GMB Hub Assemblies Any Good?

M

Merkava_4

Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Messages
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Location
Clovis, CA
I'm looking at RockAuto and I got my choice between:

Value Pro - $39.99
GMB - $42.79
Raybestos - $72.89
Moog - $93.89
Timken - $95.79
SKF - $127.79

GMB's website says they're a Korean company.

What you guys say?
 
I never heard of them...suggest buy timken and not worry bout labor cost or hassle of replacing the cheap ones again.(don't ask me how I know)
 
SKF, Timken, and GMB are known for their bearings. Moog is a brand known for quality aftermarket suspension parts owned by Federal Mogul who also owns National Seal so they're probably pretty trustworthy as well.

Of these brands, I've never used a Raybestos, Value Pro, or Moog bearing.

Going by my own brand perception, Id rank them as:
SKF
GMB
Timken
Moog
Raybestos
Value Pro

This is just one opinion to add to the pot.
 
Cheap hubs are just that,cheap.They fail in short order,and can be dangerous.I have seen 2 Explorer wheel hubs actually come apart and allow the wheels to tilt out at the bottom.These were Taiwanese/Chinese made.They use inferior grease,subpar metals,not built to any kind of tolerance,and just generally are built for price and not quality.Ask any parts store that sells a lot of "imported" econo hubs,and they will probably say their warranty rate is around 25-50% (if not worse).Those things exist only for the price shoppers,who call door to door just to see if they can save a buck or two (thinking some parts houses are robbing the customer by charging too much for the same part).Imagine store X quoting $120 for an SKF vs store Y quoting $52.00 (for their imported house label)..guess who gets the majority of the sales?
 
I would email or call GMB and Raybestos and see where that specific part number is made.

If the GMB is Korea, it's probably at least decent quality. But, just b/c it's a Korean company, that doesn't mean it's a Korean part.

If the Raybestos part is made in a country better known for manufacturing, I might spend the extra to step up.

Also, Raybestos has been up front with me before when I asked where a specific part was made.

What vehicle is this for? If it's a difficult job, I'd be willing to spend more to get a better part.

Bu, I'm sure this is all stuff you already know.
smile.gif
 
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I was annoyed at the Timken hub assembly I bought recently. They apparently increased the shaft diameter, which is fine, but they included the wrong seal. You'd think they'd put the seal on the hub when packing it. Well that was impossible with this one because it was too small to fit, so they just laid it loose in the box.
I couldn't find a matching seal locally, so I had to do without it. They call it "optional", and it is after all a sealed hub so it's really a redundant piece, but we'll see how it goes.

The old hub was cheap aftermarket, I know it wasn't OEM because of the different size nut. Based on my car's miles and the assumption that OEM probably lasted over 100K, I estimate the aftermarket hub I removed was on there maybe 50K miles. It was already in terrible shape at that point.

I don't know where the Timken hub was made, that's another complaint I had with it. No marking of origin, so I can only guess. All it said is the box is made in USA. Yay, we can make cardboard.

All that griping aside though, I'll still be happy with the Timken as long as it holds up.
 
Originally Posted By: armos


I don't know where the Timken hub was made, that's another complaint I had with it. No marking of origin, so I can only guess. All it said is the box is made in USA. Yay, we can make cardboard.


If this was on the part label on the box, then the part was made in the USA.

FTC rules require labeling the package, not the item itself.
 
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IMO Timkin is the best, SKF should be good too and I have used those in the past w/o any complaints.

Chief auto parts used to sell GMB parts when I began driving in the mid 80's. They seemed ok back then.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666

What vehicle is this for? If it's a difficult job, I'd be willing to spend more to get a better part.


It's for my little Buick LeSabre. I have no problem spending the money on quality parts; it's just that so often these days you'll find two identical parts with the same part number, but under two different brands and two different prices.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: armos


I don't know where the Timken hub was made, that's another complaint I had with it. No marking of origin, so I can only guess. All it said is the box is made in USA. Yay, we can make cardboard.


If this was on the part label on the box, then the part was made in the USA.

FTC rules require labeling the package, not the item itself.


I don't have the box anymore so I can't check it's exact wording, but essentially it said "packaging made in USA" or something like that. It was definitely referring to the packaging.
I couldn't find anything about the part itself, but maybe it was there somewhere that I missed.
I would guess this isn't required to be disclosed if it's US made, so it's omission might mean it's domestic by default. But it's hard for me to grant that assumption.
smile.gif


The traditional style tapered roller bearings I bought from Timken a year ago were definitely US made, marked clearly as such on the packaging.
 
