[dukdude]

UPDATE: PROBLEM SOLVED! REAR WHEEL BEARINGS REPLACED

As @ Vishnu mentioned "the silence is deafening!"

I went and bought some non-OEM but quality Made in Japan TIMKEN "Wheel Hub Assemblies" off eBay to replace my existing failing wheel bearing assemblies. Specifically TIMKEN Part#: HA590522

Total cost for two wheel hub assemblies '14FXT: $217 and 4 hrs of my own labor for both rear hubs.
The stealorship wanted $245 for a single OEM wheel hub assembly, and for doing the whole replacement job one wheel would've been about $645. So about $1300 for both sides. Insane. Totally worth it for me to DIY. Not that hard either if you have the right tools.

I actually followed this thread for the '09-'13 Forester as it's mostly the same: http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f88/rear-wheel-hub-bearing-replacement-diy-125748/

But a few differences in how I did it:
1) I only took 2 bolts off to take brake caliper off, and hung it off the suspension coil with a zip tie to get it out of the way

2) To take brake rotor off, I borrowed the bolt holding the brake line in place since it's right there, then I put it into the screw hole of the brake rotor and it comes off like butter, no banging necessary. Immediately put back the brake line bolt back afterwards.

3) So, I had already removed the axel/spindle nut as soon as I got the tire off with my air gun, even before removing brake calipers. However, before removing the 4 bolts in the back holding in the hub assembly, I put the axel nut back on slightly to make it flush with the axel spindle and grabbed a 1x2 piece of wood about 1ft long I had lying around and knocked the other end of the 1x2 into the axel/spindle with a hammer to push back the axel/spindle maybe .5 inch to 1 inch and loosen it up for easier removal. After I noticed the spindle move back, I took the axel nut off, removed the 4 back bolts, and slowly pried around with a flat head until the hub assembly came off. I did not force anything to make it come off, I slowly did this as to not damage anything especially the backing plate and ebrake assembly. This way I didn't have to use the 3-arm puller or anything fancy.

4) I also did 177lb.ft torque for the axel nut after completion.

5) hardest part is aligning the the backing plate and new wheel hub assembly to the knuckle to put the 4 bolts back in. You'll just have to man handle it to put back the 4 bolts.

I would've hated to remove axel nut with a breaker bar. I have a small dewalt 20v electric impact gun and it wasn't enough to budge the axel nut. Fortunately my dad had a air compressor and pneumatic impact gun to remove the 32mm axel/spindle nut. Made the job so much easier.

Anyone attempting this should really take note of the ABS sensor and carefully remove that first.

That's it really. After getting both the old wheel hub assemblies out, I think both were bad.. but the driver side rear I can definitely feel a grinding as I spin it by hand. Passenger rear felt okay, but it physically didn't look too good. There was NO PLAY in them if doing the standard 12 and 6, or 9 and 3 o'clock shake test. Glad I did both, saved myself a ton of money, car is QUIET again, and was an interesting job as I've never done this before myself. I'm still wondering why my rear bearings went out so quickly at 66k miles. I rarely offroad, and do a ton of highway miles..maybe that's why. Either way I'm happy now that it's fixed the hum/drone/whirring was driving me crazy.

UPDATE: TIMKEN wheel hub assembly bearings failed after less than 30k miles (not sure if it had anythign to do with buying off eBay). Anyway, I replaced, again, with MOOG hub assemblies and hoping they'll last much longer... and they have a 3 year warranty from advanced auto parts. I've since put on about 4k miles, everything ok for now.

 

[Gdaddy721]

Cool, glad to hear it's fixed and the job was done right since you did it yourself!
Thanks for the write-up. If the fronts ever go, it'll be a piece of cake for you to replace.
I had my front passenger side go, but it was my fault. I was hooning in the snow and I hit a curb (a snow covered curb)
Funny, right after it happened I remember reading a post on this forum and the OP mentioned the word "subris", a witty replacement of the word "hubris" for those of us that think our Subaru AWD can get us out of anything... lesson learned.

