I know you’ve been doing this for as long as I have. And yes, it IS unusual to have both bearings go at the same time. In theory though, both have travelled the same distance and I’ve found it can work out better to always do both sides. This is in no way a criticism of your work. I’m really impressed by the work ethic and knowledge you exhibit. Love your channel 😁
Having worked in manufacturing, I can tell you that automotive parts/assemblies are designed to go together quickly on a moving assembly line, not necessarily to take apart for replacement. Axle- and suspension systems, entire engines, etc. are lifted from underneath the chassis and quickly bolted in and plumbed/connected. Sometimes digging into them after they've been so neatly tucked into place can be a challenge. Kenny, I applaud you for meeting that challenge. But, be careful. 👍🏼
Another good trick for test driving for bad wheel bearings. Is to find a road with sweeping corners right and left or that is wide enough to slalom the car. Where a wheel bearing may be fairly quiet in a straight line once it is subjected to a sideload it can make much more noise. 😊😊
Hey Kenny,those Sub's are a pain in ne ohio rust belt,we support the suspension with a jack stand to get all the "bang for the buck" with the shock tool. Also we spray the backside of the all the knuckles where the bearings live w/wd40,lps2,during oil changes on customer cars,really make a difference taking these apart . great video keep wrench'n! Thanks!
Nice work Kenny. I have had hubs go aswell also learned cheap onones are usually not worth purchasing. Had some growling for 1000km had one was quiet and 50 km later the wheel was trying to leave the vehicle! Gm Cadillac srx. Notorious for hub failure actually any vehicles with large diameter wheels and wide tires like 235 and wider
I've have used that same Hub Shocker tool on many New England Subaru's. It works well! Tool always to the top. I add heavy washers between the nuts and the tool, ( it helps keeping the nuts tight) hit the Tool full swing with a 8 Lb sledge hammer and they usually separate after 1 or 2 solid hits. Short handled hammer isn't enough when they are rusted in.
Been working at the source for a couple years, there is also an advisory to replace the backing plates with the bearings, there is a 3k tool to remove these in seconds. Wheel bearings in the rust belt are sold almost daily. Keep wrenching!
Of course, you know much more than I do (that's why I love your vids.), but I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate how you explain not only the how, but why things are done. I do the same thing when my friends & family watch me work on their vehicles. The way my head works I feel the need to know the ins & outs behind the work. Long time subscriber, thanks again.
God knows how many Subaru bearings I’ve done and warrantied in the rust belt. Doesn’t matter if you soak them over night sometimes they’re in there. Used air hammers from the back with a matching bolt not the original so it doesn’t get damaged and air hammered that way just evenly around. Hub shocker works when it wants to. I always replace them in pairs and take the wheel speed sensor out, had a coworker bust both sides before he realized it. Not a cheap mistake.
Kenny, It's always a great learning curve to watch you do your magic. Isn't being a trusted mechanic such a good feeling helping people who need your expertise. Pete
When you were struggling to get that hub separated I was thinking a slide hammer might work also. Though it was obviously quite stuck due to corrosion. Great video as always. Thanks.
Such a labor intensive job. I admire the man for doing such frustrating work day after day. An over-looked hero who people dump thier auto problems on his shoulder. Grrr for rust !
I used an old brake disc, put it on inside out with spacers behind the nuts. It gave me room to swing the hammer hitting alternate sides. It worked well for me on a 2014 Forrester, in NY. Great content, very well explained.
Had a Chevy that had loud front wheel bearing and you would swear up and down it was the passenger side. When I jacked the wheel up and started spinning and feeling It I couldn't feel anything odd or rough so I went to the other and it was rough as heck. Turned out it was drivers side after all. Crazy sound vibrations. Last one I did on my station wagon was right after putting new tires on back. I thought it was new tires making more noise. After putting my ear on shock towers while riding in back I found sure enough it really was bearing starting to go.