I have dealt with numerous GMB parts that were great. All the ones I worked with came from a different country in Asia. I had some from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and China.
 
More than once, I've seen some give good marks to GMB hubs, but generally Timken and SKF are recommended consistently. I wouldn't be afraid to try them myself.

I last bought a Timken unit from Rockauto a couple months ago that was very difficult to find the country of origin marking. Made in USA was stamped into the side of the hub in very thin faint lettering.
 
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I've heard really good things from the Raybestos line. I know they make top quality brake products so I feel pretty certain their other parts are good quality as well.

Raybestos Hubs
 
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The SKF is probably the most like the orginal, highest quality, and most likely made in N. America. Unless price is your main concern and even then the Timken and Moog (national) are only about $30 cheaper. The GMB is probably the only one that is actually lower in cost to be tempting. I have heard GMB are decent but I can't say for sure. I'd just be suspicious of the quality of a $42 hub.

Being that it's not always easy to warranty a mail order part, and you may have to buy a replacement and do the job again, I'd just bite the bullet and get the SKF. It might be the best value in the long run. If you could get that price for the GMB locally and easy get a quick warranty replacement, it might be worth the gamble.
 
A few manufacturing defects will happen with any brand. Remeber "If it can be made in a factory: it can be made wrong." In my experience I've had one defective Timken bearing and one that was misboxed. I've never had a problem with a GMB, but haven't used as many of those as Timkens.

Do you remember when GM recalled several years of full size SUVs and half ton pickups tue to a problem with the front hub and bearing assemblies that would cause erroneous ABS operation in the flavor of truck fails to stop at low speeds? Yeah, I'm pretty sure those were SKF and the replacement units that worked just fine with no such ploblem? SKF salso, I believe.

I'm not going to try and convince you that GMB is just as good as a Timken. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. Don't let a single faulty bearing make your mind for you either.
 
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
The SKF is probably the most like the orginal, highest quality, and most likely made in N. America. Unless price is your main concern and even then the Timken and Moog (national) are only about $30 cheaper. The GMB is probably the only one that is actually lower in cost to be tempting. I have heard GMB are decent but I can't say for sure. I'd just be suspicious of the quality of a $42 hub.

Being that it's not always easy to warranty a mail order part, and you may have to buy a replacement and do the job again, I'd just bite the bullet and get the SKF. It might be the best value in the long run. If you could get that price for the GMB locally and easy get a quick warranty replacement, it might be worth the gamble.


Quality to me is paramount on critical parts like bearing hubs ... but what if the the GMB and the SKF hub are the
identical hub made in CHINA? Why pay an extra $100 for the same exact same hub? You see what I'm afraid of?

Thank You for your reply Mechanicx.
55.gif
 
The SKF won't be made in china and even if the Timkin is made in china it would be higher quality. I know what you mean, some brand could be an overpriced china part that's the same as a higher priced brand, but that's not the case here.
 
Originally Posted By: yonyon
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Here someone reported a problem with a GMB hub a month later http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cad...-bearings.html. He installed them and thought they were good and reported back a few weeks later an ABS code. Replaced them with Timkens and I assume money down the drain. The GMB are probably made in china and of questionable quality.


A few manufacturing defects will happen with any brand. Remeber "If it can be made in a factory: it can be made wrong." In my experience I've had one defective Timken bearing and one that was misboxed. I've never had a problem with a GMB, but haven't used as many of those as Timkens.

Do you remember when GM recalled several years of full size SUVs and half ton pickups tue to a problem with the front hub and bearing assemblies that would cause erroneous ABS operation in the flavor of truck fails to stop at low speeds? Yeah, I'm pretty sure those were SKF and the replacement units that worked just fine with no such ploblem? SKF salso, I believe.

I'm not going to try and convince you that GMB is just as good as a Timken. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. Don't let a single faulty bearing make your mind for you either.


I agree that any part can fail, even OE which is suppose to be at the top and SKF. I just think SKF would be the most likely to last the longest and not give problems. I don't know whether GMB is as good or better than say Timken at a much lower cost. I suspect GMB isn't but I have no hard proof either way. I just view SKF as the best aftermarket choice here if one doesn't mind paying a little extra.
 
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