Wheel Bearings: Timken vs SKF

[Jroc]

I about to have to do my brakes as they are starting to squeal, and I was wondering which wheel bearings y'all prefer. RockAuto has great prices on the front wheel bears from SKF, but they don't have any Timken front bearings listed.

Here's the thing. I want Timken bearings because the ones for our trucks look to be made in the USA where the SKF bearings are made in Mexico, but the Timken bearings look to have poly cages where the SKF bearings look to have a steel cage which I think would be better than a poly cage.

IDK what do y'all run for wheel bearings if you have replaced your factory ones? Any other good brands? I've read that Moog bearings are great but can't find any so IDK if they make them anymore.


One other question not pertaining to bearing, but to brakes did any of y'all notice a difference when going to stainless braided lines? I understand the concept behind them, and it sounds sound, but I've never been able to tell a difference between factory rubber lines and stainless braided lines I've added to other vehicles I've owned. Still my truck has over 117K miles on it so maybe replacing the old rubber lines might be a good idea as then may have gotten a little soft after all those miles.

 

[04DeadShort]

I do maintenance in a industrial plant and we use both of the listed bearings. With that said the bigger, harder to replace, heavier loaded bearing are Timken. SKF bearings are generally used on smaller quicker to replace applications. I never asked why, just always assumed the Timken is a better bearing. Hope this helps.

 

[Jtadams79]

From my experience, the Timken's poly cage is garbage... They came apart inside the hub / there was actually nothing left of it... I would really try and hunt down the Moog if u can.. Just my 2 pennies
Make sure you use a bearing packer and really squish it through the bearing good // sometimes u have to stand on em to get enough pressure to push through it.. A high temp synthetic grease is ur best bet..
Good luck!!

 

[Jroc]

Yeah I already bought the Timken bearings. For the record the inner bearing uses a steel cage where the outer bearing uses a poly cage. I alway hand pack my bearings.

 

[SID297]

My L is loaded with Timken bearings.

 

[Ben99GT]

I just bought some SKF wheel bearings for my F150 from Rockauto, mainly to get away from the Timken poly cage outer bearings. I will post some picks when I get them.

 

[Jroc]

The bearings that were in the truck that I replaced were Timken. They looked a little different than the ones I replaced them with like Timken revised a few elements in their design, but the outer bearing is still a poly cage. In reality I could of just reused the old bearings as they were all still in great shape, and the poly cages looked good as new.

To be honest the poly cage should be fine as it isn't really under any stress and it's only job is to keep the bearing in place when it's not in use, but I do agree that it's seems kind of cheap and corny to use a poly bearing cage instead of a steel one.

I packed them with some Red Line CV-2 synthetic grease.

 

[Ben99GT]

Poly cage is fine, I just have never liked the idea of it. I use CV-2 also.

 

[SID297]

Poly cage is fine, I just have never liked the idea of it. I use CV-2 also.

That's my sentiment as well.

 

[Ben99GT]

Got the SKFs in and; well, they're bearings.

They seem high quality though, the inner bearings are made in Mexico and the outer bearings are made in Japan.

 

[lightningmanny]

i went with Timken...when i workd at the air port thats all we had in stock...
all the tractors and tugs used timken.....if american airlines use it..so should we

 

[Ben99GT]

Are the current Timken bearings for these trucks made in USA?

 

[Jroc]

Are the current Timken bearings for these trucks made in USA?

Yes, and that's the main reason I went with them over the SKF bearings. That's not to say that foreign made bearings aren't good I just liked that the Timken bearings are made in the USA.

 

[Jroc]

Here's my next little project BTW. Never mind the stock/dirty as hell engine bay. :-D

 

[Ben99GT]

Yes, and that's the main reason I went with them over the SKF bearings. That's not to say that foreign made bearings aren't good I just liked that the Timken bearings are made in the USA.

+1, wish I went with at least the Timken inner bearing now. Oh well.

 

[lightningmanny]

Here's my next little project BTW. Never mind the stock/dirty as hell engine bay. :-D

whatcha doing there?

 

[Jroc]

whatcha doing there?

Converting the brakes from vacuum assist to hydroboost.