 

[dukdude]

I'm hoping the fronts will last a lot longer! I'm pretty careful trying not to hit potholes etc but I guess hitting things covered by snow is always a possibility haha.

I actually got through some slightly flooded areas in my car here in TX with all the crazy rain recently... not recommended at all but yes I do feel a bit too overconfident in the Subaru AWD to get me out of stuff sometimes. Last thing I want is to flood my car out, don't drown.. go around!

 

[Eleslie]

Is the sound something like an airplane propeller?

 

[ntotrr]

I describe it as a loud "droning" or "humming" sound.

 

[Andyman]

Just had the front left bearing go bad in my '15 2.5i Premium. It was making a pronounced humming noise (like tire noise on pavement), but unlike other cars I've driven with a single bad bearing, it didn't change all that much when I turned. There was obvious play in the driver's side wheel when the car was jacked up.
Got a replacement bearing (MOOG from Rock Auto, not a cheapie generic), installed it yesterday. A bit of a pain getting all the suspension parts detached, but once the knuckle was detached, it wasn't too hard to knock out the hub assembly and replace it. Reassembled, all was well. Both the play and the road noise are gone!
Unfortunately, this replacement resulted in a problem with the Speed Sensor in the same wheel. Mechanic's sensor says there's no signal from that wheel, and all the other wheels are stuck at a 4mph signal. I know I put the sensor back in snugly (verified a few times), and there was no visible damage to the wire or the sensor. Maybe a bad bearing, maybe a different air gap between the sensor and hub ring, or maybe invisible damage to the sensor?

I read that this can happen if there's a bit of rust or dust preventing the sensor from seating exactly the same as it had before, resulting in a different air gap, so I actually pulled the passenger side sensor and replaced it, same as I had on the driver's side. No improvement. For today, I needed to get to work so I'm driving on it and dealing with the slew of speed sensor-associated warning lights.
Has anyone seen something like this before? I'm thinking I'll get another bearing and try re-replacing the one I just did. If the MOOG I just put on is bad, this should fix it. If it doesn't help, I'll try putting one of the new ones on the passenger side to get it symmetrical - maybe there's some difference between new and old that might balance out with two new ones.
Any other thoughts or suggestions? TIA

EDIT with update: Turns out the new hub/bearing (MOOG 513303) that supposedly fits the 2015 Forester DOESN'T ACTUALLY FIT. Same issue with a NAPA PGB PBR930473. It fits well enough to be installed, but the machined ring that slides into the steering knuckle is too short. (Photo showing old and new hubs: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4omjtbz0P0aZEtqbkF0MjI5aGc ) This means the axle shaft doesn't seat properly, which changes the position of the speed sensor relative to the axle, resulting in lack of signal and a bunch of warning lights. I've contacted RockAuto, MOOG, and NAPA about this issue so they hopefully update their catalogs accordingly.
Since two new aftermarket parts share this problem, I ended up putting the old bearing back in - I'd rather live with the noise of a bad bearing than a slew of warnings and reduced functionality/safety! Also, the speed sensor had apparently been scraping lightly against part of the axle, as it was a little scratched/polished - so I didn't want to continue driving like that and potentially cause damage.
I also realized that the powertrain warranty is still in effect for my car (I thought I was out since I'm past 36k mi), so I have an appointment for the dealer to take care of it next week.
Quite a hassle, but on the plus side, I'm getting pretty familiar with dissembling and re-assembling the wheel/brake/hub!

 

[RX_Warrior]

2014 Forester XT here. Front driver side wheel bearing died too. humming noise starting around $45 mph. Dealer replaced it under extended warranty, $100 deductible. I'm starting to regret buying a Subaru. Never been to the dealer so many times for recalls and repairs with my other cars (i.e. Honda, Toyota).

RX Warrior

 

[dukdude]

Sorry to hear @RX_Warrior.

Wheel bearings aren't a big deal, but yea compared to toyota and Hondas their wheel bearings rarely fail. After I fixed mine at 66k, everything was OK until 89000 miles when I had a transmission valve body failure. I was way out of warranty (&no extended warranty), but called SOA, told them everything, they sent people to look into my car, and decided to cover the cost of valve body repair (1500$ +) as a goodwill at 89k miles. I'm at 92k now and all is well. Ill be hitting 100k+ miles probably before october '17. I do worry about reliability as my car gets up there in mileage.. my plan is to trade in between 150k to 180k.

