bad or improperly installed washers

 

now you can put everything back together. if you are using the same brake pads the caliper will fit like it already did.

 

if you are installing new brake pads, or you accidentally actuated the parking lever, you will need to turn the piston face with a piston tool or large pliers to seat the puston in its bore before installation

 

hope this helps, it will make more sense wen you have everything apart.

 

good luck!

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Incorrect - all EA81/EA82 series wheel bearings are 6207-C3's

 

EA82's have a different diameter inner bearing SEAL. EA81's use the same seal on both sides while the EA82 uses that same seal on the outboard side but a small ID seal on the inboard side.

 

GD

 

Exactly the info I was looking for (I knew about the EA81 seals previously:)).

 

Thanks GD.

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