i have trouble with the leftside front wheelbearing. it holds for about a 100-300 km, then i have to change it. i do what the repairmanual says about it. but it still dont works for long. i now that i have to use a momentwrench, and i have to pull 196 nm with it. i hope some one can help me, my serviceshop cant.

For those metrically-challenged in the USA , that equates to about 145 ft-lbs of torque. Is this the correct figure? (I seem to remember that at least one manual gave an incorrect torque value, but I believe that value was around 105 ft-lbs.)

 

How difficult is it to extract the axle shaft from the bearing housing? If it is very easy (it slides out without much force) then the axle or the bearing housing or both may be worn beyond limits. If the bearings press out with very little force then the bearing housing is worn beyond limits.

 

I am assuming that you completely clean the bearing housing before installing the new bearings, and use an approved grease. I this correct?

 

Do you retighten (re-torque, re-moment) the axle nut after you have driven 10-50km? Sometimes the axle will not completely seat into the bearing until after you have driven for some distance. If your axle nut is loose (removable with unaided hands) when you remove it, then this could be one of the causes of your problem.

 

Is the washer directly beneath the axle nut facing the proper direction? it is slightly "dished" (concave/convex) and needs to be put on so that it is convex towards the axle nut.

I had major problems with my front bearings on an old sub I had.

 

My mechanic at the time failed to replace a tapered washer with all 4 sets of bearings that he put in there!

 

The bearings would last 2 tanks of gas before I could hear them begin to fail.

When I took the car to a sub specialist, he showed me the $0.25 washer and grinned.

 

I put 25000 km on those bearings before the body fell off the car.

 

Maybe replace the tapered washers with new washers from subaru.

 

Good luck

thanks for the help:)

 

i'l try out everything and see if i get to hold on or not. 145 ft-lbs is correct torque. i should measure everything before mounting it on to see if it's wourn out or not.

 

 

thanks again folks

markman34:

You mentioned your problems with your wheel bearing. How did you 'know' there was a problem. My '93 Loyale wagon has a noise coming from the front passenger wheel, totally speed dependent, not correlated with accel, decel, brake, or steering. I suspected the wheel bearing, but when I jacked the front right and tried to rock the wheel top and bottom, there was no movement. Is there another way to check the bearing without pulling the hub apart?

mons72:

 

I just saw this thread:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=26417

 

Gave me a few things to check - hope it helps you too.

markman34:

You mentioned your problems with your wheel bearing. How did you 'know' there was a problem. My '93 Loyale wagon has a noise coming from the front passenger wheel, totally speed dependent, not correlated with accel, decel, brake, or steering. I suspected the wheel bearing, but when I jacked the front right and tried to rock the wheel top and bottom, there was no movement. Is there another way to check the bearing without pulling the hub apart?

 

 

 

No.

 

Yes, it's a PIA to pull the hub apart, but really, if you want to able to depend on your car, it's the thing to do.

 

Pyro

make sure both washers are installed. the flat washer has a slight curvature so the cured side should be out agaist the nut, so that the not holts its torque

i now it's the wheelbearing. when i'm rocking it on the top and bottom, it moves a couple of millimeters( 5-6 mm). but i have heard that i have to measure up the hub, to check it for damage. if it damage i have to buy a new one and putt on the car.

 

i now it's the wheelbearing. when i'm rocking it on the top and bottom, it moves a couple of millimeters( 5-6 mm)...

I believe that this movement could also be caused by worn balljoint, bad inner suspension arm bushing, or both.