Squeak from new wheel bearing, mechanic says "no big deal"

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have an '03 Subaru Forester and my mechanic recently replace the rear wheel bearings and seals. Afterward, I noticed a high pitch squeak from the rear right wheel at slow speeds. I brought it back for my next oil change and had them look at it. I watched them take off the wheel and brake drum. He hand-turned the wheel mount and it made the squeak sound from the bearing. Then he said that it’s no big deal and put it all back together.

So, is it really not an issue? I’d rather not have noises coming from something brand new, but I also like my mechanic and don’t want to make him do a lot of extra work if this thing is just going to go away on it’s own.

2

There shouldn’t be any squeak coming from the bearing.

3

Agreed with mcparadise, and odds are this squeak is present at high speed also. You just can’t hear it because of road noise and frequency.

4

So would it be the seals replaced with the bearing? What else is rotating there that could cause the squeak? And should I have them try to fix it?

5

It is an issue, and the bearing may bind up at speed. My guess is that he did not properly pack the bearings before installation.

Time for a new mechanic. This one is either not conscientious or not competant. “No big deal” my heiney!