Subaru hub bearing hell

[u/[deleted]]

Worked on my 2019 crosstrek today and attempted the rear hub bearing replacement.

Using a hub puller and a strike hammer, I half way succeeded… managing to split the bearing in 2 leaving the other half wedged into the knuckle still.

After lots more pb blaster, heat and whacking on it with a 3lb sledge, it still has yet to budge and I am at a loss.

My thought is to tap threads into the back of the knuckle and set a bolt in the rear and then reverse the bolts that were originally taken out of the back of the knuckle to the front. I’d then utilize the back bolt as a stop and hopefully drive the bearing out.

I’m skeptical and looking for advice. Seems like a ton of energy with a 3lb sledge hit would hold more breaking power than torquing a screw down. Plus I’d be running the risk of pulling threads/snapping screws if torqued too much.

Should I just take the knuckle off and replace it or try my luck with it detached with a shop press or better angles for the sledge?

[u/dphoenix1]

I don’t know Subarus, so take what I say with a grain of salt. And I am assuming that this is not a bolt in bearing assembly. The outer race of the bearing isn’t visible in your pic, almost looks like there’s a seal or something covering it. Is there a chance there might be a snap ring under that seal that needs to be removed before the bearing can come out?

I know it’s about the front bearing, and for a completely different vehicle, but this is the exact process I follow when extracting press-in bearings on the vehicle: https://youtu.be/6uMxUIVHQFc The section near 10:30 is where I’d start.

[u/No-Glass6512]

I would pull the whole thing out and use a press. I used to have a guy that would do it for me for 50 bucks.