Suba9792 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 So, My 92 Loyale has a whine coming from the back, it doesnt happen when I use the brakes, only during regular driving and acceleration, which led me to believe its the bearings, to me if it was the brakes they would constantly make the noise(kinda sounds like a big rig coming to a stop, if that helps), so I am going to replace the shoes in the rear, my question is I have never done wheel bearings before, so is it hard? I was told Les Schwabb can do it for a round $250 for all four I believe. Any input?, I'm also absolutely positive it's not the rear end, those probs are easy to spot.:-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Wheel bearings (bearings in general) are best left to people that know how to use a press. While they can and have been done without it, the risk of damage to the bearings is high if you haven't worked with bearings a lot. $250 sounds very cheap for a 4 wheel bearing job..... you sure about that? Subaru's have a very odd wheel bearing arrangment and I would be surprised if Les was even capable of doing them without sending the knuckles to a machine shop to be pressed out/in...... you should double check that price. Just the parts alone will run about $125. That doesn't leave much for labor - and I'm sure they would quote an alignment after removing everything to press the bearings...... You live in Sandy, OR? I'm in West Linn. I can do your wheel bearings if you like. I have both the socket for the rear bearing ring nut and the experience to do them properly. If it needs front axles I'll do those for free at the same time since they have to come off anyway. You buy the parts and bring the car here. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Take the time to inspect the brake shoes first, they are non adjusting so it could be that they are just out of adjustment. Spin the wheel by hand and try and feel for a bad bearing, it will be pretty obvious. I had a rear wheel bearing so bad that when I jacked the car up the entire hub moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 they are non adjusting so it could be that they are just out of adjustment. I have never taken the time to nail down when they switched from manual to auto-adjusting rear shoes, but I know I had an 86 or 87 wagon with auto-adjusters - one of them blew up and locked up the wheel on the freeway...... Maybe they went back to manual because of problems with the adjusters? It would be nice to know the story with that because frankly I've been confused about it for years now. Look on the back of the drums - there should be a sqaure drive adjuster bolt if they are manual - near the bottom center of the dust sheild. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think I'll try the brakes first, it may just need new shoes(I hope) but if thats not it I will definately hit you up GD for the work, oh the previous owner replaced the CV axles about 20k ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I think I'll try the brakes first, it may just need new shoes(I hope) but if thats not it I will definately hit you up GD for the work, oh the previous owner replaced the CV axles about 20k ago. A nice upgrade on the rear brakes is to convert to disc brakes. All the parts to do it run about $75 to $100 from the junk yards around here. You just need to find a 4WD turbo EA82. They are fairly common - I just got a set a few days ago at the u-pull-it in Sherwood for $74 after the 20% discount they are doing right now on $80+ purchases. It takes about 20 minutes per side to swap them over. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 so do you think it's the rear brakes as well, years of rust and other crap would probably do that, I like to disc brake conversion though. I sure hope thats what it is, just the brakes, I have also heard of the E-brake slightly sticking as well, but my indicator light isnt on at all, I have heard wheel bearings before but this almost sounds like a stuck brake shoe or somethin.:-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 its also the 3at tranny as well, and surprisingly yes its not fast by any means but its not too bad I really dont mind it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 E-Brake is on the front wheels so it's not that. Could be the rear brakes - it's possible. My experience is that the rear's usually just get out of adjustment and don't do anything anymore. No noises, but not much braking either. You would have to open them up and look - even then it might not be obvious and you would have to just overhaul the brakes and see if anything changes. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 I made an appointment with les shwabb tomorrow for them to look at it, the tech said it sounds like the wheel bearings in the front are bad, its would cost me $500 there and $700 if the hubs are bad! good greif hwy robbery!! i will probably have you do them for me if you can, however I'm not at all familiar with the westside of town. I have a buddy who is a tech at Gresham Subaru he may be able to get the parts for cost for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 (edited) Front wheel bearings are cheap - I'll do both sides for $100 + parts. The bearings themselves are $12 each from Meguire bearing downtown (there are 4 in the front - two on each side) so about $48 for the bearings and about $24 for the inner and outer seals on both sides. So probably about $175 for everything on the front. The dealer will not be cheaper than Meguire bearing even with your friends discount. Old Les absolutely is Hwy Robbery! They always are. Rear's are more expensive if you end up doing those - the bearings are $40 to $50 per side plus the seals and the labor is a bit more. I'm right on the freeway so I'm easy to find. So is Mequire bearing - east side of the river on 10th & Market. GD Edited March 30, 2010 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Oh - and of the two, front wheel bearings fail MUCH more often than rear's. I've seen plenty of EA series rear wheel bearings last the life of the car. Fronts are exposed to more severe axial loads from cornering and the bearings up in the front are not axial thrust bearings - they tend to fail about once or maybe twice in the life of the car (if they are installed properly). That's probably why the tech said it's lilkely the front's. I've done 20x as many front's as rears. Takes me about an hour to an hour and a half per side if everything goes according to plan. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 sounds good, give me a couple of weeks! I will probabl have a hard time finding the bearing shop so when it is time for me to do them can you pick them up? I'll throw in a case of beer or somethin, $175 is alot better than $500-$700 ! I wish America's tire Factory did more than just tires So yeah we shall do that soon, And your Altima alternator! I may want to do that too if you have one set up and ready at the time, sounds like a badass conversion to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Sure - I actually have both styles of the Maxima alt already setup. I have one of each of the two possibly pulley configurations already built. Yeah - I can pickup the bearings. It's not all that far from me. Just send me a PM when you have an idea of when you want to get started so I can have a few days to clear a bay in my garage. There's a transmission swap that's going to happen shortly and there is always several vehicles waiting to have something done to them (not always Subaru's )..... GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 Sweet! yeah I will let you know for sure, I think I will park the car for a little while till I'm ready so nothing else gets chewed up on it. Hopefully it doesnt need new front hubs either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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