I've been building/working on hot rods for longer than I care to remember and have noticed in the last ten years or so that it seems that no matter where you purchase a rear wheel bearing it's life span is very short. I'm aware of the " It's made in China" concept and the fact that most if not all American producers are no longer in business. My question is: Is there an American company left and if not, where do the knowledgeable Hambers out there access a decent bearing. The most recent failure is astounding, 200 miles on a completely new 9" from a very reputable supplier in CA. and both rear wheel bearings are leaking. It also seems that virtually every hot rod that rolls in the door in particular with a 9" rear has at least one bearing leaking oil. I can eliminate causes such as plugged vents, bent housing/axles and the like. Any thoughts out there greatly appreciated. Thanks
Do these axles only seal at the bearing or do they also have a separate axle shaft seal? Either way, I wonder if you might have better luck with an OEM bearing sourced from a Ford dealer. Surely more spendy, but maybe worth it ???
Timken bearings. Although, you need to watch. Some are made in the USA, they are the more expensive ones. Others are made in Brazil and are cheaper.
My experience has been that if you want good quality and long life, you need to spend good money. Yes, I choke up a bit when I see the invoice from my local bearing supply house, but I think of the overall good service I've had both with race car and hot rod suspensions and rear ends and I hand over the dough. My go-to brand is Timken, which is probably 2x - 3x more than the part a volume supplier puts in something to keep a competitive margin. SKF is also well regarded. Cheap bearings frequently give cheap results. vic
Concur. Buy a new car and the wheel bearings seem to last forever. Put one in your rod and who knows when it will leak or break up? Had both within 2 years, too. Gary
For what it's worth, I needed rear axle bearings for my off-topic '67 Vista Cruiser. The wagons used a bastard bearing that only applies to wagons. These are extremely hard to find. After a ton of looking, I found a guy that not only had them, was very helpful and went out of his way to help me. He 's very knowledgeable and I highly recommend him. His name is George Bachleda and his company is OlCar Bearing Company. Phone is 910 693-3324. They are in Southern Pines, North Carolina. They specialize in bearings and seal for old cars. Hope this info is of some help.
Thanks to all who have contributed suggestions, I have written it all down for future reference as I will soon be looking for bearings for the "new" 9" that is dripping already. The local CARQUEST dealer provides a rather expensive "made in the USA" bearing. The cost is not a factor if we don't have to replace it in a few miles so the question now is " does anyone know who provides this bearing"? No way to tell if it is Timken, SFK or any other from the package and the guys behind the counter have no idea.
I don't disagree about the quality of available parts these day and I only have experience with older 28 spline 9" axles, but the ones I've owner and repaired had a seal that was separate from the bearing. Knowing Ford I'm sure they have had many better ideas on bearings and seals. So..., are you dealing with a combination bearing & seal? Still it's always better to buy the best you can. Good luck and hope you get a long leak free life after the repair. -Dave
Thanks Dave, Almost all of the 9" units we have had a problem with have the sealed bearing AND the inner seal. As mentioned, at this point cost consideration has been long gone. I'd simply like to know who makes the best and where to buy it. I learned long ago that when you find something that works or a quality contractor you stick with them, it is much cheaper in the long run. Thanks again to all.
I needed a new wheel bearing for a 31 spline 9" not long ago, O'Reilly got me one (one day order I think) that was inexpensive and said USA on the box. National brand. I expect availability of that part won't last long...
Maybe I should start looking for quality replacement bearings and seals now before I need them again. Thanks for all the information! -Dave
You can look it up here and cross reference the number. http://www.timken.com/EN-US/product...aring_Seal_Application_Catalog_1989_older.pdf
Have you narrowed your rear or done a lot of welding on the housing? Perhaps the housing is warped causing your problems. A warped or bent rear can cause bearing failure.
when it comes to a roller bearing I buy Timkens first then SKF , this is where Rock auto comes in handy as I know what brand I am buying as they sell them seperate , not a house brand box . before that I used to buy the timkens direct from there distributors ( bearing houses ) Pay a little more but guaranteed its what I oredered , as for the Brazil/India Timkens , there QC is the same as if it was a US made one as they supply there own QC people at the mill .
interesting....same picture for the Timken and the National. The last one of these I bought National brand said USA on it.
