Looking for a Mechanic for rear wheel bearing replacement

cookiemunstr · #1 05-18-2006, 07:08 AM

Hello All
My rear wheel bearings are getting pretty loud so i'm now thinking i have to replace them. Subaru of Mississauga quoated me around $420 PER SIDE, I don't know if this is a good price or a bad price. I think its way over priced. So let me know if its good or not, and if its too high i guess i'm looking for a mechanic around the mississauga area, St. Catharines/Niagara area or Chatham area (kinda living in 3 places, i'm a student on Co-Op) that can help me out with a better price. Does anyone know one.

Or there is another option to consider. We have a SVX parts car with non noisy rear wheel bearings. Would it be easier to remove the rear hubs on the parts car and switch it up. And if you guys think that would be easier, how hard is it? Something i could do??

Thanks in advance

AutoTchr · #2 05-18-2006, 08:33 AM

Price seems pretty high. Replacing wheel bearings is not rocket science like some people here would have you believe. Using a press is preferred. I would keep looking for a shop.

cookiemunstr · #3 05-18-2006, 08:40 AM

Yeah thats what i thaught, Way too high. But what do you think about using the hubs off of our parts car? This car is my everyday car so i can't be without it for a long period of time. Anyways, Thanks for your input.

AutoTchr · #4 05-18-2006, 09:45 AM

If you have the part in hand it shouldn't take a shop very long to put them in. Realistically a good shop would have your car for half a day.

cookiemunstr · #5 05-18-2006, 09:52 AM

Ok thanks for your input, maybe we might go that way. Take the hubs off the parts car and just do a switch. It doesn't look that hard to remove it, maybe i will think about doing it. I will just have to be carefull about the struts.

Thanks you've given me some new ideas

AutoTchr · #6 05-18-2006, 10:20 AM

Oops you misunderstood.

These wheel bearings go out often enough that you should put new ones in, not used ones. Go buy the new ones and have the shop put them in. There is a chance that the used ones will make as much noise as the ones you are replacing!

cookiemunstr · #7 05-18-2006, 10:34 AM

Yeah we thaught of that, I would like to get new ones installed for that reason but it all depends on money. My dad took the parts car for a dirve and doesn't remember hearing anything, but he can be wrong. We don't know the history of this parts car, it came from a wreckers, the car was in an accident. We are shring the parts car with another guy, He wants the engine, we get the rest. My svx's engine is good, but need the other parts off the parts car. The only thing i have with my engine is a high idle issue. I've tried looking for help here with other posts but nothing really helped. If the car starts off with a high idle, once the engine warms up a bit. If i turn the car off, and on again, it seems to bring it to around 1100, wich is not where it should be but its better than 1800. My next thing to try is to change the spark plugs to possibly fix the idle issue and the poor gas millage. I don't know when they were changed last but it has around 167000 miles on it (american car originally).

What price is a typical cost for both rear wheel bearing, just so i know what to look for. (note: i am canadian)

Earthworm · #8 05-18-2006, 11:25 AM

$420 per side is too much. I paid less and they had to fix my tone wheel in the process.

I would trust my dad to change the bearings on my car. Sure there's no warranty but he's experienced and will do the job right the first time.

SVX-FF · #9 05-18-2006, 11:42 AM

The shops across the country are starting to hurt for work. The cars are lasting longer so the shops will charge more to make up for lost money.

Doing it yourself is not hard. Pay attention to what you are doing and follow directions. I have manuals if you need them.

Steve

dannmarr · #10 05-18-2006, 03:43 PM

I paid $250 per side.

svxstarship · #11 05-19-2006, 05:11 PM

To high. Allthough sometimes removing the hubs can be a big pain if the long bolt (forget the name) or the abs sensor's are rusted in place. What year are the 2 cars?

AFBeefcake · #12 05-19-2006, 05:22 PM

I had both rear wheel bearing replaced in my car. I removed the hubs and took them to a machine shop. They removed the old ones and installed the new ones in both wheel hubs for $85.00.

cookiemunstr · #13 05-23-2006, 04:25 AM

the 2 cars are 92's, i was thinking about that approach as well, take them off and get a shop to press them in and jsut do them my self. But i just don't know about not having a car for a bit. I need my car. Well now i know what price to look for. Thanks all for your input and maybe i will try to do it my self.

craftylandshark · #14 05-23-2006, 03:55 PM

I replaced both of my rears not a week ago actually... Subaru quoted me around 475USD for labor, the new bearings were 81-ish apiece. Talk to some friends and see if you can hunt down a good local shop that needs business. That's what I did, and ended up paying less for the labor (90USD) than I did for the bearings themselves (175USD or so) and like someone previously said, it took about half a day. BTW, you probably already know this, but don't forget to pick up some synthetic bearing grease - they'll need to be flushed and repacked or they'll start failing again pretty quickly.

EDIT: Make sure anyone you talk to who reccomends a shop has actually had work done there lol

cookiemunstr · #15 05-24-2006, 07:11 AM

Yeah, thanks for reminding me about the re-packing the bearings. I am currently still looking for a place but have a few in mind. Friends of friends you know. We will see. Where is a good place to buy the wheel bearings. I think i might buy the bearings myself because i think i can get a deal with some connections (maybe, hopefully

). And then find a small shop that needs the business like you said.

Now what should i look for in a good wheel bearing grease? Just a hight temps stuff or is there some better stuff out there so i won't have to get them replaced again.

Thanks