Originally Posted by nobb
Before you go slamming the factory that made these, there is also a possibility it was damaged by the retailer that resold these. Sometimes people buy OEM parts and return a defective part back to the retailer who then restocks it without checking. Or perhaps the part has been sitting too long such that the grease is all dried up. It's really hard to know for certain.
I don't know if Motorcraft would even make their own bearings. Most times they just source from someone else like Timken, SKF, National with very exact specs. eg. The OEM Motorcraft bearings I bought for a Ford Ranger were actually stamped with a Timken logo.
Motorcraft is a re-boxer, they do not have manufacturing facilities. That being said, you are making the assumption that all countries have laws just like the United States and Canada. In Kuwait, you cannot return a part that has been installed, even if it has never been run. If it's new in the box, you get your money back within 30 days, that's all. No exchanges. Receipts for all electrical items are stamped with a great big red "No Returns" stamp, and cannot be returned even if it's faulty out the box, period. The only exception would be buying the part from a dealership and having them install it, which is a great big money generator for them. The chances of somebody buying an OEM part and returning the defective one is near zero - everything gets thoroughly inspected, and if the counter person even thinks it's been installed or used and cleaned up, they do not accept it. Could it have been dropped or mishandled and damaged in transit, maybe. But doing something like switching parts, like they do in Walmart, where they switch an orange can Fram with an Ultra for instance, will land you in jail for shoplifting.
Originally Posted by Dave9
This ONE part, could just be one defective part. It would be good to determine who really made it instead of just assuming Korea means Timken. The last Timken hub I bought, had Timken, USA, and a production code stamped (may have been laser etched) on the bearing. I know that Ford has sold SKF hubs under your part #, that have SKF stamped into the back of the housing instead of the letter number designation on Timkens I recall.
Your guess would be as good as mine as to who made it. There is nothing stamped into the metal housing, not a manufacturing date, not a manufacturer's name, nothing. Almost looks like a no name rebox if anything. Not to say it's bad quality, that one part could very well be defective, but I would have thought parts manufactured for corporate customers like Ford would be most stingent in the QA department.
Originally Posted by Dave9
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What I bought was either produced to a price point for Ford, or representative of a drop in overall quality of Timken products, as discussed on the board previously.
Or defective, or stored improperly, or counterfeit (buying in Kuwait by way of Dubai it wouldn't surprise me at all if you have a generic part stuffed in a box with the wrong label on it), or you have some other problem that was present before the hub swap and is still present but changed a bit with a new hub in better condition?
I'm not suggesting that assessment is wrong, just that there are other possibilities. I'm as annoyed as anyone when you buy a brand and find something other than expected in the box.
If the part was being bought through a third party seller, counterfeit is a high possibility. But since this was bought from a Ford authorized dealer, it was ordered from Ford Middle East. They have their entire Middle East operations based out of their facilities in Dubai, including an enormous parts warehouse. Counterfeit parts are scrutinized heavily around here by law, and it would be extremely rare to buy it from a dealership.
I did inspect the parts before I paid for them, something I always do and both were identical with no signs of tampering, etc. But again, I can't pull it apart and check the actual bearing inside.
That being said, the original bad bearing was on the driver's side. The passenger side was replaced as a "precautionary" measure, which didn't end up being precautionary at all.