Timken Wheel Bearing

[lhopp77]

Has anyone ever installed the Timken wheel bearings? If so, how do they compare with OEM or Federal Mogul? They are cheaper at least, but are they as good or better?

Lee

[Beav]

I've installed them and so far haven't heard any complaints. Get the seals from Subaru though, the aftermarket catalogs are wrong and they won't fit.

[lhopp77]

Thanks for the response. If you had a choice which would you prefer--OEM, Timken or Federal-Mogul? I am just full of questions. :D

[Beav]

$$ works for me - they are all respected manufacturers.

[Cakes1426]

I need to change my rear bearings is there anything special that i need other than the bearings? I am totally clueless when it comes to cars, but i've got a mechanic who told me to get everything.

[Beav]

Uhh... if he's a mechanic shouldn't he be telling you what you need?

[WGJ]

I asked some time ago if anyone knew where race bearings might be found and got no response.
Where can I look at the Timken bearings?
During my inquiries someone posted the opinion OEM's were the best.
Can't say from personal experience as I haven't been able to get my bearings properly installed yet. A supposedly professional, state licensed repair facility has managed to screw it up twice. Both new sets were making noise in only a few thousand miles. The first time Moe forgot to repack in high temp grease. Second time, the dreaded impact wrench install...both times Larry, Moe and Curly failed to FOLLOW THE FRIGGIN' FACTORY INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS! (When all else fails...). Regardless of which bearings you go with, be sure you're familiar with the procedure, so if you have it done you can make sure the factory procedure is followed. It's pretty critical. DON'T ASSUME YOUR MECHANIC KNOWS...get the Subaru install instructions and give a copy to your wrench. His feelings won't be hurt and they'll be far less pain to yer wallet.
WGJ

[lhopp77]

Autozone lists the Timken bearing part number 516003 for the rear at $51.99. I checked a store in Albuquerque NM and they showed it in stock. Apparently all big stores might have it on hand. As noted by someone else above the Seals listed do not fit correctly.

Lee

[Myetball]

Autozone lists the Timken bearing part number 516003 for the rear at $51.99. I checked a store in Albuquerque NM and they showed it in stock. Apparently all big stores might have it on hand. As noted by someone else above the Seals listed do not fit correctly.

Lee


Check out subaruparts.com, rear bearings are only $59.45 each.

[lhopp77]

I think the Timken at Autozone for $51.99 is a better deal--don't you?

Lee

[SVX_MY_BABY]

The Federal Mogul seals are listed at half the price of OEM. Any problems with them?

[lhopp77]

I am only a backyard mechanic and not really qualified to report on quality comparisons. But, as Beav notes above---Timken and Federal Mogul are reputable companies so "money talks".

At what price did you find them and from what company or is it just a local company?

Lee

[Beav]

The Federal Mogul seals are listed at half the price of OEM. Any problems with them?

Yeah, like I said, they are cataloged incorrectly and won't fit.

[lhopp77]

I did not read his post correctly. I missed the "seals" part and answered it like he said "bearing". Half price would have been great on the Federal Mogul "bearing" as I pay $62.42 for the OEM bearing and $7.06 and $8.56 for the seals.

Keeping me straight----Beav. :o

Lee

[WGJ]

How about posting the important stuff, like a link, the location or parts source, (like Autozone), the parts numbers for the bearings and the seals, and of course, the prices. This is why we need a Network Encyclopedia. All a newby need do is go to 'bearings" and under 'rear wheel' would find this info. We'd be able to go in and update whenever we need to. Say when we find something of general interest like a preferred brand of all weather tires on sale, anyone could just edit the info into the proper place in the Encyclopedia. Make sense?
WGJ

[lhopp77]

Timken and Federal Mogul show the bearing number as 516003 for rear. Seals are Subaru OEM numbers for rear are 28015AA070 and 28015AA021. If you replace the axle nut as recommended it is 28044AA000. Actually I don't replace it unless it has been off several times, but then like I said---I am not a mechanic.

Lee

[WGJ]

I got the same part # for the FM rear bearing 516003. Price quoted from Worldwide Auto Parts $74.90 ea. For the FM seals I got these parts numbers:

70393 -rear outer seal $7.42 ea.
225673 -rear inner seal $6.51 ea.