While valve body was being repaired I had a 17 outback as a loaner for about 2 weeks and -damn- i really liked it... there's no turbo power but i could see myself getting an outback next. Or prius.. I know lol.

 

[GuusV]

We bought our '09 with about 100K on it. It had that low hum from the day we bought it. (I didn't hear it when we test-drove it in the rain... Something I won't do again...)

I'm not afraid to work on vehicles, so it wasn't something that I was too worried about.

When swerving side to side (reducing pressure on the bearings) the hum would be worse when steering to the right, less when steering to the left. It caused me to focus on the left bearing. It seemed to come form the rear, and there seemed to be a bit of play in the left-rear bearing.

I replaced both rear bearings (because it seemed to make sense to replace both). It wasn't as easy on mine. It's a bit older, and rust had formed. They were pretty tough to get off, but certainly not impossible. I initially tried with a 3-armed pulled, but ended up separating the bearing in the hub. Ended up using a sledge hammer to loosen the hub a bit, and then rotated the backing plate a bit, and put the 4 bolts (that attach the hub from the inside) and put them in from the outside, pushing the hub out.

The hum didn't go away...

Since the fronts seemed solid, I just left it alone for a bit longer.

I had put the vehicle on the hoist several times, to listen for the hum in the transmission and difs, but couldn't hear any hum. Without weight on the wheels, it's just not the same thing.

I finally got fed up, and replaced the front bearings. Hum is finally gone. (from my experience, the fronts bearings were harder to replace than the back bearings. Mainly because of rust forming on the mating surfaces)

And I agree, the silence is deafening!

I'm glad that you managed to do it yourself!!!


Our '09 now has 160k on it, and I've replaced:
brakes all around (pads & rotors)
stabilizer bushings front and back
stabilizer linkages front
ball joints front
spark plugs
spark plug wires
wheel-bearing hubs front and back

That's it. No complaints here!

 

[paul1968]

Front Driver's side Wheel bearing went bad at August 2017 106k miles. ( Forester 2014 2.5i base model with CVT ) . at first it start to make noise only over 75 mph, after 500 miles of 75 mph driving made noise at 55 mph +. 400 miles after , it made noise at 25 mph +. Noise is most noticeable between 45 to 55 MPH. It sound like differential with No oil, so I checked make sure no leak from front diff .

Front Left bearing noise get louder when I twist steering wheel quickly to right 50 MPH on open road. when I twist to left , noise become weaker.

also noise become stronger when I am coasting ( slowing down the speed without using brake ) .

The noise sound like, driving on rough pavement, differential without oil in it.

there was also drag on driving as it feel like it take more gas to accelerate, but car did not pull to left side. There was no excessive play in wheel when I jack the tire up.

Subaru Dealer in Ogden Utah. parts for both front wheel bearing / hub $330 ( $165 each ) . Labour to install both front wheel hub $420, it took them about 2 hours

assembled hub came with stud bolts. so no need to buy stud bolts.

Subaru dealer told me, front wheel bearing become bad before rear one.

 

[triaxial]

Sadly, I just came across this post as I was going to give you all a heads up but I can also confirm @Andyman that the Moog's wheel hub assemblies do not work for the SJ Forester. I got p/n 513303 from RockAuto and the same exact thing Andy explained happened to me... I went as far as assuming that I damaged the speed sensor and order a new set for the front end. And when that did not correct the problem I pulled the Moogs back out and noticed that same thing that Andy did that the coil section is not as long as the OEM causing too much air gap and resulting in the speed sensor codes. I got P0500 & P2158... I thought the whole process to be crazy as last year I replace the rears and used Moog's with no issues. I ended up buying OEM's from Subaru for about double that I got the Moog's... I know Andy said all of this already but just want it to be know he is not alone and it was a taxing weekend trying to trouble shoot the issue. My question is for everyone else that may need to replace their front bearings soon is, has anyone had success with anything other than OEM Front hubs?

