Help with subaru rear hub assembly

[daniboy]

heres the story,

Crashed my 1999 subaru into a curb side on, knocked the rear wheel clean under, as they do.
stripped the rear assembly, hub, 3 chassis arms, driveshaft. left the suspension arm there (as is a pain to locate the top), and the anti-rollbar. i found the parts in a scrap yard, (wasnt happy with the removal) i re-fitted the parts today.
The driveshaft that came with the parts i got, has a damaged bootie, the joint wont be worth a penny without a bootie. would like some advice with removing the rear driveshaft, as i heard a few different techniques, the most common is "it just pulls out", ive heard theres a pin, a "c" clip, or even a circlip.
i tried to knock it out as advised, but its a bit stubborn i know its splined and it could be well on there but it wont budge.
Ive also had a nightmare with removing the handbrake cable from the hub itself i had to strip it all down and its just annoyingly fiddly, there must be an easier way please could you advise me into replacing this arse,as im not looking forward to it, can you have a handbrake just on one side?
lol.

i would also be gratefull if someone would help with the diagnostic of the suspension arm, i noticed its quite flexible under there, but i suppose i wont be able to tell untill the cars on the ground and the arm is under pressure.
lol and finally the anti-rollbar is it under any pressure, can you just remove it or is there a technique, the one thats on the car had to be bent back into position because my sidekick said it would kill us if we removed it, joker. I have a straight one would you advise to replace it as it was bent, not much but if your gonna do it do it properly.
sorry if i bored you but searched everywhere.

[ScoobieWRX]

Have you got a proper workshop manual? If not PM me and i will give you a link the the ones on my website. They are for newage cars but i imagine the linkages and everything is much the same.

I haven't had the same probs as you and have had minimal time back there myself. There is hardly any pressure on the Anti Roll Bars though so removing them won't be a prob but they should be perfectly straight or it may affect the geometry and handling of the car. Not having one on there won't kill you and the car should still be driveable but it will roll around and handle like a pig so you shouldn't really drive it without.

You need to either get that one straightened out properly back to OEM spec or better still just replace it as it's very easy to do. Before you come to pop the ARB back on and attach the ARB end links and tighten it all up the cars wheels should be resting on the ground, full car weight so the ARB and end links are all in the correct position.

Get it all hooked up in place with loose bolts first, drop the car onto the ground and the you tighten up all the bolts. Job done!!

Edited by ScoobieWRX on Saturday 9th February 23:40

[daniboy]

thanks alot, ill have to undo them cause i tightened them while it was up in the air! i got a spare antiroll bar so ill fit that today, thanks keep ya posted.

[daniboy]

Scoobie,
i fitted the other anti-rollbar today and am glad i did, i put an old 16 inch wheel on and took it up the local quick fit, theres some sharp pencils there, after explaining all i had did they still couldnt help me ill have to pop down to elite next week.
My new prob is the wheel is dead square but it has a bt of a positive camber while my other has a negative, not alot, but enough to feel it in the handling at full biff. is there an adjustment for this as im sure ive had it altered before.

Also a bit of a pain, i sheared off my bleeding screw on my front caliper it would be a simple swap jobby but these are 330mm prodrive calipers. ive bunged the hole with silicone fingers crossed its ok for now. could it be siezed because of the heat it gets, ill have to drill it out.

i also managed to fit the handbrake what a nightmare there is a knack and i never had to dismantle the hub.

thanks for help scoobie ill show you some pics later.

[ScoobieWRX]

daniboy said:

Scoobie,
i fitted the other anti-rollbar today and am glad i did, i put an old 16 inch wheel on and took it up the local quick fit, theres some sharp pencils there, after explaining all i had did they still couldnt help me ill have to pop down to elite next week.
My new prob is the wheel is dead square but it has a bt of a positive camber while my other has a negative, not alot, but enough to feel it in the handling at full biff. is there an adjustment for this as im sure ive had it altered before.

