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To those of you that have replaced your unit bearing hubs on your 4 x 4's; are they giving comparable service to the OEM units? I'm replacing ball-joints right now and it would sure be easy to slap on some new hubs. The only issue is I have 130k on the originals and have been lubing them through the ABS port for the last 20k miles - the hubs seem to be in good condition. I've noticed some posters stating that since lubing an already good hub, that they are now getting a lot more than the standard 150k out of them. I also worry about replacing perfectly good US bearing hubs with most likely a Chinese bearing hub (Timken or not!). Any thoughts are appreciated.
I just replaced both of mine last night. I bought the Timkin from Rockauto for $380 shipped. The box was printed in USA or so it says. Didn't see a Made in China but didn't see a Made in USA either which probably means the former. As far as longevity I obviously can't attest to that but I can say that the cheap ones from advance auto only lasted me about 25k in my E99.
The ones I just replaced were in really bad shape(one was the worst I've witnessed) and should have been done before now but luckily I got them before anything bad happened. It started roaring just before a camping trip and went on it anyway instead of replacing them before. I got lucky.
That's Cotton. He's the smartest dog I've ever owned. We think he is a Britney mix.
If I could figure out how to post a video I would show you how bad the bearing was.
If Cotton is so smart why don't you just ask him where the hubs were made?
I've bought Timkens and found they are made in China, Mexico and USA. Autozone actually had both Chinese ones and Mexico ones for my Chevy work van, the Mexico ones were a higher price and longer warranty, the boxes both said Timken on them.
If Cotton is so smart why don't you just ask him where the hubs were made?
I've bought Timkens and found they are made in China, Mexico and USA. Autozone actually had both Chinese ones and Mexico ones for my Chevy work van, the Mexico ones were a higher price and longer warranty, the boxes both said Timken on them.
Truck usually sits in the barn until I haul off the trash about once a week but I have driven it the past two days and I had just topped the fuel tank off. My fuel mileage appears to have picked up some. I was getting 15-16 mpg but had noticed about a 2 mpg drop in the last few tanks.
I did check them for smoothness and binding before installing them and they were good. Someone posted recently that they had seen several bad new ones at the parts store. Hopefully these will serve me well.
My right-front hub lost a seal 18 months after install, so I had to cap the tube and I lost my ESOF. I had the work done, and I was told they use Timken. I will be looking into this more in the fall... when I have time.
My right-front hub lost a seal 18 months after install, so I had to cap the tube and I lost my ESOF. I had the work done, and I was told they use Timken. I will be looking into this more in the fall... when I have time.
I think I'm just going to put the old hubs back on. I just have a hunch if they have been lubed well before they start to go bad, then MAYBE you can extend their service life considerably. If they are still in good condition, I'm pretty confident that the old US made (I assume) hub will be superior to what's being offered in the aftermarket today. We will all know for sure when Rich starts digging into this; we will have a thread the size of WAR & PEACE!
Wait a minute... are we talking the front bearings or are we talking the locking hubs? I had a worn bearing in one of the locking hubs and both were looking rough, so I ordered OEM from Amazon for about $450 (if memory serves). Those work great, I'm glad I bought them.
08-04-2016, 02:34 PM
