A tip to finding a bad wheel bearing is to spin each wheel by hand while grabbing one of the coils of the spring for that wheel. You can usually “feel” the bad bearing vibrating through the coil spring.

So nice to hear the birds chirping in the background. Something you don't hear in the city..

Kenny I luv the vids. You are old school I love. It.

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. 😊😊

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. 👍🏼

I enjoy all your videos. A common sense approach to diagnosis and repair.

I really enjoy your education, I have been involved in some type of repair for 50 years. First time I have had a question, why not use a wheel puller

Thank you for the longer video

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!

OMG .....I have never seen a SUBU wheel bearing come out that easy. I am moving south!

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

Thank you for your videos!!!

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 😁

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!

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.

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.

Thanks for sharing!

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.

Nice work…

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'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 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.

great videos, just discovered your channel really liking it.

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.

Damn Kenny your always wrenching. Keep them coming. I'll keep watching.

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 take a rim or a puller modified to attach behind 3 lug nuts, make a 10-15 lb. Slide hammer. 5 to 10 slams comes out

LOL!!! That bearing cam out super easy compared to some of the subarus I've done, they can be far far more stuck then that one.

Manual impact drivers are your friend when it comes to those Phillips heads

Thanks for another great video,Kenny!

Thanks for a great video Kenny. Great job.

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.

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

Kenny, solid work man. Awesome.

Nice content. Subbed and added to my daily wrenching channels!

i found using a 14mm impact on the bearing bolts on the inside with a air hammer pops them right out

Better get a backing plate. have fun 😊

I prefer the accelerometer method. Save both before and after signatures for customer.

Had that happen on our old caravan. Both went bad at same time.

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

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.

Yes, please go over extended warrantys

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.

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 .

Get yourself a set of Chassis Ears, Kenny. Makes life easier if you’re a one-man shop. Cheers!

After doing only a couple of these and being instructed to use a press I assumed they all were done that way. They were a struggle for removal.

Did rear hub today on 2006 dodge grand caravan. Bit of a pain getting it lined up.

I was taught on bearings replace one do both

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 always do both sides regardless if one goes than the other soon will go soon

I have like five different size hammers for encouragement.

Just ordered a bearing for our 2017 Outback. 38 years in the business. Seems it was always the right rear on Subarus.

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

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

that one not too bad....the fun starts doing them in ny

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

I did rear wheel bearing last year on my Subaru outback driver's side. One bolt did not want to come out a real pain it was.

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

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

👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏

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.

You had to go Full "Bananas" on that one, didn't ya Ken ? Sometimes it's called for ... 😏

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.

Great content as always whats the official name for the red hammer you were using?

Right side bearings usually go first from riding on the rough side of the lane.

When doing a wheel bearing you should always do the job in pairs just like brakes,lights,etc,etc

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

Did you tap the new bearing into place with a mallet? I didn't notice that part of your work.

I believe I'd use a slide hammer or air chisel

I would like to see video on extended warranties.

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.

SOP always replace both sides just like breaks, tie rod ends and ball joints. It will keep you from looking bad and having comebacks.

Strange the manufacturer that make the hub bearing don't supply a new nut .

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

backing plates in stock at subaru, what's that tell you

I always replace both sides because I don’t find it at all unusual that both failed together.

I always thought that If you touch a wheel bearing and its bad, its hot after driving

Ken did you use a subaru oem or aftermarket hub assembly?

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?

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.

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!

Kenny how many miles was on the Subaru? 😁

Why weren't the two small bolts put back in? They were the first taken out.

Wow them bracket bolts where not tight at all

I usually don't comment, but you leaving the caliper dangling like that, when you can simply tie it with some wire, bungee cord or what ever.

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.

Are u in nc or sc

You possibly need a sliding hammer

Always replace both sides wheel Berrings at the same time, same age ready to fail.

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.

Why not use a hub puller?

get a 15 tone jack

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.

Didn't see you wiggle the wheel to verify bad bearing.

Why don't you just use a 3 pin puller to remove the bearing?

A subaru with bad rear wheel bearings no way... lol

Don't use the common parts house wheel bearings ,...use manufacture wheel bearings only , trust me on this one

you got no tools ?