Project 2015 Outback: Wheel Bearing & CV Axle Replacement! Again! No More Noise, For Real This Time! 

Being a Powersports Mechanic, I generally do not like to work on cars. But, I have to say, after rebuilding my daughter's toasted 2005 Forester, I think Subaru's are really cool, and pretty fun to work on. I like them a bunch... Your video's are great!

I recently swapped a wheel bearing on my 2013 outback 3.6 using a cheap punch set from HarborFreight and a 5lb hammer. Loosen the four nuts on the back of the wheel bearing assembly a few turns. Then use the largest punch in the kit and tap all four sequentially. Came right off.

I love watching your videos so I can imagine what it’s like to work on a vehicle with no rust. 😂 I’m from the rust belt (Massachusetts)

I recently did some work to my 06 legacy GT, did both front axles, knuckles, hub and bearings, inner and outer tie rods, brake calipers, control arms and ball joints, all because I bought an old rusty POS that had leaking front axle boots. It wasn't bad, but now I feel confident when driving it.

And after a brief test drive, you discover the rumbling sound was coming from the rear all along. :D

Always great to see the tools to make the job a little easier!

that's a great parts site, I have used them for a year now: timing belt & pulleys, water pump & thermostat, and front hubs, bushings, CV boots.

I hope you didn't get stung by that hornet that was on your arm!! Great video as usual. (13:44 mark)

Your videos are so helpful. I'm in the middle of swapping out the engine and transmission on my daughter's outback. Biggest automotive project I've ever taken on. Seeing light at the end of the tunnel though.

Ive replaced my cv on the driver's side THREE TIMES NOW. i love the car.. i hate the repairs

That WASP was lining up for a good sting. You lucked out on that one. love your videos.

I found an amateur video here on RU-vid on a Subie where both wheel bearing and axle were replaced, and interestingly they found that once the wheel bearing was out, there was enough clearance to pull the axle straight out! They didn't need to remove the lower ball joint because the axle came straight out the hole in the knuckle. Have you ever done it that way? Is there an inner dust shield that needs to be replaced if you do that? If so, I wonder if a new dust shield could be installed without tipping the knuckle back to gain clearance....

This job would take me a day due to rust and I'd be replacing bolts etc, if it was as easy as this I'd enjoy it. Your very lucky.

That rotor came off exactly how all of mine do...said nobody ever!!

Amazing you posted this video, I had a 2017 Subaru Impreza with 40K on it and started to notice a humming sound which varied with speed. I took it to a dealer and found the left rear wheel bearings were failing which would mean changing the whole hub as the bearings are pressed in and part of the hub or so I was told. Lucky for me I had the extended warranty and all parts and labor were covered ! THEN 3 months later the right rear bearings went out and the same repair had to be performed ?????? I have never had wheel bearing go out in any car I've owned ( 45 ) and started to wonder if quality control was slipping at Subaru. I traded that Impreza for a new 2020 and have had no problems with wheel bearings since. Was or is this a issue with Subaru as the dealer told me " you must be driving on rough roads ". LOL

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 the hornet or wasp was just checking in 😅

daughter has a 15/Forester same issues i did all 4 hubs & axles. done. 14 to 17 subies had cheap quality parts. subi inside info.

I always replace both sides at the same time, my reasoning is if one side has gone the other side can't be far behind, if they're both done the same mileage.

Nice job! You make it look so easy! Thanks for the great video!

Great video, especially appreciate including the torque for each bolt & nut. I just did the job on a 2018 Outback with 99K miles. Notes: * You need a puller for the hub (as shown in this video). I could have hammered until the end of time and it wouldn't have come out. * I ended up freeing the spindles and pressing out the hubs with a shop press. It required detaching 2 bolts at the strut and two ball joint studs. The upper strut bolt needs to be marked so it can be clocked exactly the same when reinstalled. My fork splitter damaged the spindle's lower ball joint, so it had to be replaced. * Getting the lower ball joint out of the spindle is a bitch. Neither one would come out without me driving a chisel into the slit to spread the spindle where it surrounds the joint. Even after that it was a big struggle to get it out. I cleaned the pocket and put a layer of anti-seize to make it easier for the next person doing the job. * My new axles didn't come with differential seals. Those had to be purchased separately. Oddly, O'Reilly said the driver and passenger side seals were different part numbers - 710724 (driver) and 710739 (passenger). They looked identical. * A slide hammer with the 3-fingered attachment worked great to remove the old seals. * I tapped in the new seals using a long rod, .25" thick with a flat face. Just worked my way around and around the outside of the seal until the rod was hitting the diff case. * No tool needed to either pull the axle or install a new one. A good yank pulled it out and a good shove put the new one all the way in. * The old hubs were definitely bad - in one full rotation, part of the turn was easy and part was MUCH firmer.

