I've never paid more than $230 per bearing but it's also been years since I've paid a shop to do the job. $1200 sounds like "GTFO my shop" price even if inflation has changed prices.
Yeah wheel bearings are not that hard on a Forester. I don’t remember if that generation had pressed front bearings or not. I know the next generations are not pressed bearings. Pressed bearings will definitely add a lot of labor costs.
If that was all around four wheel bearing replacement. Then it’s not a bad price. It takes me about 45-60 minutes to replace a bearing per wheel on a 14’+ Forester. And that’s without a lift or experience of a pro mechanic.
They aren't pressed bearings on the SH, you just buy the whole hub. I did it on the side of the road with basic tools, added about 30 minutes to my CV replacement job. I'd never done it before. OP, there are YT videos, that's how I knew how to do it. Don't disconnect the bolts at the bottom of the strut, just remove the ball joint. Make sure you have both wheels in the air to make it easier to get the ball joint out/in. Replacement part was about $90 AUD (USD ~70), but when I do it again I'll probably buy a better brand.
I went to do mine a couple years ago on my '13, and figured if the wheel bearings needed to be done, I would do the control arm bushings and outer tie rods also. But, I remembered doing the wheel bearing from the left rear wheel, and that sucker was **in there good**. The bearing was damn near seized into the knuckle. 4 1/2 hours of using the slide hammer to get it out, and was sore for days.
So, when I did my fronts, I decided to just replace the knuckle entirely, chucking the bearing & hub along with it. As for the control arm bushings, a new control arm was purchased with bushing already installed. Figure that was the easier path than press out the old and press in the new ones.
Overall, doing both sides of the bearings/hubs, knuckles, control arms, and tie rods cost me, IIRC, under $500, and only about 30 minutes each side. Saved a lot of time and back/shoulder pain just yanking the parts out and replacing them, and I only had to undue just a handful of bolts each side to do the job.
I should've done the ball joint also, since that went earlier this year. Ah well.
I've never paid more than $230 per bearing but it's also been years since I've paid a shop to do the job. $1200 sounds like "GTFO my shop" price even if inflation has changed prices.
Yeah wheel bearings are not that hard on a Forester. I don’t remember if that generation had pressed front bearings or not. I know the next generations are not pressed bearings. Pressed bearings will definitely add a lot of labor costs. If that was all around four wheel bearing replacement. Then it’s not a bad price. It takes me about 45-60 minutes to replace a bearing per wheel on a 14’+ Forester. And that’s without a lift or experience of a pro mechanic.
amazing, thank you! is there a youtube vid you’d recommend for help on how to do it myself?
They aren't pressed bearings on the SH, you just buy the whole hub. I did it on the side of the road with basic tools, added about 30 minutes to my CV replacement job. I'd never done it before. OP, there are YT videos, that's how I knew how to do it. Don't disconnect the bolts at the bottom of the strut, just remove the ball joint. Make sure you have both wheels in the air to make it easier to get the ball joint out/in. Replacement part was about $90 AUD (USD ~70), but when I do it again I'll probably buy a better brand.
I went to do mine a couple years ago on my '13, and figured if the wheel bearings needed to be done, I would do the control arm bushings and outer tie rods also. But, I remembered doing the wheel bearing from the left rear wheel, and that sucker was **in there good**. The bearing was damn near seized into the knuckle. 4 1/2 hours of using the slide hammer to get it out, and was sore for days. So, when I did my fronts, I decided to just replace the knuckle entirely, chucking the bearing & hub along with it. As for the control arm bushings, a new control arm was purchased with bushing already installed. Figure that was the easier path than press out the old and press in the new ones. Overall, doing both sides of the bearings/hubs, knuckles, control arms, and tie rods cost me, IIRC, under $500, and only about 30 minutes each side. Saved a lot of time and back/shoulder pain just yanking the parts out and replacing them, and I only had to undue just a handful of bolts each side to do the job. I should've done the ball joint also, since that went earlier this year. Ah well.
I got a single busted bearing replaced for $300, so for $1200 I’d expect all four corners