98 Forester rear hub bearings

[Luvn737s]

How do I pack such a large bearing?

[Fairtax4me]

Same way you pack any other bearing. You just have to do it from both sides.

Pack some in, spin it a few times by hand, pack more in.

[1997reduxe]

well can i ask this? (right on topic for me today).

i have an outback built in 98, 2.5 MT.

are there two bearings on the rear spindle,

meaning on the outside of the axle, or one?

or are there two one inside of axle and one

outside at hub?

thanks. i had my mechanic replace the bearings once

and now theyve fallen apart but when they took the spindle

off it seemed an awful lot like there were two.

[Fairtax4me]

Yes. Tapered roller bearings are almost always done in pairs. For wheel bearings they are always a pair.

Here's a good cutaway of a modern tapered roller set.

 

On older vehicles the bearing sections were all separate. You have 2 outer and 2 inner races with the rollers in between supported by the bearing cage.

The modern bearing all has the same parts, just assembled into one package. The inner races are still separate, but the outer races are machined into the same piece.

[lmdew]

I believe these are pre greased and come sealed.  Never need to repack.  

If the new bearings failed the hub is most likely damaged and out of round.  Get a new hub.

[idosubaru]

+1 there was confusion for years about whether they were packed from the manufacturer or not and whether that was packing grease or high temp bearing grease.  i think finally it's streamlined now into always coming with proper grease from the manufacturer, even Subaru maybe had a TSB about it.

 

but yeah - people pack them all the time if they want special tree hugging sustainable grease or something lol.   you can google it, i've seen people post about it before.

[Luvn737s]

The grease that came with it was only a preservative shipping grease, I bought a handy little packer since I would be packing bearings on an airplane once a year anyhow.

 

I am very satisfied with the bearing kit from All Wheel Drive Auto. However, everyone says its traditionally the passenger side rear bearing on the old Foresters, but mine was the driver's side.

 

Also, I re-learned to read the instructions when it comes to separating the axle shaft from the hub. Use a puller like it says, don't just whack it. 1000X easier!