It's recommended that you do both sides at the same time so you'll need 2 of ea. And don't be like the idiot "mechanic" who did mine and forget to repack the bearings in high temp grease.
WGJ

[Beav]

I hope you save yourself a return trip to the store and not buy those seals - they don't fit. Period. Not even close.

I guess I need to be more clear - I have yet to find any aftermarket seals that work.

[SVX_MY_BABY]

on the Federal Mogul "bearing" as I pay $62.42 for the OEM bearing and $7.06 and $8.56 for the seals.

Keeping me straight----Beav. :o

Lee
Did the seals work out ok?

[SVX_MY_BABY]

Humm Guess I should have read page 2 before I posed that last question. :o

[lhopp77]

If you do not have an Autozone to buy the lower price Timken bearing priced to me at $51+ you might as well buy all parts from Subaru since you have to buy the seals there anyway. If you look on Ebay---BmiCad is nearly always listing an OEM (Subaru) bearing/seal kit for $81+ which is really a good price except that you have to pay shipping.

Lee

[Myetball]

I think the Timken at Autozone for $51.99 is a better deal--don't you?

Lee


Definately not. I've used Timken in the past and will never buy their products again. It's up to you but if you want a quality non-oem replacement buy a set of BCA bearings (516003).

[Beav]

If you look closely you may be surprised. Many times bearing manufacturers put another company's product in their box in order to provide wider coverage.

[Conn SVX]

OOPS I work for Timken . They just bought out our Company last year. Bearings are bad i will have to check on that even for free i would not want to risk a problem

[Myetball]

On a side note, based on my experience as a car parts salesman year ago, bearings and seals are one of the few parts where the part numbers are standardized throughout the industry. You may find a company marks a box with their own number but when you look on the actual bearing it will have the same number as FM/Timken/BCA...etc. The key is to research the companies and find out if they make their own products or rebox someone elses.

[WGJ]

This thread is a perfect example of why we need an SVX Enyclopedia. I just read the "Technical" paper on rear wheel bearing replacement. It's a big help but needs to be more thorough. What is the correct torque for the various fastners used in the wheel bearing install? Proper tightening procedure? Preferred method of cleaning out the shipping grease and repacking the bearings in high-temp grease? Preferred grease? etc; etc; None of this info is in the paper. But if our data base were formated like Wikipedia it would be easy for Net members to put important data in. For example:

Here's the numbers I got from the local San Diego Subaru dealer:

OEM Rear wheel bearing part # 28016PA010 - $98.00 ea.
OEM Outer seal # 28015AA070 - $11.13 ea.
OEM Inner seal # 28015AA040 - $13.48 ea.

None of these parts numbers are in the "Tech" paper and should be...with a Wikipedia-like encyclopedia we could edit this kind of info as we build it and make it way easier for those who follow to easily access this valuable data.
What do you think? Make sense?
WGJ

[lhopp77]

Your dealer is holding you up and stealing your underwear!!!!! I have never seen dealer prices that high. Check my post above for what I pay at a dealer in Albuquerque. You can buy them on Ebay from BmiCad and have them shipped for the price of the bearing from your dealer and have the seals free!! I will also note that one of the seal numbers is different from what I have. Subaruparts online is about the cheapest.

Lee

[Earthworm]

This thread is a perfect example of why we need an SVX Enyclopedia.I've got a sample submission page ready to go on http://svx-iw.com/ I'm not going to release it until I complete work on the mod pages.

[WGJ]

you should see what they charge for labor to replace rear wheel bearings! And believe it or not, this is the reasonable dealer lhopp77! There's a dealer closer to me that charges even more! Not only that but according to the numbers on the kit for sale on ebay...they didn't give me the right parts numbers. Thanks for the heads up on the ebay auction..caught that last night. I'm going to get the numbers from the auction and post 'em up...
The rumble from down under (my improperly installed bearings) is becoming intolerable...

'Worm-stop teasin' me...how soon do you think we can begin organizing the data base into an encyclopedia format?

WGJ