Yes @Andyman... I know what you mean.. I am pretty good at the moment at assembling and taking apart the Front end.

 

[Banjo Man]

I think the real issue here is that Subaru has a week "link" in their wheel bearings. I have read that there was an extended warranty issued for the 2009 MY for 100,000 miles. It doesn't seem that this has been corrected to date, nor has there been any marked improvement. I have seen no recalls for this (and there should be), no extended warranty coverage, nor is there any class-action law suits for reimbursements (which I may look into). I say this because I am the owner of a 2014 MY Forester Limited with 46,000 + miles, and have an appointment for 9:15 tomorrow for this same issue (even though it will probably be covered under the 60,000 mile Power Train Warranty).

I really like the Subaru vehicles, but at my age I do not want to be changing wheel bearings every 50k miles. I, too, may have to go back to the Toyota Camry that I sold at 129,000 miles with the same wheel bearings. If your bearings are lasting past 100k miles, be thankful.

Dan

Took my Forester in yesterday at the appointed time and picked it up about 4 PM. They replaced both rear wheel bearing hub assemblies. There was no cost as it was covered under the Power Train Warranty. My only concern when I looked under the rear of the vehicle at both wheel assemblies - I could not tell that any thing had been done. Yet the noise is not there. Could it be that something else was making the noise and they just charged Subaru under the warranty? Stranger things have been done.

 

[TheSub]

I just had my rear driver's side bearing replaced under warranty a few weeks ago. I had about 78k and this is the first time I've ever had a bearing go on any car I've owned. It's not a big deal but certainly odd that it would go so early

 

[biskane]

I'll add one more worn rear wheel bearing (left) at 35K. Repaired under warranty, but now at 44K another bearing going out, probably right rear. Subaru AWD is fantastic, but if they can't make wheel bearings that last at least 100K or can't design bearings that don't require $$$ packages, I will have to consider a FWD with good tires like the ones that got me through several New England blizzards just fine. This is inexcusable from a company doing AWD almost exclusively for 30 years. It makes me wonder if something else is going on.

 

[dcapello58]

ABS, Hill Hold & Traction Control Sensors on after repairs; Hub won't release

I replaced the rear wheel bearing hub assembly (and plan to do the other rear hub tomorrow) but upon reassembly the ABS, Hill Hold & Traction Control light sensors are illuminated. Clearly the hub was bad as the humming sound is now only coming from the side I'm changing tomorrow. Any suggestions as to what went wrong to cause the sensor lights to illuminate?

PART 2: We couldn't get the 2nd hub off. Been banging, pulling and cussing it for 3+ hours. Used all sorts of penetrating oil products, a slide hammer and even heated it as best we could. Mechanics we spoke with say sometimes they encounter similar problems and to just keep doing what we're doing. Anyone else have any tips?

 

[Markvd2014*]

Thanks for you post. I can benefit greatly from it. We have the 2014 2.5i. Our rear bearing started to fail at 67k miles. Same symptoms as others have described. Don't know why they failed so soon. We are light duty users. My 1996 Toyota 4-runner has 535k miles of hard duty and never had wheel bearing issues.

Does any one know who manufactures the OEM hub assemblies for Subaru? I'd like to get more than 67k miles from the replacement bearing hubs.

 

[Andyman]

Sadly, I just came across this post as I was going to give you all a heads up but I can also confirm @Andyman that the Moog's wheel hub assemblies do not work for the SJ Forester. I got p/n 513303 from RockAuto and the same exact thing Andy explained happened to me... I went as far as assuming that I damaged the speed sensor and order a new set for the front end. And when that did not correct the problem I pulled the Moogs back out and noticed that same thing that Andy did that the coil section is not as long as the OEM causing too much air gap and resulting in the speed sensor codes. I got P0500 & P2158... I thought the whole process to be crazy as last year I replace the rears and used Moog's with no issues. I ended up buying OEM's from Subaru for about double that I got the Moog's... I know Andy said all of this already but just want it to be know he is not alone and it was a taxing weekend trying to trouble shoot the issue. My question is for everyone else that may need to replace their front bearings soon is, has anyone had success with anything other than OEM Front hubs?

