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Front Wheel Bearings

1994ch

1994ch

Well-Known Member
Messages
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419
Location
South Carolina
Am shopping for front wheel bearings. So the way I see it laid out price wise lowest to highest is
WJB at $60
Dura for $65
Mevotech for $78
Raybestos for $131
SKF for $159
Moog for $174

Will the upper three last so much longer that it is well worth the $$$ or will one of the cheaper ones last long enough to be reasonable? Are there any listed that I should stay away from? I know you get what you pay for usually but are any of these just a big name with nothing to back it up?

Thanks for any input.
 
If it was mine and I planned on keeping it awhile, I would go with the RAYBESTOS professional grade. If your getting rid of it in the next year, than any of them would do. The cheaper ones are probably all chinese imports. The upper level parts are probably a quality bearing set made in Mexico(yeah, who would have ever guessed mexico would be a GOOD thing), or maybe even a US made bearing.
 
Have to look on the hub assembly for country of origin nowadays.

On 4x4 trucks the bearing preload is set by the axle nut. So it's critical to use the updated torque spec for it and NOT use an impact to run the axle nut on. Some people have impacts that can sheer off lug nuts and immediate bearing damage is the result. Let alone being over-torqued leading to short bearing life.

The seals in the spindles that the half shaft passes through also needs to be replaced to keep water out of the new bearings.
 
GM Guy said:
@WarWagon , what is the revised torque spec, and what and where is this seal?

Thanks.

(Loving my 2wds even more... :) )
Click to expand...
Starting with the GMT-800's, they ALL use hub bearings. And I've always torqued em with my trusty 600 ft lb impact. NEVER had a 1 have a problem, even when I did this for a living. Pretty sure the actual torque spec was 250 ft lbs for 8 lug, and 185 ft lbs for 6 lug. The bearing preload is set when the hub is put together, but if you don't torque the axle nut enough, the hub stub can pull out of the inner bearing some losing all the preload, so you have to torque the axle nut enough to prevent the hub stub from pulling out of the press fit into the bearings(axle nut torque isn't going to press the hub stub back into the bearing, I've tried, not gonna happen).
 
GM Guy said:
@WarWagon , what is the revised torque spec, and what and where is this seal?

Thanks.

(Loving my 2wds even more... :) )
Click to expand...

Seal location is detailed here:

http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/th...eplacement-8-lug-4x4.19267/page-4#post-487255


THEFERMANATOR said:
Starting with the GMT-800's, they ALL use hub bearings. And I've always torqued em with my trusty 600 ft lb impact. NEVER had a 1 have a problem, even when I did this for a living. Pretty sure the actual torque spec was 250 ft lbs for 8 lug, and 185 ft lbs for 6 lug. The bearing preload is set when the hub is put together, but if you don't torque the axle nut enough, the hub stub can pull out of the inner bearing some losing all the preload, so you have to torque the axle nut enough to prevent the hub stub from pulling out of the press fit into the bearings(axle nut torque isn't going to press the hub stub back into the bearing, I've tried, not gonna happen).
Click to expand...

I got tired of changing burned up front hub bearings on patch. Used sets out of a junkyard - toasted. Many new units burned up to where the bearings were rough to turn or loose. The factory units had 174K on them and I am not getting 10K out of new/used. Seriously changing them more often than brake pads. So I looked into what was going wrong. Conclusion: Improper install. Specifically impact use on them and one failure from water, flooded road, that even wiped out the center bearing on the drive shaft. I can say with authority that doing it right takes less time than repeatedly doing it over.

You and I are part of the reason hub bearings and half shafts come with a separate tag that say "Do not use an impact on the axle shaft nut". Along with the warning that the said nut is a single use only. 600 Ft Lbs and the impact hammer shock damage from the impact are well over the 180 Ft lbs called for. It can take time for the damage or improper bearing load to show up as a failure. Impact use on the axle shaft nut is simply not the proper procedure. The procedure itself is not available outside GM books as 47,000+ views of the guide on here "How to: K2500 front rotor / disc replacement - 8 lug, 4x4" shows. Even I have had to refine that over the years. Others point out the same here as well:

http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/th...rotor-disc-replacement-8-lug-4x4.19267/page-4

Next up I get to hit a junkyard for some half shafts with some good boots on them. The new ones don't make it 2 years with the heat out here before cracking and blowing grease everywhere.
 
Torque spec is 180 lbs. I don't have a torque wrench that can do that, so I use my jack handle on a breaker bar to break them loose and to torque.

I've lost one bearing to water intrusion and that was on a road trip. Replaced with a cheapo from Autozone and spent time sealing it up in the spindle with silicone. Still going 20K miles later. Yep originals went 150K.

I've had good experience with the Suretech axles from Rockauto.

I'm delayed on the GMT-800 Brake Conversion which will get me the new bearing hubs. Took a new job with the Federal Reserve and my mother has terminal cancer and is in Hospice. We'll get the project done, just not now.
 
I pretty much only install Timken bearings at my shop, unless they want O.E. And I torque all of them to spec and have not had a failure of one in the last 4 years I've been using them. I used to try and save people money by using lower priced bearings. And 6 months later they're back and wanting me to warranty them. So I stopped even giving the option of the lesser expensive ones to cust. It's O.E., Timken, or go somewhere else.
 
Heard moog went under.
Straight outta China now, big time quality issues.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the input... Got some Raybestas from Rockauto... we shall see how they last.

@1999gmc Where do you get Timken bearings for these trucks? I did not look real hard, but I did look because I had heard good things about them. The only one from Rockauto was for the non 8600 GVW.
 
Our local Napa carries them. And I can get them from World Pac, but World pac only sells to business'. I'm sure there are other good brands out there. How this came about was we did front bearings on a 2001 F250, 6 months later they were making noise. So the parts house sent me a different brand, 4 months later making noise. Pulled it all apart and everything looked fine, front axleshaft wise and on the Fords the axleshaft just pushed thought the hub and a C clip holds it, no axle nut to over or under tighten. So I call Napa back and get talking to the parts guy and he says oh yeah, these cheap bearings don't last long on these trucks we're finding out. So he sent me a set of Timkens instead of a cheaper brand and all has been good for over 4 years. So thats about all I'll use and have not had a single comeback since switching to them.
 
1994ch said:
Thanks for all the input... Got some Raybestas from Rockauto... we shall see how they last.

@1999gmc Where do you get Timken bearings for these trucks? I did not look real hard, but I did look because I had heard good things about them. The only one from Rockauto was for the non 8600 GVW.
Click to expand...

Rockauto sells Timken bearings.

Moog is part of Federal Mogul auto parts, which has not "gone under."
 
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