Oh Man, Video quality has really improved over the years. Id love to see some old videos "revisited" with more quality and details. (of course they are good still)

I sure wonder why the engineers are connecting the sway bars to the struts and not the lower control arms anymore?

Thanks for the video Robert nicely done 👍❤❤. Take care of yourself and family and be Blessed.

My new hobby... Fixing my car. Which costs more than having dogs and costs more than being female. My step uncle replaced my axle for me and didn't do all these steps. I'm worried i have to replace it again as it wasn't measured and i hear a grinding noise that i thought was the brakes but it could be the axle. 😢.

My 2018 crosstrek ive had to replace all 4 wheel hub assemblies. Im pretty sure subaru used potmetal bearings when they made these. Lmfao. Every single one has been a bear to get out. The crosstrek is southern owned its entire life and it hasnt really seen any snow.

I just had my 2014 Outback in for scheduled 90,000 mile service at the dealer. I now need new hubs which are developing a hum which indicates bearings going bad. I was quoted $1355.00 to replace. Is this a reasonable price? Is 90k miles typical? I really appreciate your videos which helps make me a much more informed consumer.

Cool hub puller, I have the original version of that torque wrench and it still works fine lol

This is a very helpful video. I need to do this on a 2014 Outback in Idaho where we use salt on the roads. I expect it to be pretty seized in the knuckle. Where did you get the tool for pulling the hub assembly?

That's what happened to me on my 2017 Impreza. Right rear was super load, but when I replaced it I could hear the left side was also groaning.

Okay I could really use some advice! I have a 1995 Subaru Legacy wagon with only 31,000 original miles on it. It had sat for over 10 years when I got it. Put around $1200 in it to get it running it only had 15,000 at the time. I’ve been driving it for 3 years with no issues until yesterday. I replaced battery and alternator now I’m not getting any power can’t even jumpstart.

Curious if labor rates are lower in the southern/no salt states as there is no rust to battle? Book times are all the same.

I replaced it in the front of my car as well. They charged me about $1000 for it.

chillest ive ever seen someone with a bee on their arm

No no no did not see what u did man I could not get that off, what did u do man, that was was to easy😢

You are a Ray of Sunshine, compared to other Subaru 'Experts' LOL, as alway's very informative !

Thank you very much Mr. S.🙌🙌

Enjoy you video. When would you replace a lower control arm? My dealership says mine has split in the rubber bushing and asked if I hear a clunking sound ...but I don't, it sounds smooth...especially when braking all good. Wanted to have your opinion on the subject. Same model as this one.

Yup. Roaring from both front bearings. Clicking from both sides on slow tight turns. 13 legacy. Ugh.

Will you post the total spent on the car and parts to complete the maintenance and repairs?

When's the shop coming?

After viewing your video on replacing a Subaru timing chain it awakened a concern I have about my 2017 Forester with the 2.5 engine. I presently have 71,000 miles on the vehicle which has been well cared for and maintained by my local Subaru dealer. Over the past year I have noticed that I get a loud rattling sound from the engine upon a cold start each day. No problem on subsequent starts. It is verry brief (about 1 second) and is more pronounced in cold weather. It sounds like shaking a metal coffee can with bolts in it. I originally attributed this to the required extremely thin weight synthetic oil used. The fact that I have gone 5 years without hearing this and only have about 1 more year on my extended warranty has me anxious about the possibility of potentially facing a very expensive repair in the future. I have mentioned this to my Service Rep who minimized it. Do you think I have any basis for my concern it might be related to the timing change? Thanks, Ron

Man did you get stung Robert?

Hi! I had the same issue. Had huge clicking noise when steering fully turned and accelerating. Got both the front axles changed. Though the clicking noise is gone under normal acceleration when steering fully turned to either side, but it still gives me clicking noise when accerlerated hard. My mechanic told me it might be a transmission issue. Is he right?

Thank you so much for this video. You have been a great help.

Always look forward to your videos Thank you.Pity you don't have the diesel in your area.Would love to see what your opinion of them would be. Cheers

I have the exact same outback in the same color, wondering if you can do a video on changing the rear hatch window seal, they all seem to shrink and pull away wondering if there’s a way to replace it without pulling all the trim from the inside? Thanks for your videos. They’re a lot of help.

If you only hear roaring and not clicking, would just the hub assembly be good enough? Is there a reason to replace both at the same time when only one is needed?

Does that lisle puller work on rear bearings ?

@mrSubaru1387 Do you think the only good replacement cv axles for Subarus are genuine oem ones?