I've found that if I need to do one side...I just do both. Same for front ends stuff, if it needs a part related to front end alignment, I just change everything and get the alignment done once. Have been bitten too many times and paid for alignments and bought tires when changing out only the one "currently bad" part. Change everything, and drive basically trouble free for several years. Figure I'm money ahead when you factor in scrubbed tires, down time and the cost of alignments. Works for me anyways.
Another great video! I happen to have that same screwdriver. Talking about aftermarket warranties would be great! I have actually worked for a couple of those companies and they’re very interesting! Lol
Your living the Subaru dream, our dealer keeps the bearings and backing plates in stock for these, I live in Wisconsin, bearings seized to backing plates.
I had a 95 vw Golf that we bought brand new and both my rear wheel bearings went bad at the same time. I suspect it was due to a few loads of 80 lb concrete bags that i had hauled in the hatchback that exceeded the allowable weight limit. This was back in the 1999-2000 timeframe, back when vw still made quality cars. After our next vehicle (2003 Jetta) had the water pump, fuel pump, 2 coil packs and a window motor go out the first 70k miles we switched to Kia and have never looked back. And my trusty 2006 Silverado is my concrete bag hauler nowadays.
Funny though My 2001 VW I only ever changed bearings all round once, rears because the drums wore oversize, so a new set of bearings with the new drums was a kit, and front one hub at a time, as front hub assemblies are not that much more than the bearings alone, and save you that 2 hour cursing session getting the bearing block out. But done that, they were out of stock at the time, so time to use the big hammer, the big steel drift and the piece of pipe support instead, plus a lot of lube and a bit of heat to break the rust free. New went in with a layer of grease, so changing would be easier next time.
Both front hub went bad on my Chevy. Driving down this winding highway, started to hear the left one on turns, another hour of driving and the left started to hum as well, turning left. That was a 375 mile trip. Didn’t waste time, replaced both the next day.
Another father/son story Put A Chain link over stud with lug nut snuged down. Then about 3 or 4 ft. Away with slack whip Chain like a whip to snap the end on hub, like cracking a whip. It has worked many a time for me.
Kenny if one goes the other won't be far behind it matey and I always put copper slip on the mating faces to help with rusting I could tell they were shot by the sound like a Lancaster bomber taking off bloody hell
I had. 2011 Forester. Got new tires all around. Afterwards the rear developed whine. I decided to put it on Jack's and remove the rear wheels. OMG, tired shop tighten the lug nuts wat too tight. I put the wheels back on and properly torqued the lug to Subaru specs. No more whine .
I’ve done 2 of these on my Subaru that spent some time up north with nothing but hand tools. Not fun. My wife’s vehicle has never left Texas. I’m about to do her second one. After doing mine, I got better tools, hub puller, air hammer, map gas. I didn’t need anything special for my wife’s vehicle though, her’s was super easy. I cleaned and lubed all the surfaces that were bonded before assembly so it should come apart easier next time. I’ve got 100k on my replacement bearings. There’s a good chance I’ll be doing them again before the car’s done.
I have drilled and taped holes in rotors when they don't have the holes this also helps on heavy truck drums just go through the rotor and drum not the hub
Please do a video on all these so called ext. warranty. Once you have the rotor and brake caliper on just stick a screw driver to hold the rotor and axle from turning and tighten the nut to torque.
i never used to go for a ride to determine what berring was at fault , i used my stetoscope . The only time i went for a ride was when i was done doing the job or if i did go for a ride before doing the job its was becasue i didn,t see anything coming out of the wheel berrings with the stetoscope which told me that the sound came from elsewhere so i went for a ride to try to determine where the noise actually came from . it happened to me oftent that the custmer told me it was the wheel berrings just to discover that they were fine and that it was the differenciel that was making the noise aspecially those all wheel drive subaru . Their differenciel berrings wear down very fast after 60,000 miles
I have 2018 Subaru Legacy where I thought was in front and a friend was in back said it was a back 1. I jacked it up and had someone run car as I used a mechanics stethoscope and it was left rear. 6 months later, right wheel bearing went bad
For me if one side is bad I replace both sides no mater what the problem is. I'd rather spend the money because it's better just to replace things if the vehicle is aging. I've learned that if you just replace for example like one coil, Down the road another is going to go bad. Especially in older vehicles. I just think it's cost effective.