Also a bit of a pain, i sheared off my bleeding screw on my front caliper it would be a simple swap jobby but these are 330mm prodrive calipers. ive bunged the hole with silicone fingers crossed its ok for now. could it be siezed because of the heat it gets, ill have to drill it out.

i also managed to fit the handbrake what a nightmare there is a knack and i never had to dismantle the hub.

thanks for help scoobie ill show you some pics later.

Dani i'm concerned you're sheared the bleed nipple on the caliper. They get pretty hot and if all you've done is filled it full of silicone either the heat or pressure may make it leak bigtime and suddenly when you need your brakes there's nothing there. If it sheared closed then that's not so bad as it shouldn't leak if it's just the nipple that's sheared, however be real careful.

Both your back wheels should have some negative camber. I don't know if you have ever noticed but the inside tread of the rear tyres should wear as if the tracking was out. That is just the negative camber aspect of the rear geometry which you should have. In order to make scoobys handle a bit better at the rear you just dial in a bit more negative camber at the back and a bit at the front to cut down on understeer, and it makes the car a bit more pointy. However, you should have it all set up properly on a 4 wheel laser alignment jig.

[daniboy]

Scoobie,
yeah my next step is to get it on a jig, do you know anywhere in essex, elites ok for alignment and that but if its more serious, is there people who can give it a tweek?
yeah im concerned too my friend was a bit heavy handed with it and sheared it clean off it wasnt leaking so im hoping its still ok, ive got to use it for work so im gonna treat it like the bosses daughter, ill keep checking it, it is bothering me.
Also sorry to use you as a haynes manual but can you if you know tell me the correct procedure for bleeding the brakes;
this was how i done it,
released the bonnet cap(for brake fluid) with the engine running and bled the furthest from the res
then the second furthest and so on whilst my friend was pumping the pedal.
Thanks for your help.

[ScoobieWRX]

daniboy said:

Scoobie,
yeah my next step is to get it on a jig, do you know anywhere in essex, elites ok for alignment and that but if its more serious, is there people who can give it a tweek?
yeah im concerned too my friend was a bit heavy handed with it and sheared it clean off it wasnt leaking so im hoping its still ok, ive got to use it for work so im gonna treat it like the bosses daughter, ill keep checking it, it is bothering me.
Also sorry to use you as a haynes manual but can you if you know tell me the correct procedure for bleeding the brakes;
this was how i done it,
released the bonnet cap(for brake fluid) with the engine running and bled the furthest from the res
then the second furthest and so on whilst my friend was pumping the pedal.
Thanks for your help.

On most cars with ABS it won't matter which you do first as each of the calipers has a seperate brake line going to it from the ABS Control unit. If there was no ABS then you would do the furthest away and so on like on an old mini.

On scoobs you do:

1st - Front Right
2nd - Rear Left
3rd - Front Left
4th - Rear Right

That's the correct order!!

One of the best ways to bleed the brakes is for there to be two of you. One pumps the brake pedal and the other does the bleeding. Few pumps on the brake, release the nipple just a bit so the fluid comes real steady but not too quick, then you count to 2 or 3 and tighten up the bleed nipple. Do that 2 or 3 times, or until you are sure there is no more air coming out.

Personally i use a very easy little system with a non-return valve in a tube that you attach to the bleed nipple, the other end goes into a small container with a lid, and the tube is attached to the lid, and i just pump the brakes myself. The non-return valve makes sure when i lift the brake pedal non of the fluid gets back into the caliper.

Just make sure the brake master cylinder resevoir is always topped up and you should be absolutely fine.

[daniboy]

Thanks for the help Scoobie much appretiated, im on the right road i think, got a few things to do like get another alloy, could be difficult. Get it on a jig, driveshafts got a damaged bootie, cant seem to remove it though, brake nipple, boots mis-aligned the list goes on
thanks alot.

[ScoobieWRX]

You're welcome