South Korean Wheel Bearings Any Good? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

eatont9999 · #1 04-17-2013, 08:27 PM

I bought some FAG front wheel bearings for my 300SD from PP. Supposedly OEM parts according to the site. I noticed they are made in South Korea. Has anyone had any experience with these particular parts? I was expecting German made but that seems to be going Asian these days.

I have nothing against South Korea but I have no experience with manufactured goods coming from that country. If they are like Japanese goods, then I would expect quality.

North Korea can kiss my @55, though.

Volker · #2 04-17-2013, 08:36 PM

Well FAG is respected bearing manufacturer, and ROK is a respected country whose products are world famous and well regarded, from your LG smartphone and Samsung TV to excellent Hyundai automobiles, so why worry

Give a middle finger to Kim Jong-Un by proudly installing high quality "southern puppet regime" parts on your automobile.

The only bearings to watch for would be the Chinese "whitebox" that have no markings on them. But even then, maybe instead of 200 000 miles, the bearing will last 50 000 miles, but your transmission might only have 25 000 left

The fun fact is the influence of Mercedes on North Korea... like the fake 190 "Pyeongyang 88" with Russian tractor engine or the 600 Pullmans the Kims roll around in...

eatont9999 · #3 04-17-2013, 09:01 PM

The bearings seem to be well made, so I won't fret. Just checking to see if anyone had any holy crap stories or the like.

Minor but still concerning is that one bearing was received in an open bag and the other was not not bagged at all and just flopping around in the box allowing any sort of material to get on it. I assume these were returns or something.

I will be cleaning them before packing anyway, so I guess it does not matter.

Strange thing is the seal kit and grease is German made. Grease is Febi brand.

Zulfiqar · #4 04-17-2013, 09:14 PM

If its a genuine FAG product then nothing to worry about. They are really proud of their quality.

It it matters my car has NTN japanese bearings on its front and they are still rolling smooth. I have heard MB did use them as OE too.

Anyway why bother for a certain brand when you can get excellent and trusted genuine Timken or National US made bearings easily at your local parts store along with the grease seals and if you look at the TDS of the grease MB specifies on its datenblatt 265.1 they are pretty generic grease specs for disc brake wheel bearings.

I have used Penzzoil 707 grease and its pretty good, very soft and remains grease like for miles

Diesel911 · #5 04-17-2013, 10:31 PM

There are different grades of Timken Bearings; some are made in China. The same with National.

I had a similar Korean Bearing issue with My Driveshaft Support. The ad said something like FAG but the Bearing came from another Company. When I looked it up the Korean Bearing was made by a subsidiary Company of the Bigger Company.

oldsinner111 · #6 04-18-2013, 06:12 AM

I made roller bearings,I don't like overseas steel,unless its German or Japanese.

Zulfiqar · #7 04-18-2013, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

There are different grades of Timken Bearings; some are made in China. The same with National.

I had a similar Korean Bearing issue with My Driveshaft Support. The ad said something like FAG but the Bearing came from another Company. When I looked it up the Korean Bearing was made by a subsidiary Company of the Bigger Company.

I ordered a set of bearings from Amazon to keep as spare parts, and they are Made in USA Timken items. On others experience I came to know they are very high quality.

The absolute worst bearings Ive experienced were some chinese origin bearings (cant remember the name) but they only lasted a few weeks on an old toyota cressida front hub.

KAdams4458 · #8 04-18-2013, 10:10 AM

I don't know. My only experience with Korean bearings was on the front spindles of a Kia Sportage. Original Korean bearings went bad. Replaced with Timken boxed Chinese versions that went bad in 5,000 miles. Replaced again with SKF boxed Korean bearings that lasted 12,000 miles before failing. Being seriously tired of doing the same job repeatedly, I sourced Nachi brand bearings from Japan from my favourite bearing supplier, and never had to replace them again.

I like Nachi bearings, by the way. They are all I use in my woodworking equipment. My new 4-speed swap in the 300D is sporting a Japanese Nachi pilot bearing.

- Nachi fanboy (and proud of it)

barry12345 · #9 04-18-2013, 11:47 AM

Korean bearings are now going the distance in hyudia and kia products. They used to fail in there products earlier than expected but now go 200k usually I suspect. Probably the same supplier to them.

Diesel911 · #10 04-18-2013, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zulfiqar

I ordered a set of bearings from Amazon to keep as spare parts, and they are Made in USA Timken items. On others experience I came to know they are very high quality.

The absolute worst bearings Ive experienced were some chinese origin bearings (cant remember the name) but they only lasted a few weeks on an old toyota cressida front hub.

See Post #8 "...Replaced with Timken boxed Chinese..."
I know Timken has USA made Bearings but you need to make sure you get the USA ones. Timken also sells lower grade Bearings as shown in Post #8.

I under stand that it is one way to compete with the generic China made Bearings but it kind of degrads Timken name.

I have a bunch of US made Black&Decker Hole Saws. I needed a size I did not have and the New Black&decker Hole Saw was made in China (and costs more than the Generic China Hole saws). That China Black&Decker Hole Saw would not fit the US made Hole saw Mandrel.
Apparently Black&Decker did what a lot of US Companies are doing and put their name on the China Products without any regard to quality controls, compatability or design and count on the fact that you will not be able or want to bother to claim a warranty on the Product.

Diesel911 · #11 04-18-2013, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldsinner111

I made roller bearings,I don't like overseas steel,unless its German or Japanese.

Apparently the same goes for Bolts.

In the local Industrial Hardware store I listened to the Owner of some large Earth Moving Equipment telling the Store Owner that although the Asian Made Bolts (He was speaking of some Large ones Line 2 inch diameter and above) had the same grade marks as the US or Euro made ones; in use the Asian ones broke within a Year or so and the quality ones either did not break of lasted 5+ years.

Also it is not just the Steel they are made from. The heat treating is also an issue.

Volker · #12 04-18-2013, 06:15 PM

Bearing is really dependent on the steel used... it needs to be very pure and the crystal structure very... uniform? (defects are plenty but not "defective" per se)

If the steel has any issues then it will just stress and come apart early... so look for good steel, and best steel it comes from Japan, and worst steel ever comes from Mao melting the cooking pots of peasants

Wheel bearing on a car is hard to compare if it is bearing or the design of the car (bearing too small)

eatont9999 · #13 04-20-2013, 02:18 PM

I think I am just going to use the Korean bearings and see how they hold up. I guess it will be an experiment that I can report back on. I may attempt the front driver's side today since it loos like I will have tomorrow free as well. I have the dial indicator and magnetic base; I just need to figure out how to mount it, etc when I get to that point.

Zulfiqar · #14 04-20-2013, 06:27 PM

wheel bearing failures are more due to

incorrect adjustment and bad or low lubricant being used, contamination is also counted in bad (according to a bearing supply firm)

They should last quite some miles. For the mounting of it, its pretty straightforward - mount flush on the hub and preload the indicator 2mm