Thanks again for all the tips, never gave a thought to either a Timken website or Rock Auto. The rear is brand new from SoCal and I dialed it to be sure it is straight using the same tools we use for the QC rears. The mounts and welding(Tig) on this thing are both a work of art and it checked out straight as an arrow, I plan to question SoCal about the bearings in a day or two as they were supplied installed on the axles. Thanks again, it might be time to stock up on bearings. As an aside, the truck to the left was built in 73 using a 72 Bronco rear and after 150k miles, mostly pulling a car trailer, it still has the original Ford bearings in the 9" and they are not leaking.
Here is a New issue I just went through. When rebuilding the 9" in my 51 three years ago. I bought both new bearings at N.A.P.A. and installed both myself. I had noticed the wedding rings were different but both took good hyd. pressure to press them on. I looked them over and then installed the Axles. Less than 10K miles and I'm on the side of the road with a left side tire wedged against the quarter panel. I thought I'd broken an Axle. I had just made a right hand turn when this happened. These were SKF bearings. The wedding ring had failed and let the bearing slide off the axle. The bearing on the other side had also moved 1/4". These rings are NOT machined D.O.M. tube. They are stamp formed. Easy to spot with the shoulder step not flat on the O.D. They are JUNK. Look at the I.D. and the shiny spot is all that had clamp force. I can't believe they pressed on as they did. I can't believe I didn't notice the fracturing on the edge. I almost don't believe it was that bad when first installed. This could have been a real disaster, bad enough as it was. N.A.P.A. did nothing about it being they didn't install them in there shop. Here is some photos of the wedding ring. The Wizzard
My 9" uses a standard 702 brg and separate seal I get from a local brg dealer. Had one go bad in 18 yrs but was caused by a bent axle.
most bearing failure isn't due to "country of manufacturer " it's improper installation! bearings are "Quality Controlled" by weight and their is only one company that makes a machine that builds bearings.
Here are some thoughts ,some have been mentioned before... #1)What is the condition of the parts? A)axle shaft a.seal surfaces b. straightness,including the flange c. is the area where the bearing rides within spec? Has the bearing spun here reducing the dimension B)housing a.is the housing straight? b.are the bearing bores worn? c. is there an inner seal? if so,was a new one installed...properly with spring towards the gears? Properly installed also means using a tool that will not distort the seal as it is positioned in the housing. I will NOT sell and install a roller bearing on an axle without selling the inner seal.If the customer refuses,then I build the price of the seal into the job and he gets the seal anyway.
After you make sure everything is ok on the axle and they're being installed correctly (you would be surprised how many shops push on either the face or outside lip). The only way you can be sure of a USA bearing is looking at the bearing itself (printed or engraved), I've been hoarding new old Timken bearings off of Ebay (I have a few in Ford boxes that are Timken) or my local parts store will order a few and let me pick out the good ones.
Here is a Toyota axle that I replaced the bearing and seals on today.Notice the oil ?This is because the inner seal failed allowing the oil to flow out of the assembly.
Ok, I'm dragging this thread back up from the dead... Any updated info on quality bearings? My avatar has one going out (again), I've replaced both since I bought it and they don't have 15K miles on either of them. They should last longer than that.... Scott Drake is the only one who claims to have US-made ones. Moser's are no-name (with no warranty), Timkens are Chinese, and I can't find any country-of-origin info on National. These are the small bearings (8" rear). What really set my alarms off is Rock Auto had NO listings for 8" axle bearings which makes you wonder if they got tired of failure claims. Or should I just buy the damn things in bulk so I always have one available...
When I was using a 9 inch Ford and for most rear axle parts the go to guy for me was and is Mark Williams Enterprise's....
Lots of countries are capable of making good bearings, I replaced a well worn but still serviceable set from Romania with SKF made in Japan. I felt confident they were made of decent steel, at least. I think Peru is a well respected bearing maker as well. It is what it is, the name on the box doesn't mean anything as far as country of origin. We used to buy all kinds of parts without a care in the world whether they would work right and bolt them on and go. Not anymore. Ain't globalization grand?
The Jalopy Journal
