So it boils down to the country of manufacturer? I was under the assumption Timken was made here... (Maybe some are...) I wish I knew the answer...I used a Timken bearing on a Chrysler minivan a while back. I paid extra for the Timken, thinking it would be a quality part, and I wouldn't need to do the job twice. Well, the Timken (Made in China) lasted all of six months until it failed.
So, I ordered an SKF the second time around, and used that. I think the SKF was made in Korea, for what it's worth. It has so far lasted 2 1/2 years, and I haven't had any problems. If I need to do this sort of job on any other vehicles, I'm going to default to SKF first.
I hear a lot about the SKF brand (here) but don't see them highlighted on RockAuto... Interesting.