I have a 2013 3.6r with about 125k and I've been trying to figure out if the two front axles are stock, remans, or aftermarket. Are the inside cups always green on genuine ones, even remans? Mine are dull black, but I read some of the remans are sandblasted and no longer green. 🤔 Have a bit of a shudder when I get up to 60 mph and even a shake in neutral when I rev it to 2000-3000 RPM. It'd be nice to rule out aftermarket axle issues.

Anyone know what his wheel-hub removal tool is? I should probably get one for my wrx.

My 2015 needs some rear cv axles done, one is a tiny bit loose and the other seems finne? Probably best to do both at the same time? Thanks so much for the video, big big help!!!!

I would just like to point out that I was not able to successfully remove my hub assembly. After much effort with a slide hammer, I managed to get half of the wheel hub out. The other half would not budge. I now having to replace the entire wheel spindle. #rustfrompast

Thanks again for all your content.

Is this the same process for the rear of the vehicle? I have axle seals leaking and have to pull axle out to get to seal.

All of that took you only 20 minutes? Or did you do some things beyond the video? Just curious, you're so good with these Subies

Wow this was so easy, I have 2019 outback and got hit by a car I was able to replacement everything but cv axle is stucked. I used cv axle removal and and pry bar nothing works. I ended uo just replacing the boot and regressed it. Any thoughts that?

Could you please list the Subaru part number for the axle seal and nut? Is there a difference is part number for front or rear axle seal?

One of Subaru's biggest screw ups.. the design and implementation of wheel bearings since 1998 and never fixed or helped customer with the very expensive problem!!!!

I'm curious, is it eequired to replace the cv axle along with the hub or is that added precaution? Thanks!

You ever have the CV retainer clip stay in the differential? That's what happened last night on the rear of my 2012 Outback. I wondered why the new CV wasn't going in.

I was hoping this could be something I could do myself, but I don't think I'd be able to do it.

Thanks for the video.

I have this problem in a 2015 Legacy I just bought. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to have both front sides replaced at the dealership? Ball park estimate Thanks

Nicely done. Great content.

I have a 2016 forester I have now put 2 wheel bearings in my left rear. Now 8 months later I’m humming again, I’m wondering if the reason I’m burning through bearings is because the knuckle may be out of round ever so slightly that yes the assembly will fit but causes part failure. I am not buying OEM bc it went bad once why expect it to not go bad again. Any idea what it may be.

I have a 2006 Outback that I needed to replace the front outer cv boot on. Cant find boots. The tripod joint has no retainer inside the tulip to take it apart to put a boot on.

Hi, what install tool do you use for the axle seal?

Why do the CV axle boot keep ripping/ breaking ? I have replaced 2 axles already. Thank you in advance

Yet another good video . What's the status on your shop? I do recall at one time you were going to be building one with a lift. Is that still the plan?

I seen the first video and always wondered why he didn’t replace both

When he popped the ball joint loose was that the bottom (ball) part or the threaded bolt/nut end?

Do you sell you project cars?

Great video. I have to bring my car too you . 😮

Any plans to do the fuel pump? I got 370k on my 15 OB and I think my fuel pump is losing prime. But cant find a walk through for a 5th gen.

Uhhh, how long is your pry bar?

I own a 2002 Impreza RS sport wagon with a blown 2.5L SOHC engine. Is there any advantage of replacing it with a 2.0L, or should I replace it with a 2.5?

U have rear bearings video?

Can someone please provide the part number for the passenger side axle seal? I have a leak where the cv axle pushes into the diff casing.

Nice work 👍

I love those torque wrenches can I get the part numbers for both of them?

Sweet video!

Nice job.❤

I hope you did not get stung by your buddy!

The bee at 13:37 🐝

fantastic video. Can I ask ? different topic a little . IS 1600$ for diff. mounts and brackets parts and labor. Is that a fair price? Thanks!

How do we feel about non-OEM wheel hub assemblies? (ex. SKF BR930928). I've heard quality ones are equivalent but would love to get your thoughts!

Is this the same for a 2018 forester limited?

Do you have a link to that torque wrench?

Is this the Lisle or Jokasi hub remover?

Are Subarus bad about breaking lug bolts?

Never understand why people will only do one sided repair.

Are Subaru oem parts made in Japan or are they made in china like a lot of oem parts are?

Wow!

What was the total parts bill?

Why don't you rebuild the axles instead of replacing them ?

What fluid does he have in the pump up sprayer?

Why do you need to do that repair? Seems early fail to me! Put a tarp down over the dirt Bro!

Rear plz that vehicle

Ah yes. The low cost of ownership, according to Subaru. PS: Subaru Partsdeals doesn’t accept Subaru of America parts coupons. Wth?