Roller Bearings – brand preference ?

[johnny-infl]

Going over a list of bearings I need and it seems like on e-bay
the Federal Mogul brand can be several bucks cheaper than the
Timken . . . are they of the same quality ? is one preferred over the other ?

[beerman57]

I’ve heard both those names for as long as I can remember, Is one US made and one China/Mexico made. I know which one I would buy. But they are both foreign made most likely.

[johnny-infl]

Timken is Made in USA and Federal Mogul is Made in Japan

that is all I know.

[chas56x]

I worked in aircraft maintenance for 47 years and we always used bearings made by Timkin. They held up better heat, moisture and stress.

[beerman57]

Buy TIMKEN!!!

[The Boat House]

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by The Boat House.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by The Boat House.

[jerry-ahrens]

If you want it to last, go with Timken. I have never seen a cheap bearing inside any new or antique gearcase, but always Timken. I know Timken makes most all bearings that go into a Merc or Mercruiser drive. Some of the dual roller bearing assemblies are a matched set. We were told in service training school not to go to Oreillys to try and replace them!
I guess for me it would depend on where the bearing is going. I know I hate the Chinese trailer bearings… they seem to rust instantly if subjected to moisture. I’ve seen some of them even come apart inside the hub. But that’s what we have to work with nowaday’s.

[dougs-outboards]

I just replaced the front wheel bearing on my 1998 Buick le Sabre, and had a choice of a few brands. Chose Timken, ordered it, when it got here it said "Korea" on the box. This is a sealed bearing, not like the old bearing and race, and I noticed that on my original, the back of the outside bearing case (not race) was metal, and was plastic on the new bearing. Oh well, we shall see. Wanted to buy the best bearing I could so as not to do the job again in a few years. Before I did the job, I looked it up on you tube just to see, and get tips. The guy that was doing the job was working on a 2003 ford car I think it was. He was removing a second replaced bearing to install a 3rd bearing, in 12 years?! Claimed someone put in a cheap bearing from China…

[chris-p]

As stated, Timken is NOT what it used to be. They are definately not all made in USA anymore. If you think they are, you are just kidding yourself.

The Japanese make very good products to give you my 2 cents. Much better than Chinese made parts. I would not hesitate to use a Federal Mogul, I have used a bunch of them from when I bought out OMC inventories, and have personally never had a problem.

All that Im saying is, if you are buying strictly because you think its made in the USA, its not. Timken is still likely the leader in bearings, but I think it will take a decade or so to determine how the quality is now. You don’t know until you run them a while. The original Timkens in many of our motors obviously did well, considering the age they are that we are just replacing them now.

[green-thumbs]

I bought a 1982 Ford F100. During service work I noticed it had Japanese made bearings.I Never had a problem with them. Bought a 2005 GMC pickup and both front wheel bearings went bad at $724 each. Left at 40,000 Right at 60,000 of light use as a personal vehicle.
Timken used to make the steel that went into their bearings, recently split into steel company and bearing company. Many brands of bearings and seals have common ownership and not all are US based. Many years of imbalance of trade have left wads of US dollars overseas and the USA is only place to spend them. USA is a high wage place so everyone
takes work to where wages are lower. It is all part of the shift to a so called "Post Industrial
Economy" Whatever that is or will be it is not a job market favoring those who work with
their hands.

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