Good quality wheel bearings - seals?

[dougw]

So I'm now looking for good quality wheel bearing to use in these kodiak disk brakes. I've been reading that Timkin makes good bearings but I've been starting to see that some of them are made in Mexico and not the states. E trailers is selling both redline and truryde but I'm not finding any real data on them.

So, any thoughts an bearings? Places to buy?

I have pretty much made up my mind that I would look for Chicago rawhide seals. Seems like a good choice as well unless I can compose a list of alternatives.

Thanks for any input.
Doug

 

[NWILSON]

Doug,
I completely understand your desire for peace of mind in knowing your rig is riding on quality parts!
Surprisingly, Dexter axles (I don't know about any other brands) are delivered with Chinese made bearings and I've seen very few reports of failures. It's not so much "where" things are made but what kind of quality control is used in production. I don't know that I'd be too concerned with Timken bearings that were made in Mexico.
If you have the numbers of the bearings you need you might try looking on EBay for NOS (New Old Stock ) bearings that were made in the USA.

 

[MTPockets]

Bearings were my life for over forty years and Timken is the largest mfg. of these type bearings. Timken manufactures worldwide and are of top quality, however, there are a number of other brands just as good. Personally, I would avoid places like EBay. There are plenty of bearings available, but you don't know where they have been, how old the stock is, etc... Handling a bearing is key. If it's old stock, in the hands of amateurs, they could have been dropped and received unseen damage, or been subjected to moisture, then repackaged, or even used bearings repackaged (we saw this some in the industrial trade for parts from un-reliable sources) ... I believe you will be fine if you purchase from a top line automotive store like NAPA, or an Industrial Parts supplier like Motion Industries or Applied Industrial Technologies. These two have locations in every state. There are other smaller suppliers, but believe me, the sourcing can be a factor. The small parts houses are the ones who frequently purchase from some of the questionable sources. Brands I would trust from a large distributor with factory fresh parts: Timken, NSK, NTN, FAG, SKF, Nachi. And, you can't go wrong with the C/R seals.