Anyone have factual, first hand input on these?

I know that they are a Japanese company that purchased Timken in 2010 and that they are made here in the USA. The former president of Timken USA is/was running the Koyo show. I also know that Koyo bearings are used exclusively in Toyota transmissions...or they were as of about 5 years ago. No idea if that is still true.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...-80706827.html

Anyway, looking for some first hand feedback. Thanks!

 

In case anyone comes to this for reference, I answered my own question with more research and in a 'DOH' moment, realized that I had some transmission bearings from one of my motorcycle race engine builds in the basement. Yep, Koyo. I am going to give them a shot based on the fact that I have unknowingly been beating the crap out of these for decades without knowing it, without a single failure.

 

what, they don't sell bearings at Harbor Freight?

 

Sure they do , just not any we can afford!

 

All out with the Memorial Day 25% off sale.

Go for it Michael. You could check with Gary also for his recommendation on bearings.
I see a lot of rebuild kits for my T56s trans using Koyo bearings but have no real experience with them.

Good luck

 

I am really hoping that the above comments are jokes.

Thanks Dennis, I appreciate the info. I know that they are pretty common to be used in transmissions.

Gary recommends Timken which I have used with great success in the past. My main concern is that all of the recent Timken bearings that I have gotten, including the ones I just installed in my front hubs, were made in China. It could be that these will be just fine but after trusting Japanese engineering and manufacturing with my life for the past 30 years, I feel that I would take made in USA bearings owned by a Japanese parent company over a made in China bearing owned by an American company.

 

Hey Michael,
Are you needing bearings to rebuild your trailing arms or your diff or both?
Not sure...but have you looked at Tom's Differentials?
Great source. Unfortunately Tom passed away last year and his wife Jo is running the show. God bless her.
Supplies will probably dwindle as time goes on.
I'd look at their catalog and give Jo a call or fill in an order form and send it in.
The last catalog was 2017 but I don't see any price changes.
here's a link
http://tomsdifferentials.com/



You might want to check my thread from 2017 when Gary built my Super 10 rear with 4.11 gears. Some of those parts are no longer available. Or if they are the sources are having QC issues.
Good read but mostly for the actual pics Gary sent me as he did the build.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ial-build.html

Keep it going buddy...you have got me back on my projects!

 

usa timkins are koyo's,cheap and us made ,ive been using them is my car trailers for years

 

Thanks Dennis,

I am ordering my ring gear from Tom's and will see what they offer for bearings while I am there although Gary has also offered a 'kit' as I know he spends time sourcing the absolutely best parts for the job so I will likely be going that route.

So to be clear, you feel the Koyo USA bearings are not good? All of the Koyo bearings I have used were manufactured in Japan and were outstanding quality.

 

That's a cool plan. Gary is the man....
I sent him my 2nd diff just last week. I had bought a supposedly fresh rebuilt 4.11, 2+ years ago from a couple of ebay corvette experts.
I checked the pattern with the yellow gear marking compound...not a very good pattern. I showed it to Gary via email pics while he was building my Super 10. He said he would walk me through building a beefed up diff out of it. But I don't have a mill or lathe or access to one. So when the heart issues popped up, I put that on back burner.
So after talking with Gary, I decided to ship him the inner workings now to examine.
2 boxes went out on Thursday. Ill send the case and rear cover to him once he lets me know what I need to buy/find parts wise. If I find an older set (unused) of Tom's 30 spline shafts and spider gears, I might just go for another Super 10. If not, I'll let Gary do a beefed up, tuned posi setup and I'll figure out how to get it here once its done.

I'll ask Gary to put the same bearing kit together for me. He had several virgin GM posi units still around when he built my first one.
And Tom still had billet yokes available.
Part supplies are dwindling from the usual/old sources.
You are so lucky to be near him....I'd be there every chance learning differential building. Especially now that he has all his machines at his home shop.

Take care

 

I am trying to not be too large of a pain in his rear so I have refrained from paying him a visit just yet. Soon though, as I will need to get the stuff for the rear end. He is actually holding a seminar on rear trailing arms coming up soon and it is the one damn day that month where I already have a commitment that I cannot get out of so I will likely miss it :-(

 

I have first hand experience with KOYO bearings. They have held up for me over time in some industrial applications. I have also used them in marine use in heavy work loads with no failures. I am a Government contractor and will not use cheap bearings to save a penny. INNA bearings have proven well for me too.

 

Thanks for the input JK!

 

Timken bearing are made in 14 countries around the world to Timken standards.
All plants must meet ISO 9001 standards.
They have 8 bearing plants in the U.S.