[africancichlids]

My buddy has a rear wheel bearing going out in his 2006 Forester. I'm confident we can do the job but the only writeup I could find is for 2003 and back. We do have access to a 20 ton shop press. Or I could just get a new hub assembly. My main question lies in what bearing to purchase it shows a "rear wheel bearing" and a "rear INNER wheel bearing". What's with the two bearings? Any other tips you can provide would be much appreciated.

 

[SubieHo]

so you're a fish fan.

There should be only one bearing listed. There are, however, three seals: 1 outer & 2 inner seals. Procedure should be the same for the 2006 as the 2003.

 

[jgrote]

Pretty straight forward. I did mine on the car, with the hub shark like tool I bought from harbor freight. I also had to rent a slide hammer and a harmonic balancer removal tool. Do it on the car and you won't need an alignment afterward.
Check these out too.
http://endwrench.com/current/Current6/03/WhBearRep.pdf

 

[funkymonkey1002]

Easiest way to do it is to pull the knuckle and bring it to napa and have them press out the old bearing and press in a new one. I'd recommend throwing a new hub(the part with the wheel studs) on if the bearings been bad for a length of time.

 

[SubieHo]

jgrote gave you a good link. Those tools are also available from OTC in their "Hubtamer" sets, which includes all the tools you need for this job and are worth the high cost if you don't already have a slide hammer, hub puller attachment, bearing separator plates, etc... Also, this lower force method of installation (in lieu of higher force hydraulic presses) reduces the risk of deforming the bearing during installation.

No worry about alignment issues on the rear bearings, but doing it oncar for the front bearings is definitely a plus as noted by jgrote.

For the rear, removing that long lateral link bolt, which has a tendency to become corrosion welded to the bushing collars, is often the most challenging part of the job. Make sure to use antiseize at those spots upon reassembly.