Wheel Bearings - OEM or After market?

Advance is swapping them for beck arnley for me. I cleaned the sensors and no improvement

 

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My timken front bearings work great. Amazon just shipped my GMB rear.

Post #66

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/idea-web-links-saved-various-parts-219238p5.html

 

direct link - http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4711833&postcount=66

the OEM bearings come with 12 month, 12000 mile no questions asked warranty. if you burn them up quickly, this might be a cheap solution for you.

Installed my chianese bearings last night, took hour and a half. Car is quote again.

i didn't get my bearings quite as cheap as lovedr but my GMB brand bearings work fine also.

Ordered the Timken units from Rockauto.com

Ordered late Thursday and delivered Saturday morning, great service and price was same as Amazon, who only had one in stock.

 

only Q? now is that the paperwork in the box mentions the hub must be orientated for the ABS magnet/sensor to operate properly.

anyone know how to identify which way is the correct orientation?

Hmmmm. interesting. I just put them on. Dont think they have to be in a certain position

The TIMKEN bearings I used are exactly what came on the subaru. Exactly the same, down to the part number stamped into the back of the plate.

 

They have been great and I will buy timken again. Even the packaging the bearings came in was top notch.

Thought i'd chip in my 2 cents worth.

 

I work for a company called SAECOWilson, one of NZ's biggest bearing supplier and are sister company to a few big bearing companies across Australia also.

 

Timken - One of the best in the world, they manufacture their own bearing steel and sell their steel to other bearing companies. They're built strong and no bearing leaves their factory without each going through an xray, crack tester, harmonic test etc.

 

NTN - Manufactured in two plants, one in Japan and one in Taiwan. The Taiwanese bearings are still under the same build quality and control as the Japanese ones. NTN make alot of bearings for OEM, such as A/C pumps, Idlers and Tensioners and alot of wheel bearings. They also supply most of the CV joints and universal joints across the automotive world.

 

KOYO - Another big OEM supplier out of Japan, Honda use Koyo as their supplier for all of their wheel bearings, i'm pretty sure Nissan and Mitsubishi follow suite.

 

SKF - Another good quality player, they have slipped over the years but are still none the less a great bearing. They're made across a few different countries, USA, Romania, Germany and England.

 

Nachi - Japanese made, great quality control and also an OEM supplier for A/C pumps, idlers etc.

 

NSK - One of the bigger names in the industrial world, they supply a little of the OEM automotive world but mostly are known for their industrial units. Such as their spherical rollers, slewing rings and linear motion.

 

I would use any of them in my cars, wether it's my daily or any race car i've built. One thing I would reccomend is asking your shop where they buy them from, explain it's not so you can go look for a cheaper price but so you can guarentee they're a genuine item. We have a big issue in NZ, where some competitors were selling a NSK wheel bearing kit for $20 when it would be 100% impossible, as even our price from NSK(we're the only NSK agent in NZ) is more than that, and it turned out they were just chinese bearings in an NSK box.

 

Hope you found this helpful, i'm only a new member here but thought i'd do my bit to shed some light on what is general maintenance and could help keep disaster from happening.

When a bearing starts to fail is it dependent on outside temp and speed as to when you'll hear the tell tell sign? I heard a odd noise above 20MPH yesterday while driving, it sounded like the fan or air pump was on but below 20 MPH it went away. It was 75 yesterday, this morning it was 58 i heard nothing.

 

I know it wasn't the fans or air pump running and I couldnt tell if it was speed dependent as it was a low pitched hum, weird I know i guess if it is a bearing ill have to allow it to fail in order to diagnose it or put it up on stands.

Bearings like any metals expand and contract with heat. That being said itd havw to be upwards of 100 celcius to have any major expansion.

 

Easiest way is using a stethescope on the back of the hub to listen for any noise. Keep in mind if its only just failling itll need load on it to hear the noise.

Bearings like any metals expand and contract with heat. That being said itd havw to be upwards of 100 celcius to have any major expansion.

 

Easiest way is using a stethescope on the back of the hub to listen for any noise. Keep in mind if its only just failling itll need load on it to hear the noise.

 

Yeah I am going to take it to Mach V have them run it while lifted to see if we can track down which corner it is coming from. I feel it is the driver side front but its tough b/c it doesn't intensify when turning or speeding up it starts above 22MPH and is constant below it stops.

I changed the driver side rear wheel bearing last week. Not too bad to do. Here is a link to a You Tube video for a legacy.

 

The only comment I have with the video is, don't use the hammer. It will take forever. I used the M8 bolt holes to take the rotor off and a puller to pull the bearing off.

 

I think the bearing is symmetrical and there is no flatter side.

 

I went with a Moog because it was available local and had a lifetime warranty. $95

Another Moog fail to report. Replaced right front. First drive cruise control functioning but with a surging sensation. Same with second drive. Third drive no more surge. Fourth drive flashing cc light. Remove and return to Rock Auto. Install original until order from Fred Beans arrives. CC is smooth and stable as before. Wish I had never installed it. Lesson learned. Don't let it happen to you.

I changed the driver side rear wheel bearing last week. Not too bad to do. Here is a link to a You Tube video for a legacy.

 

You the real MVP!

Another Moog fail to report. Replaced right front. First drive cruise control functioning but with a surging sensation. Same with second drive. Third drive no more surge. Fourth drive flashing cc light. Remove and return to Rock Auto. Install original until order from Fred Beans arrives. CC is smooth and stable as before. Wish I had never installed it. Lesson learned. Don't let it happen to you.

 

That's well known around here. Moogs work on the rears but not the fronts.

 

The new tip is to use DA, Detroit Axle hubs. Like $120 for all 4 hubs.

The new tip is to use DA, Detroit Axle hubs. Like $120 for all 4 hubs.

Replaced my front one with that brand, no issues whatsoever.

Ordered 2 Pairs of fronts from DA.(accidental double order) will report back with results.

Detroit axle bearings are working well. No cruise problems.

Thanks for the update.

 

Did you spend a lot of time cleaning the knuckle before you put the wheel bearing in?

Thinking about buying a set of the DA hub/bearing assemblies for each legacy... I'm pretty sure the ones on the wagon are done for and wouldn't be surprised if the ones on my spec.B aren't far behind.

Has anyone had problems with the ABS or CC with Timiken on the front? I got an ABS and ERR 55 when I did the rear but I forgot to take the sensor out. Now I have to change the sensor.

Ok, so how does one get 4 hubs from Detroit Axle for under $120? I see them as $67/65 (front/rear) EACH on their website - that's $260 total.

 

On Amazon, $95 for pair for fronts, $85 for pair of rear - $180 total. Better.

 

Ebay: $95 for 2 fronts, $69 for 2 rears, $165 total or so. Got it.

 

What's the installation procedure for the FRONT? The rear seems doable based on above instructions (I've done brakes/rotors several times). Any more difficult for front? Any special tools needed for either one? Special chemicals/lubricants?

 

How easy is it to mess something up? Wouldn't mind doing all 4, since I'm getting random shaking while braking, and I suspect it's rusted old hubs + worn bearings at this point ('05 108K miles).

Edited October 21, 2014 by hadvw
Added ebay pricing

Use Amazon.

Front is almost the same as the back. After you take off the disc, 4 more 14mm and the big hub nut, 30mm I think.

 

My DA hubs are making the CC surge very slightly. The passenger doesn't notice but it feels like a slight misfire. I can't drive it because it makes me seasick. I'll have to see how much trouble Amazon gives trying to return. I don't want to pay double for crappy OEM hubs.

 

I might give Timmiken a try on the front.