Gloyale Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 It is my understanding, that the front wheel bearing of a 93 Legacy, and nearly every other soob, is a non-servceable bearing. Meaning that once the race or rollers are worn and it has play it is shot. Meaning no amount of tightening the axle nut will make the bearing tighter. Or at least it shouldn't. Something is binding if it does. Am I missing something? I need to swap Knuckle/hub assemblies because of a broken ball joint area in the cast. The I bought a knuckle and when it arrived I find enough play in the bearing to hear and feel a Clank-Clank when I wiggle the hub. Seller says that the slop will go away when the axle is installed. The bearing has black grease seeping out and looks gritty too. Should I trust this is a good hub and use it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Early Legacy bearings are ball bearings of the non-tapered type so over-tightening them has no effect on the bearing. It won't help (or hurt) the bearing. From your description, you'll need to replace both bearings in the hub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Re-reading your post: You bought a new hub with bearings installed? If that's the case, the bearings are bad and the Seller doesn't know what he's talking about. Take it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share Posted May 13, 2007 My steering knuckle is physically cracked and broken, the casting. Bearing is pressed into knuckle, hub pressed into bearing. I need to replace the cracked knuckle. I want to find a knuckle with a good bearing in it already. Basically there are no Subarus out here in Wisconsin yards and if there were they'd be so rusty I don't want their parts. (my legacy is an Oregon immigrant) A board member here said he would get me one out west and ship it to me. Paid him 50 dollars. I appreciate the effort he put into getting it, but I really wanted to avoid buying a new bearing, that was the whole point of shipping one from out west. I don't quite know what to do because I don't want to be a wongleflute to another board member. If you're reading this you know who you are. What should we do? The bearings in this knuckle ARE shot though, I can't use it without new bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 You can find all of the knuckle and hub assm. you need if you will type in junkyarddog. You can put your request their and junk yards from all around will contact you by E- mail if they have what you need. I use this site alot it is very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 The bearings ARE replaceable. I haven't done it on the Legacy knuckle but I have on the GL wagon and Brat; essentially the same. Do you have a reputable shop in your area that can replace them for you? It shouldn't be that expensive; maybe an hour labor and the cost of the bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 i would not blame the guy who sent you the parts unless they were his parts. he may have just picked it up and sent it to you and doesnt' know much about bearing replacement or what's good/bad. that being said....i've seen this play you speak of before. i installed a hub that had new bearings pressed in and it had this slack and the shop said it was fine. when i later checked them, there was no play when it was on the vehicle....and i don't think there was any play when i parted that vehicle out either. actually i could check i still have one or both of those hubs. but i'm not home right now. but i think they are tight now. and...i've seen hubs that were pulled from good vehicles, and were tight when i removed them, have play after sitting for a year or two. maybe it's from being banged around or something, i do not know but i've seen it happen. i'm not a bearing expert and have never replaced them, i let a shop do it....but i have had a few experiences with "play in the hub" like you mention and i still don't understand what was going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share Posted May 13, 2007 I don't really "blame" him. I know he went out of his way to do this for me. I am just super skeptical of installing this bearing. Even if it didn't have slop it is really gritty. Grossgary, are you saying you think I should install it and see if it tightens up? It doesn't seem like that is right but I suppose if you say you've seen this before then..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Grossgary, are you saying you think I should install it and see if it tightens up? It doesn't seem like that is right but I suppose if you say you've seen this before then..... no, not at all. i'm only telling you my experience seeing "loose" bearings in a used hub that was on a perfectly running car and on newly pressed bearings that i installed on my car and was told "that's normal". i do not recommend installing them unless someone who knows what they are talking about tells you. frankly i'd like to know why newly pressed and greased bearings had play in them and it was "okay". i was hoping someone would chime in and explain, i know there are tons of people that have done bearings before on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 I have purchased and installed new front bearings for my ea82's (I went for the upgraded sealed bearings ) ...the bearings came from a shop that only sells bearings/bushing and they told me that a little play (very small amount) would be normal for the new item and since two bearings are used with a spacer on each side, they would run true when the proper torque is applied to the cv axle nut...they had two different versions of the same bearing.."normal", which was, I think, apparently for the stock application and the other bearing for the subaru had a little "extra" play built into them...for what purpose, I have no idea...maybe the bearing you have was only dragged thru the mud etc and never used with any dirt in it..clean up the bearing with brake fluid completely and if it still feels slightly gritty or turns smoothly and then slightly "catches" when turning with your hand , I'd consider the bearing would need to be replaced for the long term ..... no, not at all. i'm only telling you my experience seeing "loose" bearings in a used hub that was on a perfectly running car and on newly pressed bearings that i installed on my car and was told "that's normal". i do not recommend installing them unless someone who knows what they are talking about tells you. frankly i'd like to know why newly pressed and greased bearings had play in them and it was "okay". i was hoping someone would chime in and explain, i know there are tons of people that have done bearings before on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 14, 2007 Author Share Posted May 14, 2007 Legacy bearings are different. There is just one wide bearing. I am just going to replace the whole bearing but the press job is gonna be expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 local shop charges me $50 per hub to remove old, clean up, grease and install new seals and bearings. and....i'm sorry i didn't take notice this was a legacy, the play i've seen was in ER (older gen) series hubs. i've never taken notice of an EJ hub off the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 14, 2007 Author Share Posted May 14, 2007 local shop charges me $50 per hub to remove old, clean up, grease and install new seals and bearings. and....i'm sorry i didn't take notice this was a legacy, the play i've seen was in ER (older gen) series hubs. i've never taken notice of an EJ hub off the vehicle. Yeah EJ hubs it's is different. Th bearing is pressed into the Knuckle, then the Hub pressed into the beraing center. You can remove axles without the hub coming apart. Nice cause you don't have to *press* the axle through when you swap them. But PITA if you have to change the hub. Why doesn't subaru use a bolt on hub/bearing assembly like GM FWD cars. That bolt on hub/bearing is abou tthe only thing I like about GMs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 Well, I just recieved the brand new bearing. It has zero play at all. $52 dollars for pressing, $12 dollars seals, plus $34 for the bearing. Plus the $50 for the used knuckle. So my attempt at a $50 dollar fix turned into a $150 But the answer is no. These bearings should not need to have preload to have tightness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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