struts, bearings & brake drums

[Chicobiker]

How much have others paid to get the rear struts replaced on a 2003
OBS? Mine are done. Rear end of car feels sketchy. Car has 150k
kms.

Dealer says they would not bother using subaru parts as replacement,
they prefer KYB struts.

also, I know that my rear bearings are making noise again. It's not
bad yet. I had the car up in the air and could not feel or hear them
while turning the wheels manually. I seem to remember driving many
thousands of kms last time before I got them replaced. Do others
concur? Last time I had them done by a local shop. That was only 60k
kms ago. Any reason to believe that this should be done exclusively
by the dealer? The local shop seems rather well equipped, but I'm not
impressed by this durability. Would weak struts have contributed to
pre-mature bearing wear?

Also, my rear drums pulse a little bit. Probably a good opportunity
to machine the drums down a bit. How expensive are new drums, or is
machining them the way to go for teh first time. I'll probably need
new pads. I can't imagine them still being good after this many kms.

And finally, does it make sense to do any of these at the same time?
bearings & brakes seem to make sense, but the struts probably can be
done by themselves.

Chico

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

How much have others paid to get the rear struts replaced on a 2003
OBS? Mine are done. Rear end of car feels sketchy. Car has 150k
kms.

Dealer says they would not bother using subaru parts as replacement,
they prefer KYB struts.

also, I know that my rear bearings are making noise again. It's not
bad yet. I had the car up in the air and could not feel or hear them
while turning the wheels manually. I seem to remember driving many
thousands of kms last time before I got them replaced. Do others
concur? Last time I had them done by a local shop. That was only 60k
kms ago. Any reason to believe that this should be done exclusively
by the dealer? The local shop seems rather well equipped, but I'm not
impressed by this durability. Would weak struts have contributed to
pre-mature bearing wear?

Also, my rear drums pulse a little bit. Probably a good opportunity
to machine the drums down a bit. How expensive are new drums, or is
machining them the way to go for teh first time. I'll probably need
new pads. I can't imagine them still being good after this many kms.

And finally, does it make sense to do any of these at the same time?
bearings & brakes seem to make sense, but the struts probably can be
done by themselves.

Chico

 

[Bob Noble]

I'm surprised people replace their car's wheel bearings so much. All my
dealings with old Subaru cars has never actually needed new wheel bearings.
There was a time I thought I needed some in the back, but if you have drums
on the back, they tend to make a little noise from the shoes rubbing on the
side of the plate that supports them. Try the brake peddle lightly to see if
that noise you hear goes away or changes. If so, it's the brakes just making
noises. As I remember, a trouble-shooting diagram in a Subaru service manual
directed me to this and told how to try and quiet them. I know what the
noise is, so it doesn't bother me.

Subaru's use ball bearing instead of roller bearings in the wheels. Roller
bearing have to be torqued to a certain spec. and this makes them a bit more
touchy than the ball bearing ones, as far as setting them up and them also
have drag becasue of this. The ball bearing ones just ride freely on the
balls and are not torqued except what the car puts on them from you driving
it. Water getting into them could make them fail, but so far Subaru's wheel
seals have worked real good on the ones I've had.
When ever I mess with a so called sealed ball bearing, I always pry open the
rubber seal and add a bit more grease as I think they come a bit lacking in
grease. They usually just have a fine coating of grease, which might be how
they are supposed to be, but not to my liking. I like a little extra grease.
The rubber seal just snaps back into place.

 

[S]

Hi Chico!

How much have others paid to get the rear struts replaced on a 2003
OBS? Mine are done. Rear end of car feels sketchy. Car has 150k
kms.

Dealer says they would not bother using subaru parts as replacement,
they prefer KYB struts.

KYB struts are good; pretty sure KYB _makes_ the OEM strut anyway.
Shouldn't have any drive-ability issues after replacement, you might
have a look to be sure every thing has been reassembled properly and
tightened down. If everything looks OK, you might try swapping tires
front to rear. If that doesn't help, try a four wheel alignment.

also, I know that my rear bearings are making noise again. It's not
bad yet. I had the car up in the air and could not feel or hear them
while turning the wheels manually. I seem to remember driving many
thousands of kms last time before I got them replaced. Do others
concur? Last time I had them done by a local shop. That was only 60k
kms ago. Any reason to believe that this should be done exclusively
by the dealer? The local shop seems rather well equipped, but I'm not
impressed by this durability. Would weak struts have contributed to
pre-mature bearing wear?

Rear wheel bearings aren't usually a problem, at least not on the
previous generation soobies. Do you drive a lot of dirt/bumpy roads,
especially (er. um) at speed? If so, this could contribute to early
bearing (and strut) failure, especially if combined with bad struts.
The only good way to check the wheel bearings is with the brake
caliper _and_ drive shaft removed. Too much drag otherwise.

Also, my rear drums pulse a little bit. Probably a good opportunity
to machine the drums down a bit. How expensive are new drums, or is
machining them the way to go for teh first time. I'll probably need
new pads. I can't imagine them still being good after this many kms.

Pretty sure your OBS has disc brakes on the rear; the drum is the
e-brake. Aftermarket rotors are quite inexpensive, and probably a
better choice than turning the OEM ones. Be sure to service the
calipers when the pads are changed. Rare for the e-brake shoes to need
replacement, unless you make a habit of driving around with the
e-brake applied.

And finally, does it make sense to do any of these at the same time?
bearings & brakes seem to make sense, but the struts probably can be
done by themselves.

Once the car is up in the air, it involves little extra effort to
perform any needed service to the wheel/hub/brakes. The struts are a
pain in the ass, but easier if you undo the sway bar first. The brake
caliper (at least on earlier models) has to come off the first time
due to a conflict with one of the lower strut bolts. Most people
replace the bolt the other way, making subsequent service easier.
Another time saving trick is to use a hack saw to cut thru the bracket
where the brake line attaches to the strut, and use a large pliers to
bend the bracket to clear the brake line. Bend it back into shape upon
reassembly, and fit the retaining clip. Good as new, and far quicker
than bleeding the brake caliper. Also less risk of introducing
contamination.

Now that I think about it, the struts on the '02 WRX I used to have
had the brake line bolted to the strut body. Yours are probably the
same way, so the above is a non-issue.

Hope this is helpful.

ByeBye! S.

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