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Front wheel bearing/hub - best brand?

32K views 21 replies 16 participants last post by  jchea650 
#1 ·
2003 Envoy 4WD - I6

I know there are TONS of threads on this, and I've printed out the instructions on changing the wheel hub. This is by far the BEST site on the web. :)

Question: Of the dozens of people that changed their front hubs, has anyone had failures or problems with certain brands? Long-term (+3 years) failures?

Cheap E-Bay versions, Chinese made junk, Taiwanese manufactured, US-made, there seems to at least 10 different brands out there, ranging from $40 to $250. Have the cheap-o $40 ones held up?

Part # 513188.

Timken
Dorman
Raybestos
Precision
Master Pro
WB Premium
Delco

Just need to know which to avoid (or which to buy) before springing for a new pair of hubs.

Thank you! :thumbsup:
 
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#8 ·
I have a Timken on my passenger side. No issues yet.

I had a Timken rear axle bearing on my previous car. No problems with it.

I'm rather partial to Timken since I've never had a problem with them, and they are made in the USA :thumbsup: Also I have a friend who works there so I told him I support his job, however indirect it may be lol :laugh:
 
#10 ·
I just bought a Timken for $135. shipped and it actually went bad on me in less than 2 weeks. I just replaced it with the new one this weekend, this one hopefully go the distance. The assembly started leaking grease from the rear seal. Anything made can be defective, so hopefully I got a good one this time. Its a pretty fast job but i dont feel like doing it again for a 3rd time in a month.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Oh oh, that's not good news. :( I was just about to order a pair of Timkens.

Has anyone had any really bad experiences with the $50 versions off E-Bay? I know they're cheap, but sometimes the cheap parts last. These supposedly have a lifetime warranty.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/5131...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c5812ecb2

I'm starting to wonder if I'm better off getting 2 hubs for $109 on E-Bay verses $290 for Timkens. If none of these last more than a year, I'm beginning to wonder if they're all cheap Chinese junk, just repackaged and rebranded for various U.S. markets.
 
#14 ·
I would go to Rockauto and buy the Timkens, with the discount code i got it for 135 shipped, and recieved it in one day. I work in electrical sales and honestly ANYTHING made can be defective, I see defective material with the best of brands.Ive heard nothing but good things about Timken and Rockauto so i would not hesitate to purchase another one. They replaced the defective hub no questions asked since it happened so quickly. Now if this happened from an ebay store, would i get the same service???? i dunno..... Go to Rockauto and do the Timken.:thumbsup:
 
#17 ·
My problem with that particular ebay seller would have been the service. According to their feedback, it looks like they make a habit of selling things they don't have in inventory. Probably to cut down inventory cost, they wait till they have orders to order the parts themselves, but that makes things terribly slow. I've never had an issue with rock. I got a bad fuel pump from them once, and returned it with no hassle at all.
 
#20 ·
My thoughts on this matter go like this...if you do it once, do you really want to do it again? I work for one of the large parts chains and I've seen a lot of the low end parts come back for warranty claims if they fail within the one year they give. I have yet to see a high end bearing come back for warranty yet. I've replaced a lot of hubs in the past...some are easy, some are a PITA. When I'm working on someone's vehicle I try to push the higher end bearing if they can swing the cash for it and they plan on keeping the vehicle for a while...I don't want them coming back to me in 6 months griping about the bearing making noise and having to do it again...

The way I was told is the low end bearings are made to OEM specs and the higher end ones are actually tweaked to give more life and be more durable...my TB still has an extended warranty and I've had to have both hubs replaced at the tune of $500 each at the stealership...I'm sure I'll be replacing them again long before I get rid of it...;)
 
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