Darn Impreza Wheel Bearings!!!

Gene...I feel for you....did you replace the rear bearing yourself? You should take it to a mechanic and have him drive it and give his opinion. You could take a much bigger hit with selling it at a discount than it would cost to fix. Could you have a brake dragging with the emergency brake out of adjustment? The sound doesn't seem similar to a rear CV joint going out, but it would be good to have someone who would know take a look. Just explain your circumstances and I'm sure any reputable shop would take a look at it for you.

Regards, Jim Lofgren

DMV person said that was on the low side, but well within the price boundries. I then put $1000 into it to bring it up to where it should have been (did it myself).....Pads, new calipers, refaced rotors, trans pan clean and flush, all filters, oil, plugs, differentials changed, timing belt and seals, indicator lamps changed, tie rod boot replaced and other "stuff"

I would say that if your only problem is the rear axel bearing (or whatever) and your milage is that low, you would be giving a deal to someone at 5300. If they can take it to a dealer and get out of it for less than $6000, they have done well. (assuming the car is aesthetically nice as well.

Regards, Jim

Hi, It could be CV joint or differential. Wonder why you keep bugging with bearing? Tony

Sure could.

A bad rear wheel bearing and bad front CV joint on my car made almost identical noises at first...

BTW, are you properly greasing those wheel bearings when you install them? If yours are some of the "properly greased from the factory" units (Subaru's claim) you might want to apply a healthy dose of professional skepticism to that claim and grease them anyway. Google "Subaru wheel bearing" for more info on this.

Rick

Additionally, make sure they are the 'newly recommended' roller style and that someone is CAREFULLY insatlling them - they are evidently easily installed in a 'binding' way.

Carl

Rick Courtright wrote:

My dad has a '95 Impreza that is making the same noise in the front end. He has a 5-speed and the noise is still there if you put it in neutral and coast. The noise also seems to diminish at higher speeds. It's only in the front end though.

Henry

Well the wheel balance did wonders. The tires are now 5 years old and the car has spent the majority of the last 2.5 years sitting around. The noise is down to maybe 10% of what it was. I am fairly satisfied at this point. I am going to double check the shoes to sure they are adjusted right. Someone suggested that the shoes may be front and back specific. I mean one goes toward the front and other toward the rear. I didn't notice but I will check.

For the bearings, I pulled the hub and had a machine shop do the pressing. I decided that the 1st bearing might not have been installed correctly because the wheel had a lot of drag once I tightened up the hub nut. This last one was normal.

Wanna hear something even crazier? I had a clutch kit and timing belt laying around for a year that I never got around to installing. I have a friend who just opened an All Tune and Lube francise and he was having some financial trouble. I let him do all of the work. I added a water pump, thermostat, all cam and crank seals, and the serpentine belt to the list. They even replaced the tensioner and ALL of the timing gears. I spent a grand total of $1700. Like I said, I am selling to a friend and I figured that this was only cutting into my profit so it was no big deal. Plus it helped another friend get his business going. Everyone I know now wants to buy used cars from me in the future.

Gene

Interesting, my dad's has pretty cheap tires on it. I'll bet that is the cure then. I have no tire noise from mine what-so-ever other than a bit of a hum at high speed. I have Ziex Falken? They are directional tread and about $75 a piece for 190 60 15. They were on the car when I bought it. I don't know if I will get them again, but my dad's are really noisy.

Henry

I had the right rear wheel bearing replaced on my MY00 Impreza Sportswagon last Thursday. This is the 3rd wheel bearing I've had to replace (my previous complaints are in this group's archives). The previous bearing I had to replace (LHR) was in January this year. The car only has 68000 kms on it.

This time I jacked-up to Subaru Australia about it (thought it was the LHR bearing again). They denied that wheel bearings are a common problem on early model Imprezas and Foresters, but offered to possibly cover the cost of repair. Because it was the right hand rear bearing (and first failure on that side) I had to pay (A$360) to get it fixed.

Cheers

Shane Canberra