The booster I bought is off a wrecked 02 F250 PSD, and the lines that you need to use are off a 6.0 PSD(pump to booster) and a 7.3 PSD(booster to steering rack) and then you just need about 2 ft of 3/8 tube and a brass tee for the overflow line. I ordered Gates lines BTW.

Modular Mustangs use hydroboost brakes so that the boost will clear the heads. Hydroboost is particularly good if you plan on camming your truck as bigger cams will cause you to loose vacuum pressure which is bad for a vacuum assisted brake system, but IMO hydroboost brakes are just much nice and way more consistent feeling brakes. If you don't know a hydroboost system is run off the power steering pump.

This guy here got a little more fancy with his line setup than we now know you need, but he was one of the first to do it so it was a pioneering experience I guess. He also used the F250's master cylinder which holds more fluid, but the F150/L's master cylinder bolts right up, and works fine, and operates under greater pressure so some prefer it to F250's master cylinder. The 7.3 PSD's pump to booster hydraulic hose doesn't fit our P/S pump but the 6.0 PSD's hose does.
F-250 hydroboost brake upgrade *PICS*

Even makes flushing the power steering system a breeze. :thumbsup:
Powerstroke Power Steering Fluid Flush - YouTube

 

[Neverbdonegt]

I do maintenance in a industrial plant and we use both of the listed bearings. With that said the bigger, harder to replace, heavier loaded bearing are Timken. SKF bearings are generally used on smaller quicker to replace applications. I never asked why, just always assumed the Timken is a better bearing. Hope this helps.

Timken employee here a lot of that may have to do with a patent a company has on a specific part. I know we have some parts on our cnc machines that we can't use our own bearings on because we can't legally make one. I do believe Timken is the best bearing on the market and not just because I work for them. All Timken bearing use Timken steel. Timken spends a lot of money to make sure they do not produce a bearing with inferior steel.

My L is loaded with Timken bearings.

Good man!

The bearings that were in the truck that I replaced were Timken. They looked a little different than the ones I replaced them with like Timken revised a few elements in their design, but the outer bearing is still a poly cage. In reality I could of just reused the old bearings as they were all still in great shape, and the poly cages looked good as new.

To be honest the poly cage should be fine as it isn't really under any stress and it's only job is to keep the bearing in place when it's not in use, but I do agree that it's seems kind of cheap and corny to use a poly bearing cage instead of a steel one.
I packed them with some Red Line CV-2 synthetic grease.

Post pics of said Polly cages that are causing problems. We use to make the cages in our plant but they have been moved. When we made them they were steel. Those damn retainers are a bitch to make. Lol

Got the SKFs in and; well, they're bearings.

They seem high quality though, the inner bearings are made in Mexico and the outer bearings are made in Japan.

The prob with china, Japan, Mexico honestly isn't a skilled work force it's there quality standards aren't up to par with Timken's in raw materials or finished goods.

i went with Timken...when i workd at the air port thats all we had in stock...
all the tractors and tugs used timken.....if american airlines use it..so should we

And ALL the commercial airplanes. If its a commercial flight it MUST land on Timken bearings.. That should tell ya something.

Yes, and that's the main reason I went with them over the SKF bearings. That's not to say that foreign made bearings aren't good I just liked that the Timken bearings are made in the USA.

Now here's the sad part not all are made in the us. We have about 250 plants world wide. All of your bearings are made with Timken steel and probably some part of your bearing was made in the us but some of it could have been made in any number of foreign countries. You can thank the union for that. If there are any questions you guys have feel free to drop me a pm and if I do not know the answer (good possibility) I can get you an answer.

On a side note.. Timken is the only bearing company that has bearings on mars.. M-A-R-S. mars bitches. :rockon:

 

[Bonestk87]

Nearly all the Railroad cars and locomotives use Timken bearings. Just throwing that out there.

 

[Jroc]

Post pics of said Polly cages that are causing problems. We use to make the cages in our plant but they have been moved. When we made them they were steel. Those damn retainers are a bitch to make. Lol




:

The poly cages on my old bearing aren't broken. They look just fine. I can bring them home from work and post pictures if you want me to.