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Lets talk about bearings. Chinese to be more precise.

SCOOBYDANNN

SCOOBYDANNN

1/2 ton status
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I needed a rebuild kit for my NP 205.

I gathered information on who sells the entire kit and procede to call. I call the ones that were on the lower end of the price scale. they all use china bearings. negatory there ghost rider.

I end up going with a company that is tried and true for me. orderd lots of parts, never had a single problem. even asked a friend if it was worth the extra $50 to order again even though it was more--he said "heck yea, I orderd a rebuild form them and it was all timmkin and SK bearings.

So I order it and recieved it today.

What do we have here-------------Chinese bearings.

Now I didn't do a whole lot of research but everything I have seen is Chinese bearings suck---why, i dont know---i need someone to enlighten me if its true.

Now the ??'s


The bearings i got are called "Nachi Bearings"

Are chinese bearings really that bad and if they are---why?


how do they compare to the Timmkins and SK bearings and other USA made bearings.

I really don't want to send these back as i already waited 2 weeks. I know I should have asked but should i just run with these????????
 
I know I've heard of the brand before, I just cant place it. Im pretty sure it came in one of my axle rebuild kits...

FYI, Ive ordered a few tcase rebuild kits from Rockland Standard Gear, http://www.rsgear.com/ , and their quality and service was great. Just an option.
 
I changed out the bearings on my 14 bolt FF a few months ago. I got the Timkens (2 sets from 2 diff places) and neither set fit the rear spindle well. Had HUGE amounts of play. Went to the local Carquest and he handed me a box with their brand name on it. They were "Made in China" but I said what the heck. Turns out, they fit WAY better (no play) Have a few thousand miles on them now with no problems. A friend is the owner of the CarQuest and said the Chinese bearings seem to be alot better than they used to be. Also said he'd replace them if I wasn't happy, or had problems in the next 6 months or so.
I was always a Timken or SKF fan, but now, I may be more easily persuaded.
 
thats funny, i thought carquest bearings were supplied by federal mogul. maybe they've outsourced?
 
Big difference between Chinese made anything versus Japanese made...

Rene
 
in my unit bearings on the front of my dodge Ineeded to replace both sides. The only ones in stock was 1 US built and 1 China/Jap whatever, cant rememebr name. US was like $210 and other was $190. Only have like 6 month on them but am curious to see how they go.
 
Yep, when I rebuilt my 205 I couldn't find anything but Nachi bearings. I was assured by a very reputable supplier (they mostly deal with big rigs etc.) that they were high quality bearings. If they had not told me they were ok I would not have run them. I have always run Timken and nothing else. I guess there is really no way to tell if they are high quality or not, but I have no complaints.
 
I got mine from a reputable dealer also but was just kinda thrown off by the "japanese" name (i didn't realize this till goldwing pointed it out.)

aww funk it- im gonna run with these unless someone points out the negative.
 
All are "foriegn" now pretty much..

When I worked the parts counters,we sold Bower-BCA or Timken,SKF,and a few other brands like L&S (some mechanics called them "loose and sloppy" brand!)...but nearly every box,no matter who's name was on it,had a "Point of Origin" stamped on it,and the name of the country it was produced in was stamped in the white box next to it..very few said
"Made In USA" ...

I saw many bearings from Pakistan(yipe!) Istanbul,Spain,China,Japan,India,and a few countries I cant spell or pronounce!..:eek1:

I think if your wanting 100% american made roller bearings,you'll have to start your own factory..I don't see many "made in USA" stamps on the bearing boxes anymore,or any other parts for that matter...

I put 4 bearings in a riding mowers blade spindles not long ago--when I went to the parts store,they said "BCA bearings are 16 bucks and change,EACH!---
When I told them "forget it,I'll go to Auto-Zone,they can order them for 6 bucks each!",they said "OH!--you want the CHEEP ones??--we can get "Auto-Value" brand ones for $4.25 each!"...so I ordered them!--so far,they are still spinning fine,despite saying "China" on them..:rolleyes:

My brother has a theory--he says even the Chinese need good tools and parts,and has had decent luck with many "China" tools and parts--I doubt everything they make is crap,or they wouldn't be able to build anything in their own country with it!--whether there is two different assembly lines for stuff headed to the USA,and stuff staying IN China,is a mystery though..I will say my "China" ball pein hammer and 3 ton floor jack I bought at a flea market 16 years ago are holding up remarkably well..maybe I'm just lucky though...:crazy:
 
The only bad luck I've had with Chinese bearings was on a set of 12-bolt axle bearings.
The bearing race was just a flat piece of tubular metal with a couple snap rings holding the bearings in. They crapped out in a pretty short time and I replaced them with Timkens that actually have a u-shaped channel for the rollers.

That was more of a design flaw than a manufacturing issue but it still soured me a bit.
 
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