Wheel bearings (again)
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 76
From: Portland OR
Wheel bearings (again)
'01 Z51 coupe 6 speeed.
So what is going on here? OE wheel bearings went 150k, replaced them and those went 20k miles, I got Detroit Axle 10 year warranty ones and it's been less than a year. My drivers rear is shot. My tires are wearing square, I replaced the ball joints at 150k and are tight. I have never raced my car, but I do a lot of backroad miles and I drive it aggressive, I guess. But I have been without traction control and abs for a year and haven't even squealed a tire, so it's not THAT aggressive.
So what is causing wicked failure in my wheel bearings in 10-20k miles? I mean, my car is at 198k miles and will likely upgrade this summer. But I would like to know what might be causing this. Any ideas? Thanks.
So what is going on here? OE wheel bearings went 150k, replaced them and those went 20k miles, I got Detroit Axle 10 year warranty ones and it's been less than a year. My drivers rear is shot. My tires are wearing square, I replaced the ball joints at 150k and are tight. I have never raced my car, but I do a lot of backroad miles and I drive it aggressive, I guess. But I have been without traction control and abs for a year and haven't even squealed a tire, so it's not THAT aggressive.
So what is causing wicked failure in my wheel bearings in 10-20k miles? I mean, my car is at 198k miles and will likely upgrade this summer. But I would like to know what might be causing this. Any ideas? Thanks.
Last edited by 66dts-v; Jun 26, 2020 at 11:25 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 2,346
Likes: 856
From: MI
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Have a look here to see if you can identify the issue including Timken install recommendations.
https://www.timken.com/automotive-te...ing-resources/
https://www.timken.com/automotive-te...ing-resources/
Pro
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 590
Likes: 134
From: Hanover Maryland
You bought junk bearings. I bought Detroit Axle wheel bearings too, took them out of the box and immediately thought "I'm not putting this crap on the car". Buy Timken or SKF. You can't expect a bearing under $50 to be decent.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,767
Likes: 938
From: Orlando Florida
Timken assures us the off-shore sourced bearings are as good as always, but I've yet to find any asia sourced steel to be all that good. Even Japanese steel. Alas, they days of knowing we have a good part because of the name on the box are long gone.
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 10,367
Likes: 1,272
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
find some that were made out of the twin towers lol... I replaced mine when I installed extended studs just because, not because they were needed, and I was able to source some oem gm usa bearings... there may still be some out there you just have to do some searching, or pony up and buy the skf xtrackers
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Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,767
Likes: 938
From: Orlando Florida
Sounds like you're in a bit of pickle. You can put in just about any quality to sell the car, but you'd likely be dooming the new owner to having to do the work over again in short order. You can spend more on top-quality parts -- but while bad wheel bearings kill resale, I imagine very few buyers will be convinced to pay more for better bearings they can't even see.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,704
Likes: 239
From: Redondo Beach CA
II can't advance the discussion past the advice already given, so should lay out, but didn't. I thought the tip about South Korea, in particular , had a lot of value ,
I have always heard that timkens were the best, from the old railroad days, but recently have heard that SKS were the best. I don't use enough bearings to know, first hand.
I can say it is possible that the poster got counterfeit parts. it happens easily with sellers that ship from a massive remote warehouse. and that might never actually see or touch the parts sold.
in those places where everything is shipped from the same bin for low handling costs, , a seller buying first quality parts is mixed in with every other seller of the same merch, even those that might not care about a counterfeit part. the parts all have the same identification, and the parts are distributed as the sales orders come in, so a guy buying only top parts to sell might have his order filled by whatever counterfeit crap is on top of the stack ready to go. Joes store might be filling his orders with counterfeit crap that jack bought, nobody is checking and they both get the same payment when they sell a part from the common shared shipping area.
I have always heard that timkens were the best, from the old railroad days, but recently have heard that SKS were the best. I don't use enough bearings to know, first hand.
I can say it is possible that the poster got counterfeit parts. it happens easily with sellers that ship from a massive remote warehouse. and that might never actually see or touch the parts sold.
in those places where everything is shipped from the same bin for low handling costs, , a seller buying first quality parts is mixed in with every other seller of the same merch, even those that might not care about a counterfeit part. the parts all have the same identification, and the parts are distributed as the sales orders come in, so a guy buying only top parts to sell might have his order filled by whatever counterfeit crap is on top of the stack ready to go. Joes store might be filling his orders with counterfeit crap that jack bought, nobody is checking and they both get the same payment when they sell a part from the common shared shipping area.
Last edited by strand rider; Jun 28, 2020 at 10:45 AM.