1997 Legacy Wheel Bearings

[marc.wert.mail]

Has anyone inspected, lubricated, or replaced the wheel bearings on an
AWD. Are they sealed bearings or taper bearings? Are they
serviceable or just replacement? Are they able to be pressed in or is
it better to get the entire hub assm? Thanks

 

[S]

Hi Marc!

Has anyone inspected, lubricated, or replaced the wheel bearings on an
AWD. Are they sealed bearings or taper bearings? Are they
serviceable or just replacement? Are they able to be pressed in or is
it better to get the entire hub assm? Thanks

They are (I think) conical in the front, and ball in the rear. The
bearings/hub assembly are pressed together, and not serviced casually.
You can probably push in some fresh grease with your finger or a small
brush, maybe replace the inner seal, but that's about it w/o a shop
press and some _special_ tools.
When I've had to service these, I've always replaced the entire hub
with a junkyard part.
Email, and I'll see if I can't find the relevant sections of the
service manual for you.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[johninky]

Has anyone inspected, lubricated, or replaced the wheel bearings on an
AWD. Are they sealed bearings or taper bearings? Are they
serviceable or just replacement? Are they able to be pressed in or is
it better to get the entire hub assm? Thanks

Bearings are designed to be replaceable. Have yet to replace any on
my Legacy but have done it a few times on my XT6. I always just
remove the entire knuckle and have a machine shop press out the old
and in the new bearing. If a wheel bearing needs replaced, all the
new grease in the world will not save it so don't worry about
repacking them.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Has anyone inspected, lubricated, or replaced the wheel bearings on an
AWD. Are they sealed bearings or taper bearings? Are they
serviceable or just replacement? Are they able to be pressed in or is
it better to get the entire hub assm? Thanks

Some soobs have had 2 issues with wheel bearings. The new bearings will
fail quickly if not installed in precise alignment. And, at one time,
there was confusion as to whether the 'grease' in the bearings was just
protective and the bearing needs packing before installation or if it
was 'pre-lubed' with the proper grease. I would just keep these items in
mind and ask questions.

maybe someone with direct experience will respond.

Carl

 

[weelliott]

I have a 95 legacy, and assume it is the same as the 97. I've done the
rear wheel bearings on it, and they aren't too bad. You do have to
take the knuckle off and have a shop press the bearing out and put a
new one in. I suppose buyinh another knucle from a junker might be a
cheaper solution since I've bought one of those for 20 bucks, but the
bearing a seals are in the 35 buck range, but how do you know how much
life is left in those bearings?

I don't know about the front being tapers. something makes me think
they are like the rears, but I don't know that for sure.

Bill

 

[Robert L Wilson]

I have both 95 and 97 and in both the front bearings are similar to the
rear, not separate conical races with rollers like used to be common on cars
that don't drive the front wheels.
I need to replace a front on the 97 and a rear on the 95, they have been
gradually getting worse. Since I do have a press, the hard part will be just
getting the knuckles off: I have replaced the drive shafts in the front, and
know the bolt that clamps the ball joint wants to break off: Twice I have
had to drill out and rethread that hole and put in a new bolt. And once you
have the bolt out the ball joint still does not want to come out: In my
experience unless it has been out recently, you will almost surely ruin the
ball joint (at least its rubber grease seal) in getting the knuckle free. So
make sure you can get a new ball joint, and be prepared to fight to get
everything apart. That is all just to get the lower end of the knuckle free
from the suspension arm. I _think_ the upper end, just unbolting the upper
end of the strut from the body, should be easy, but I have not done that on
a Suby yet.
From what I read the rear will be easier except that it has a reputation for
being harder to press out.
So whenever I get around to that front I will try to replace everything
(drive shaft, strut at least) that would require disconnecting the lower end
of the knuckle.
Bob Wilson

 

[weelliott]

...In my experience unless it has been out recently, you will almost surely ruin the
ball joint (at least its rubber grease seal) in getting the knuckle free.So
make sure you can get a new ball joint, and be prepared to fight to get
everything apart.

I have attacked the front ball joints two different ways: With a
pickle fork, and with a two or three jaw puller(don't remember which
puller I used.) The pickle fork destroyed the rubber, and never did
get the ball joint off. I had a 5 foot length of pipe on it, and was
hanging on the end of the pipe(I was working on it in a pit with that
corner jacked up.) So I then went and got the puller, and it came
right off with that. It also didn't contact the boot in a manner that
I think would have destroyed the boot if it had still been intact.
It's also a much more elegant solution.

Bill