Unit bearing wheel hub brands

[jeepman3071]

I bought some front hub unit bearings for my Cherokee a few months ago from Rock Auto. I had a noise from the front end and figured it was the hubs since my friend's Cherokee made a similar noise when his were going out. It ended up being my drive shaft u-joints, but I kept the hubs figuring I'd need them sometime down the road.

They are Timken hubs, and I checked the box today. Both have "Made in Slovakia" on the hubs, with just numbers on the bearing. I'm assuming this is better than China?

They also have "F.A.G." and "450" stamped into the corner where they bolt to the axle. Not sure if that helps identify them.

 

[stephen9666]

F.A.G. is a highly regarded bearing company.

So, those appear to be another item that Timken sourced from a different company.

 

[Ross]

2 years ago I had replaced two rear hubs with the precision china made ones. They cames with a lifefime warranty. One went out at 7,000 miles and the other is doing fine at 30,000 miles. I had to pay shipping on the 7,000 mile one so it really wasn't a free replacement.

 

[TMoto]

DGZR Bearing Co., Ltd Welcome you the presence!!

 

[Texan4Life]

Timken or SKF

I go with Timken cuz the are usually cheaper than SKF

Rockauto or Amazon are the cheapest place to buy from.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071

They also have "F.A.G." and "450" stamped into the corner where they bolt to the axle. Not sure if that helps identify them.


FisherAG Bearings was purchased by Schaeffler Group (INA) about 20 years ago. They have a hub bearing facility in Joplin, MO.

 

[partspro]

Make sure that the axle nut is torqued correctly, that's the major cause of replacement bearing failure, regardless of brand.

 

[armos]

The Timken I bought last year came with a seal that was plainly too small to fit the hub. They just tossed it in on top, rather than caring enough to fix the mismatch. I wasn't impressed with that at all.
It also didn't include the same size nut as OEM. This is a potential annoyance which I'd expect a better brand not to perpetrate, but I had a socket to fit so it worked out.
I couldn't find any marking of where the hub was made.

To give fair credit, the reason the seal didn't fit is because it had an enlarged diameter shaft. So +1 for a likely design improvement, but no excuse for closing up the box with a seal that doesn't fit! That just screams of a culture that doesn't care.

I'd be inclined to try SKF next time, unless the price difference is too much.