Rear Wheel Bearings - Alternatives to OEM?
 

Fellow SVXers,
Don't ask, but my bearings seem to have lasted only a dozen thousand miles or so and I am likely going to replace them before selling the Baby. :(

I understand that Subaru has apparently addressed the bearings issue by using proper grease etc, however I am tired of forking money to fix an engineering error and I'd love to be able to buy my next set of bearings from another manufacturer (just out of principle).

I already contacted Timken and requested appropriate p/n and distributor info.

I have a couple of questions:

• Has anyone used Timken bearings? How would you compare them to OEMs?
• Do you know of any other manufacturer of quality bearings?

Thanks in advance!

-Walter

PS=I know SVX_Motorsports_Warehouse carries Timken but I don't find their prices to be competitive.

Re: Rear Wheel Bearings - Alternatives to OEM?
 

How many times have you replaced them? I did my left left one 14K miles ago and the left one about 10K miles back and no problems since. The previous ones looked to have gone bad from water getting into the races while the car sat on the lot and rusting the outer races of the bearings. If some cars keep eating bearings and others only go through one set in a lifetime, I have to think there's something wrong with the car.

As for alternatives, Timken is the only one I've heard of. There was some talk about the rear bearings from the Imprezas being the same dimensions as ours, and I believe someone else found a bearing that had identical inner and outer diameters, but wasn't as wide as ours, which required a spacer be used. That last one was rated for some stupendous amount of weight, far in excess of a car.

Re: Rear Wheel Bearings - Alternatives to OEM?
 

If it only lasted a short time after installation, you probably need to replace the whole knuckle, I had the same issue on one of mine, and replaced the knuckle and never had any more trouble...

Re: Rear Wheel Bearings - Alternatives to OEM?
 

I posted this in another thread recently, but it is still good information to pass around. Timken bearings ARE good bearings and this is about the cheapest source I have found.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Timke...Q5fAccessories

Rear bearing for $47.72 plus $5.95 shipping. Beats OEM price.

It is still recommended to use OEM seals over aftermarket.

Lee

Re: Rear Wheel Bearings - Alternatives to OEM?
 

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

I doubt my knuckles are bad. I suspect the problem returned due to something wrong in the repacking-process (perhaps I had the revised OEMs and didn't need to repack with Mobil1 Synthetic) or improper axle-nut torquing (not torqued enough).

In any case, I will certainly measure the knuckles with the proper equipment and ensure the housing inner-diameter is homogeneous before pressing the new bearings in.

Thanks for the link Lee, I'll likely buy those!

-Walter

Re: Rear Wheel Bearings - Alternatives to OEM?
 

One major cause of failure is the seals. If not installed correctly water gets in & ruins the bearings. WRX bearings are interchangeable.

Re: Rear Wheel Bearings - Alternatives to OEM?
 

I replaced the same bearing three times within a year. Finally I decided to swap the whole hub assembly with a used one. I haven't had a problem since.