I wish you had mentioned the year and the miles on that Subaru. I had a 2012 Forster that was just out of it's three year 100,000km warranty and a rear wheel bearing failed.
Simply because both are the same age with the same mileage on them. of course if both are noisy one will be slightly, or much worse than the other. it's rare that both howl the same, but possible.
Hey can you do a video on a dodge Ram steering box replacement I need to do mine but I like your videos and I would love for you to do one of them video if possible.. thank you
I used my pickle / tuner fork before too work out a hub when I say pickle fork I mean the ball joint fork I got fork behind hub and worked my way around hitting the handle to pop out hub
I've actually never thought of a pickle fork ... Great idea !! When I start with the use of Go-Pro cameras and better lighting (a few months away) , I'll have to make a video doing it that way !! Thanks for watching !!
@@WrenchingWithKenny thanks I was replacing a hub like that one time it was giving me a real hard time I was trying to think of something to get it out with out going to autozone and rent the sled hammer I didn t think it was going to work I was just about to give up gave it that one last hit and I saw hub move and I was like hell yeah but thanks for posting your videos I have learnt a lot watching them thank you I can t wait to see video
@@WrenchingWithKenny Oh I meant to say to I don t have air I’m just guy in my drive way on weekends with car on jacks with air a lot easier my way is if you don t have air
Everytime I step on the brake there is this loud pop sound. I'm thinking it's the rear driver caliper as that's where the origination of the noise is coming from. As well as that wheel is clanking when going over. Abump like train tracks or bumps in the road.
Hey Kenny, mechanics stethoscope, you must get one...... I'd send one to you if I wasn't on the other side of the world, much better than a screwdriver
Question, why only change one side? Why not just go ahead and do both sides all the time? Not just in this case, but whenever you do it. I guess the way I'm thinking is if one side has failed, wouldn't the other side be not too far behind?
Sometimes, you're bringing a $400 bill up to $800. It's really a cost thing. Our van has gone a year with one side repaired. The other hub bearing is still hanging in there. Welp...now I've jinxed it 😂
Very common problem with Subaru hub+ bearing, if this car was in the rust belt areas this job would take double the book time. Air hummer, hub shocker, touch and sledgehammer
They are threaded jacking holes put there to push the hub off, they don't have a bolt left in them... (he just used a spare bolt he had lying around) 😎👍☘️🍺
Subaru wheel bearings front and rear are not the greatest. However aftermarket bearings for Subaru vehicles usually do not last as long as OEM, so OEM should be used if possible.
Im guessing that you don't have a set of magnetic stethoscopes in your shop? Once you get a set you will not be able to live without them it's amazing how you can track down a noise that is underneath the vehicle!
Sot surprising, they both did the same distance, and they are likely off the line right next to each other, so were made as identical as can be, so failed at the same time. If the assemblies were different right to left they can be drastically different life wise, but identical they tend to stay close matched all the way through, from machining the balls and races, to assembly and install.
Honestly, for my own vehicle if one wheel bearing goes, both are going to be replaced. The other one can’t have that much life left, and for what a new car costs I don’t mind spending to keep what I have reliable.
Not unusual for a Subaru , thats why Subaru warranties them. I did one a few years ago where I did one side , the side I could hear and feel . About a month later the other side started with a faint noise. Turns out the customer did google search and decided to check dealer. Sure enough , an un announced recall. He got the dealer to do it . Since now knowing this I have sent 2 to the dealer , one at Christmas ‘22 and one just last week. I hate losing work but rather be honest about it then lose a customer because of it.
I have a 2016 Forester that had a bad rt. rear bearing bad. I took to the dealer I purchased it from for repair. They replaced the bearing and charged me 479 dollars. Said it was not covered by warranty. The car had 99238 miles showing. Live and learn. Thanks for the great video.
