What do you all think.? Is there any difference between the quality of wheel bearings. Lets say the ones made in the 60s and 70s, is the metal used better quality or are the new ones better.?

 

I don't know if I should buy new ones or go on Ebay and purchase NOS Bearings that were made 40 years ago. Is there any difference.?

 

Certainly the technology to make better quality bearings is here.
But so is the ability to cut costs by reducing quality to just acceptable, consistently just acceptable maybe, but built down to a price.
Also cheap imports are pushing high price, high quality manufacturers out of business.

If you buy on ebay how will you know if you are getting the real McCoy, or repackaged imported stuff?.
40 year old bearings that have survived in perfect condition are pretty rare I'd guess, but if you can get the genuine article for a decent price I say go for it.

Roger.

 

I've never had any bad luck with Timken bearings bad at my local auto parts store.

 

Timken bearings are top notch but it's my understanding that the CT plant closed years ago so I'm not sure where they are made now.

 

My auto parts store carries Federal Mogul. No problems here.

 

My dad worked for oldsmobile in Lansing. If memory serves he said they used Timken or New departure bearings.

Pat

 

Timken, ***, and SKF are all well-respected brands, but, as noted, probably none are made in the US anymore.

Personally, if I'm buying new bearings, I avoid anything made in China, and look for bearings made in the US or Europe. Slovenia is a good source - it was the source of many machinists who emigrated here in the 1800s.

If you can get US-made brand-name bearings from the sixties without paying an arm and a leg, I'd say, Do it!

- Eric

 

I could have ordered a front suspension rebuild kit from Kanter for $350. All Chinese made crap.
Instead ,since I had the time , I shopped E-Bay for USA made NOS or NORS parts.
I not only got much better quality parts , but I paid less than half the cost of the Kanter kit.

 

I have heard that bearings that have Made In Japan stamped on the actual bearing are good quality. They do come in different brands.

 

Well I found a NOS Ac Delco front wheel bearing for less then 40 bucks on Ebay. It was half the price of some of the other brands and I feel I an getting a quality product. I have seen them go for over a 100 dollars apiece. Remember this is for a Toronado.

 

Timken makes 'em in Mexico & China and it seems they're moving more from Mex to China all the time. Timken is no longer a US company - just a brand name. They were bought by Koyo and I don't think they have any US mfg'ing any more. Some of the smaller ones are now made exclusively in China. But, if you're lucky, you'll get older Mexican ones (hit the lottery & get Japanese or really old US made ones).

I had to replace the hub bearings on my '04 Avalanche and did some research. I did NOT want Chinesium ones as many reported (sometimes very) short life & it's a PITA to replace 'em. Timken was the brand of choice - if you could get older USA or Mexican ones. I snagged a Mex pair at RockAuto (they listed a limited number of 'em as Hecho en Mexico for like $7 extra)

For the Cutlass fronts, I dug around in the NAPA store & got some SKFs - found 2 USA & 2 German ones.

Sadly, Timken has gone the way of Craftsman, Schwinn, and other once proud trustworthy USA brands. Just a label slapped on whatever China can excrete.

 

I have seen Timken labeled as made in Korea. There is a huge Timken building in Ohio but I don't know if it is just a distributor or a factory.

 

As long as its not chineasium or its surrounding countries (Japan exempt here) and says USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Japan or some Mexican your OK. When I call BDI, I always specify no china junk. Usually a few pennies more but your way ahead in safety and job repetition. The metal today is better. It has to be metallurgy has advanced, at least it has in Germany, Sweden, Japan and USA...

 

Where did you read all this? In Mad Magazine? None of it is true.

Timken is an American company with its world headquarters in North Canton, Ohio. They have manufacturing plants in 28 countries, including China, but at least a dozen or so are in the United States. Whether or not they make bearings here, I don't know.

Koyo is actually Koyo Seiko, a bearing company that merged with Toyota Machinery, a subsidiary of Toyota Motors, in 2006. Koyo did not purchase Timken, and the two companies have nothing to do with each other. Timken did sell one of its lines of bearings to Koyo/Toyota in 2009. Koyo Seiko does have two manufacturing plants in the U.S., one in Tennessee and the other in South Carolina.

Personally, I would trust Timken to stand by its brand with quality bearings no matter where in the world they're made.

 

True : Timken is still an American company.

But, in the context of tapered roller bearings, which is what the topic is about, Timken has significantly reduced manufacturing in the US. My Koyo comment is a bit off track. Timken did sell their needle bearing business to Koyo which is owned by Japanese corp JTEKT (Koyo/Toyoda) w/HQs in Nagoya and Osaka.

Timken's US mfg'ing focus is now on larger machine items and steel. They have divested themselves of, or closed, bearing plants in Columbus, OH, Ashland, OH, Rockford, IL, & Canton, OH as well as numerous other facilities over the last decade or so.

Nothing from China for me. Even if it is genuine Timken.

If you can find US made Timkens, go for it. But make sure they're genuine USA made Timkens. A quick google(alibaba) will give you many chinese mfgr's eager to counterfeit "TIMKEN - MADE IN USA" ones for you.

 

My Timken made in USA #2 and #6 for the front drum brake hubs have been raced at up to 119 mph many times with no issues. I do recommend using a bit of RTV to seal the stamped caps so water can't get into the bearings.

 

This is what's know as cutting off your nose to spite your face.