2018 Subaru Outback Rear wheel bearing

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I'll second this, as I did the same thing. O'Reilly's has a great kit. With that it and my 1/2" Milwaukee high torque it popped out after a tense standoff.

Subaru tech here... yes these are horrible. Sometimes we get lucky and we can get em off while still on the car, but most times we take off the knuckle and press the hub out with a hydraulic press. And they go bad so damn often too...

Yep this is the only way we've found that consistently works, and it still takes plenty of time and effort with a 10lb+ sledge

If you don't want to buy an air hammer, you could try one of the "hub shocker" tools.

The two "quick" tricks I've seen for Subaru hubs involve one of those hub removal tools that you whack with a sledgehammer, and welding nuts onto the hub so you can press it out in place using bolts

Coincidentally just heard last night that the rear hubs on Subarus are an actual nightmare. So, you might be doing everything right and its just seized lol.

Too late, hub already pulled out of the base.

Sometimes the outer race just welds itself in there with rust. Had a similar fight with an old Legacy where nothing budged until I rented a hub grappler kit from the parts store, way more leverage than a slide hammer. Worth the deposit if you're stuck this deep.

Stupid question, did you take the bolts out of the back side of it?

Gave myself an elbow injury, like an idiot, doing exactly this back in January on the Explorer. I figured out on the second one, if it bolts in from the back, thread them in just a little bit and smack them with a sledge hammer to break it loose. Otherwise, best of luck.

Beat it like it insulted your mama, while owing you money.

here’s what worked for me, 2009 outback. just like 4 weeks ago. the 4 (?, or was it 3?) bolts that hold the bearing to the knuckle - loosen them all ~1/8 of an inch. then hit them with your purse. (from under the car, from the “inside” towards the “outside” of the car). once the bolt heads are again flush to the knuckle, unscrew them another ~1/8 inch. hit the bolt heads again. this uses the bolts to push the bearing out of the knuckle.

Hub shocker. Or just buy a new knuckle, they are pretty cheap.

You need heat and a badass air hammer and patience

I did mine on a 2016 Impreza by just hitting what remained in the knuckle with a sledge repeatedly after the slide hammer inevitably pulled the bearing apart. It probably wasn’t great for the axle but it eventually shook the whole backing plate loose and I could knock out the bearing. Otherwise get an air hammer - it’s maybe $300 from Harbor Freight, which is still cheaper than the $600+ a shop will charge to do the job. Really any of the tools you mentioned - tap and die, welder, etc. will cost less than the shop.

Subaru wheel bearing removals are like fighting a final boss that has a really large 10,000 health pool and your weapon only does 10 damage per slide hammer attack. Oxyacetylene gives you plus 1,000 attack damage and makes the wheel bearing prone to critical hits. Make sure to take some white monsters to replenish your mana and stamina. Good luck.

yeah stop here. the hub is already pulled apart and the rest is rusted solid. let a shop with an air hammer deal with that mess

PB Blaster. Let it sit overnight after a good soak. Or use a torch to heat the knuckle. PB Blaster is easier imo.

Not just straight out, but at a bit of an angle (inline with the axis of the 2 bolts) to put more force on one side, than on the whole thing. Then move the bolts to the opposite corners and repeat. You could also put those bolts in the back and whack each one individually. If you get any movement, move around to keep it even.

With the tools you don’t have I have spent hours getting them out. They can be a pain to remove.

What about the bolt trick. I saw South Main Auto do one of these and it works for me. He knocked out one of the studs and put a bolt in the hole with a nut on the other side(back side). Have to hit something solid on the backside of the backing plate for it to work. Oh and of course the flange was still on there. You can insert the flange and run the axle nut down, doesn't have to be very tight.

As a chevy tech who has had the misfortune of doing a few of these, I feel ya, everyone I've done was a struggle to get out then when I got them out they were still stuck in the backing plate and I had to hammer them out of there too. My advice is use heat, even if you can only get a small bottle torch some of those can really put some heat out, just need the time and patience

They suck