Yes @Andyman... I know what you mean.. I am pretty good at the moment at assembling and taking apart the Front end.

Hi, thanks for following up! Glad I'm not alone. I'm pretty surprised to see that Rockauto hasn't updated their available parts - at least Napa appears to have removed the front bearing from their website list of parts that fit the Forester.

Checking back in because my wheel noise has been getting worse again... :frown2: Not sure whether this is front or back; haven't checked for play yet. I still have a few thousand miles left in my powertrain warranty, so I might ask really nicely if they'll replace all the bearings for me?
Pretty disappointed in this experience, and generally falling out of love with the Subaru in general. I've always owned Hondas and Toyotas and never had problems like this. Of four Toyotas I've driven for more than 100K mi, I've only replaced two wheel bearnings... Now two have gone bad on the Forester in less than 50K mi!
Then I drive it on a really snowy day, and remember why I own it! But is it worth owning a mediocre car that really only shines for a few days each year? Hopefully the dealership will be helpful again and this will take care of the problem.
Andy

 

[Mac Made XT]

I have the same sound that noticed a few days ago. I jacked it up to try to wiggle the wheel for a tell tale sign of a bad wheel bearing but got nothing. I checked the passenger side to just to make sure and it feels the same.

What other way can I confirm its the wheel bearing before I order a new one?

anyone have the torque specs for all the rear suspension and brakes? I had to remove the left rear spindle and have the old hub and bearing pressed out because it was rusted real bad.

Thanks

 

[Davy12]

Wheel bearing issue

Read a lot of Forester owners are experiencing wheel bearing issues on their '13 on up Forester. My experience is that at 65000 miles on my 15 Forester limited I noticed a almost hum/grinding noise coming from the rear. Gas mileage started dropping and I found the rear wheel bearings had no play, but the car wheels took tremendous effort to turn by hand when the car is jacked up. Since out of warranty, I replaced the two rear wheel bearings with original OEM Subaru bearings. It took 8 hours of sweat and trying to figure out how to get the hub bearing out of the hub carriers and off the car. because they were stuck and stuck good I have the ssrvice manual and followed the instructions to the letter and found that when I finally got the hub bearing loose, rust had virtually locked the wheel bearing in place and there had been no noted assy lube or anti-seize used to the assemble the bearings in the hub carrier when factory new. Water had infiltrated the hub bearing to hub carrier interface which cause the super human efforts to remove the hub bearings. I took hours of work just to clean up the hub carriers enough so as to assemble the bearings with the interface between thee hub bearing and hub carrier generously coated with anti-seize. hat was a the rears, gas mileage went up, no more hum/grinding noise, quiet as a church in the car until the same noise started coming from the front...not 1000 miles later. Upon checking the front wheels had become difficult to turn, car in neutral, and jacked up and again no end play. Two more front OEM subaru front wheel bearings and this time the fronts so badly frozen on the car the hub carriers had to be removed from the car and the hub bearings pressed out with a 12 ton press. Again water infiltration between the hub bearings and hub carrier had locked the bearings in place. Changing these are not an easy job and again generous amounts of anti-seize were put on the hub bearings during assy. Might help, might not if the bearings go south again. Have over 105K miles and no bearing problems again...yet. use only OEM Subaru bearings ,timken, Moog, and the cheap Chinese knokoffs are all made elsewhere than Japan. Also. the critical part of installing any bearing is the preload of the bearing, which is determined in the Forester's case by the correct torque of the CV axle nut, 163.5 ft lbs by the service manual. Part fail because of a variety of reasons, maybe Subaru should do a FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis) on the problems they are having with wheel bearings and CVT transmissions. Right now a R&R of early failure bearings and CVTs doesn't fix the problems that must be endemic with Subaru and its suppliers and only a very detailed study of the issues will make the Subaru reputation for quality be less tarnished.

 

[MTPockets]

'15 Forester- rear wheel bearing replaced around 68,000 miles.