Beware Cheap Wheel Bearings!

[66 Sat]

This is pretty common knowledge to everyone here, but here is another example of cheap **** Chinese bearings failing in short order.
Approx. 7,000 miles on these PTC bearings, I'd been hearing a rotational scraping noise from the front left wheel for awhile, jacked the car up, spun the wheel, all sounded good, no lateral movement, thought it must be the disc rubbing the pad.
Anyway, this morning I thought maybe it is a bearing and is fine with no load on it, but with the weight of the car it makes a noise. Pulled it apart and jeez, what a state it was in, all the case hardening gone on some of the rollers, metal flakes everywhere. The rear bearing is OK, and the other side is fine too, but stuff that, went to the local supplier and they didn't have Timken but got some Koyo Japanese made bearings instead and I'm changing all of them anyway.
The PTC ones say made in China on the box and don't have any markings whatsoever. They came in my disc brake conversion kit from PST (who use Leed Brakes) - I'll be sending them an email to give them feedback. The new bearings were only $40 Australian for both wheels, so probably $20 extra compared to the cheap ones they included in the kit. Why not up the price slightly or make slightly less profit and use quality suppliers?

 

[Nate S]

China strikes again. Some stuff from there does what it needs to but when their copycat model doesn’t work (metallurgy being one) it makes for junk.

For a few years I was in charge of all engineering for a line of flatbed laser cutters. Supply chain bought bearings from regular USA bearing suppliers. These suppliers were supplying mostly chinese bearings though. All the specs were verbatim of course but that was simply a lie. Had to specify US, Japan or European bearing manufacture only. Chinese bearings didn’t all fail but lifetime was notably less, maybe 1/2-1/3.

 

[WileE]

You people should know that chinesium is an element on the chemical periodic table. You probably didn't realize it, and won't see it if you look for it, that's understandable. Reason is, because it doesn't last very long and then it disappears.

 

[Dave6T4]

I worked at Canadian Timken in St. Thomas, Ontario in the late '60's and through the '70's. We made all those wheel bearing sets. At the same time, Ford Motor Company had a new assembly plant 10 miles down the road at nearby Talbotville, and built Mavericks and Pintos there. This was the time that small, cheap Japanese import cars were making inroads in North America. The local Ford dealership was right directly across the street from the Timken plant. As a campaign to fight the Japanese imports, the Ford store had a huge banner out front that read, "Buy The Cars That Your Neighbours Make!" . At the same time, Ford was buying all their bearings from Japan, not from their neighbour, Timken.

 

[69 Sleeper Bee]

The only thing China has ever made that lasts is the Wuhan Flu.

 

[#41]

I have ever only used Timken. When it comes to bearings, you don't want to mess around! I did recently read that they built a new plant in Mexico.

 

[Ranger16]

China has no shame.

 

[Purepony]

I have ever only used Timken. When it comes to bearings, you don't want to mess around! I did recently read that they built a new plant in Mexico.

Well that’s the problem everyone’s going over seas or being bought.
I just read Holley bought Detroit speed ?! I mean what’s left ?

 

[BeeFast]

That's what you get when you deal with a ficken Communist country.

 

[Gary Gaz]

Same in my complete CPP front disc set up, one side ran the hardness off, other side went rusty. How Im not sure as they we all sealed and greased when arrived, replaced with Timken and carry a spare set now just in case

 

[kiwigtx]

This is pretty common knowledge to everyone here, but here is another example of cheap **** Chinese bearings failing in short order.

Same over here....my buddy won't use anything that is made in China for his car repair business. Too many failures in short time has forced that. Timken or better is the only way to go for bearings.

I bought a set of National bearings from RockAuto for my truck a couple of years ago....my brake guy took one look at them, couldn't stop laughing, then sent me along to a specialist bearing shop for some real bearings. The National bearing had pits on the mating faces, and looked like the were used and then sand-blasted, without cleaning. Total junk.

The cost was about the same for top quality versus the crap I had bought in from RockAuto - and I am guessing they are not the only ones peddling the cheap & nasty Chinesium bearings.

 

[kiwigtx]

The only thing China has ever made that lasts is the Wuhan Flu.

...and their lousy reputation.