Best/worst sealed wheel bearing brands

[drtyler]

There was also this thread:

Is it normal for a new wheel hub to have heat marks on it?

Does anyone have any idea if hub assemblies are supposed to have blueing on them out of the box? My second assembly failed and the only issue I can think of is both assemblies look like they took a lot of heat to them around the center of the bearing.

bobistheoilguy.com

The OP in your thread over torqued those bearings by a significant amount. If you see other threads by that OP, mechanical maladies are not uncommon.

It appears that RockAuto is now selling counterfeit SKF hub bearing assemblies.

Apparently either SKF doesn't make their Bearings as good as they used to or RockAuto sold me a counterfeit.

Yesterday I Installed a brand new SKF hub assembly on my 2009 Buick Lacrosse. The only thing that struck me odd about this bearing is that is was as hard to spin as the one that came off of it. I paid it no mind and put it on anyways. Today the new bearing fails. Chirping and popping noises, up...

bobistheoilguy.com

NAPA is a factory authorized distributor for SKF, so the chance of counterfeits should be much lower from them. Or you can buy directly from SKF at:

SKF

SKF recently increased the warranty on their hubs to 5 years.

SKF Vehicle Aftermarket Extends Warranty on All Auto Hubs

 

[Trav]

Look at a whole host of products and you will find Rock Auto is not an authorized dealer for many of them eg NGK.
That is not to say most of what they sell is fake but their supply chain seems to be sketchy for some things and on the flip side some parts are NOS and preferable to the latest versions. Research is all you can do.

 

[michael007]

It appears that RockAuto is now selling counterfeit SKF hub bearing assemblies.

Apparently either SKF doesn't make their Bearings as good as they used to or RockAuto sold me a counterfeit.

Yesterday I Installed a brand new SKF hub assembly on my 2009 Buick Lacrosse. The only thing that struck me odd about this bearing is that is was as hard to spin as the one that came off of it. I paid it no mind and put it on anyways. Today the new bearing fails. Chirping and popping noises, up...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[D60]

There was also this thread:

Is it normal for a new wheel hub to have heat marks on it?

Does anyone have any idea if hub assemblies are supposed to have blueing on them out of the box? My second assembly failed and the only issue I can think of is both assemblies look like they took a lot of heat to them around the center of the bearing.

bobistheoilguy.com

The OP in your thread over torqued those bearings by a significant amount. If you see other threads by that OP, mechanical maladies are not uncommon.

Yeah I that OP destroyed like 13 wheel bearings on that vehicle in 2 weeks (exaggeration, obviously) and finally figured out the problem might not be the hard parts

 

[SubLGT]

Does SKF manufacture 2 quality tiers of hub bearings, "good" and "best"?
I downloaded the SKF warranty policy (dated Dec 2022) from the NAPA website, and the warranty for light duty hub/bearing assemblies is stated as 12 months or 60 months. NAPA sells both versions (at least for a Subaru rear hub SKF p.n. BR930474) and the price difference is $26.

My local Subaru dealer wants $158 for the rear hub/bearing (1 year warranty), my local NAPA store wants $116 for the "best" SKF hub/bearing (5 year warranty) and RockAuto wants $57 + shipping for the SKF hub/bearing (1 year warranty?? no warranty??).

 

[KGMtech]

I've experienced bad MOOG wheel bearings, but RA was fine with refund. Virtually any bearing maker needs to be volume producer = OEM supplier to support the capital cost of the machinery needed to make bearings.

 

[drtyler]

Does SKF manufacture 2 quality tiers of hub bearings, "good" and "best"?
I downloaded the SKF warranty policy (dated Dec 2022) from the NAPA website, and the warranty for light duty hub/bearing assemblies is stated as 12 months or 60 months. NAPA sells both versions (at least for a Subaru rear hub SKF p.n. BR930474) and the price difference is $26.

My local Subaru dealer wants $158 for the rear hub/bearing (1 year warranty), my local NAPA store wants $116 for the "best" SKF hub/bearing (5 year warranty) and RockAuto wants $57 + shipping for the SKF hub/bearing (1 year warranty?? no warranty??).

From NAPA, I believe the "best" one is sourced from SKF and the lower tiers are sourced elsewhere.

Part of NAPA markup may include the 5 year warranty, since a large portion of their sales are to shops.

You can also buy directly from SKF:

SKF Rear Wheel Hub Bearing Assembly BR930474 For Subaru 05-09 85311398640 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SKF Rear Wheel Hub Bearing Assembly BR930474 For Subaru 05-09 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

or

SKF

On the ebay listing, it shows a 1 year warranty.

 

[SubLGT]

Part of NAPA markup may include the 5 year warranty, since a large portion of their sales are to shops.

I have been researching rear hub/bearings for my Subaru, and this is what I have learned about SKF products at NAPA:

NAPA is a factory authorized distributor for SKF products.

The "best" SKF hub/bearing they sell has a 5 year warranty from SKF, not NAPA.

The NAPA "E-Coated" corrosion resistant SKF hub/bearing comes with a 3 year warranty from NAPA

The NAPA "Proformer" SKF hub/bearing comes with a 1 year warranty from NAPA.

All three hub/bearings listed above use SKF part numbers with an added NAPA prefix, so it is probable they are all being manufactured by SKF for NAPA.

SKF Vehicle Aftermarket Extends Warranty on All Auto Hubs

The expanded full warranty covers SKF's complete lineup of premium auto hub components and delivers greater product assurance and long-term protection to customers.

www.aftermarketnews.com

SKF Vehicle Aftermarket North America announced Jan. 1, 2023, that it will increase its warranty offer across its entire line of automotive hubs from three to five years. The expanded full warranty covers SKF’s complete lineup of premium auto hub components and delivers greater product assurance and long-term protection to customers.

 

[GMBoy]

I used a FAG bearing once and it was made very well. Only problem was the customer was gay and when he saw the part line description of "FAG wheel bearing" he got mad until I showed him the actual part box lol