FORD Replacement Wheel Bearing Garbage Right Out the Box

Originally Posted by dishdude.[/quote


Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in Mexico with a crap shoot of junk parts sourced from around the world....


Fake news. Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in the U.S.
 
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So what is the concensus for replacement bearings these days, then? My F150 has 115k and I might be good for another 50k or they might need to be done when I pull the front end apart this spring (To replace with Moog steering and suspension components... all of which are Made in USA except the outer tie rod ends per the packaging).
 
Ford parts have a one year 12k warranty I believe. Just exchange it and try again. If the third one is noisy it may well be something else, what is hard to know. That is quite an old part and I don't know but isn't dust in bearings a problem there?
 
Originally Posted by Falcon_LS
Originally Posted by Ws6
This is what I like about owning a Japanese car. I can buy OEM parts, made in Japan, to OEM spec, that are quality and reliable. American cars have crap from 3rd world countries all strewn through them, even from the factory, and forget buying American replacement parts.


Despite FORD being put in capital letters in the title for some reason, this isn't meant to be an American car bashing thread, but rather sharing my experience with a part I purchased.

The part I purchased was made in Korea - NOT a third would country - I assume by Timken. Ford does not manufacture wheel bearings, and neither does any other auto manufacturer - they are outsourced to different suppliers based on whoever provides to lowest cost for the desired level of quality to cover the warranty period.

The Koreans have come a long way, much like the Japanese compared to the 60s and 70s. In fact, if I was buying a brand spanking new car right now, I would pick a Hyundai/Kia over a Toyota or Honda the way their cars are built. YMMV.

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.

That being said, perhaps what you describe could be the case with most Mazda parts, but good luck finding that with Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Sometimes you got a choice, most times you don't. You want to buy a Mitsubishi oil filter. you got two options if you're lucky - the value range filter (MZ690116) at $7.50, made in China, or the factory filter (MD352626) at $15.00, made in Japan by Toyo-Roki. Most dealers do not carry the Japanese-made unit, because people are just overall price conscious and are not willing to pay a penny more. Toyota sources almost all its oil filters through their Denso operations in Thailand, I haven't seen a Japanese made Toyota filter in over a decade. The same applies to brake pads, suspension components, other filters you name it. It isn't just Ford or GM that carries value range products aimed at competing with the aftermarket. If most people were willing to pay the difference to get a quality product, I reckon that would be reflected across the industry. Gone are the good old days where you bought a brand new part and expected it to perform better than your old one did.

I insist on Toyo-Roki at my dealership for oil changes.

Also, yes, not all of the parts are made by Mazda, but I have good experiences with quality Japanese sourced parts.

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Originally Posted by dishdude.


Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in Mexico with a crap shoot of junk parts sourced from around the world....[/quote


Fake news. Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in the U.S.

and I won't buy one.
 
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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.
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Originally Posted by dishdude.


Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in Mexico with a crap shoot of junk parts sourced from around the world....[/quote


Fake news. Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in the U.S.


I get what you are saying, teh word MOST is suspect here, but still ....

Honda HR-V - Mexico

Honda Fit - Mexico

Nissan Sentra - Mexico

Nissan Versa - Mexico

Lot of Sentras and HR-V rolling aorund my Town,

but Not Most by any means.

Plus guys , Japanese cars aren't really "Japanese cars: except for MAZDA and Mitsubishi.
 
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Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Originally Posted by dishdude.


Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in Mexico with a crap shoot of junk parts sourced from around the world....


Fake news. Most Japanese cars sold in the US are assembled in the U.S. [/quote


I get what you are saying, teh word MOST is suspect here, but still ....

Honda HR-V - Mexico

Honda Fit - Mexico

Nissan Sentra - Mexico

Nissan Versa - Mexico

Lot of Sentras and HR-V rolling aorund my Town,

but Not Most by any means.

Plus guys , Japanese cars aren't really "Japanese cars: except for MAZDA and Mitsubishi.


Mazda shares platforms and drivelines with Ford and Toyota, Mitsubishi is allied with Fiatsler and Hyundai in GEMS and platform shares with Chrysler.

Camry, Accord, Frontier, several Acuras, Civic, Tacoma - all are made in the US and the list goes on and on. Here's a list of all the Japanese cars made in the US as of 2017: https://www.businessinsider.com/all-the-japanese-cars-made-in-the-usa-2017-11
 
Originally Posted by Farnsworth
Ford parts have a one year 12k warranty I believe. Just exchange it and try again. If the third one is noisy it may well be something else, what is hard to know. That is quite an old part and I don't know but isn't dust in bearings a problem there?


It went to 2yr/unlimited miles a few years ago for most parts.
 
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.

Quote
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.
 
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Made in Korea, probably by GMB or Hyundai Wia/Mobis. But I doubt Hyundai intentionally makes garbage. But I'm been kinda worried with Motorcraft since I got a dud water pump years ago. FoMoCo sees Motorcraft in the same eye as GM does with ACDelco Professional now.

I installed a Timken wheel bearing that was a reboxed Koyo and it was a dud. It felt notchy after I pressed it in. I had to chew out Amazon on this, the local parts house had a another Timken in stock so I wasn't forced to install a Chinese Moog or Valucraft. But still, I'm inclined to buy OEM Toyota from now on for wheel bearings. Now, the Timken tapered bearings in a friend's Ford are doing just fine - the inner one was made in France, outer was USA.
 
I have replaced many hub bearings over the years. Bad ones in the box do show up. I had one GMB with a bad sensor and 1 National that clicked while rotating right out of the box.
 
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
Quote
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.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by Ws6
This is what I like about owning a Japanese car. I can buy OEM parts, made in Japan, to OEM spec, that are quality and reliable. American cars have crap from 3rd world countries all strewn through them, even from the factory, and forget buying American replacement parts.


My Fords are older, but the OE replacement parts I have bought for them have not been 3rd world crap. The majority is still US made, including the air intake ducts I recently bought for my two 26 year old trucks, sensors, power steering reservoir caps, etc. A couple things (ignition solenoid I think) have been made in Mexico, but I haven't had any problems because of that. Some parts for the 4.0 V6 still come from Germany since that's where the original suppliers are. Again, these are parts I have bought recently for trucks that are over 25 years old.
 
Originally Posted by 01rangerxl
My Fords are older, but the OE replacement parts I have bought for them have not been 3rd world crap. The majority is still US made, including the air intake ducts I recently bought for my two 26 year old trucks, sensors, power steering reservoir caps, etc. A couple things (ignition solenoid I think) have been made in Mexico, but I haven't had any problems because of that. Some parts for the 4.0 V6 still come from Germany since that's where the original suppliers are. Again, these are parts I have bought recently for trucks that are over 25 years old.


Interesting you mention this. I was replacing the thermostat housing on my 4.0L SOHC with an all-aluminum unit, and decided to replace all cooling system parts while I was at it. Although it's low mileage, the parts are 21 years old. All the hoses I bought were made in Poland, the two coolant sensors were made in the U.S. and their clips made in the U.K. The water pump was made in Germany, and the plastic fan and fan clutch were made in the U.S.
 
Originally Posted by Falcon_LS

They have a dealership policy of no returns on special order items, which, believe it or not, this was.


That only applies to good parts, being returned for stock.

Your part is BAD..... they should honor your return for a refund (or at least an exchange)
 
I bought a Motorcraft hub/bearing for my Ranger about 2 months ago. The box said it was made in China. The old (factory) bearing I removed had "Timken" stamped on it with some numbers. The new one did not have any manufacturer, or any numbers whatsoever stamped on it. I've put several hundred miles on it so far; time will tell how long it lasts.
 
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