House vs. aftermarket "brand" name front wheel bearings. (opinions wanted)

[89Vette]

Will be doing the front halfshaft replacement this week. (Actually paying a shop to do it for me.)

I'm taking with me:
2 - front half shafts
2 - front brake rotors (and ceramic brake pads w/shims)
wheel bearing seal
knuck seal (not sure which goes where -- but saw them in the parts thread)
2 - inner wheel bearings
2 - outer wheel bearings

As of this moment, I have "National" brand wheel bearings. The inner [more expensive] wheel bearings are $56 ea at Advanced ($70 @ O'Reilly's for the same thing). The "Master Pro" "house" brand are $26 at O'Reillys...obviously the better deal.

Considering I'm going with EMPI's which should also be considered a much-cheaper-than-stock half-shaft, I was going to bring the "Master Pro's". That was until the guy AT O'Reillys said he would never consider "house" brand parts for a long-term repair.

This is something I've heard before...but more so in older days when American vs. Foreign parts were the issue. Still, I'm sure there's good vs. bad.

OTOH, even in the National brand, the inners are made in Japan, and the outer's in Spain. "Master Pro" are made in China.

With China-made parts, the issue for quality seems to be oversight and QC procedures. When present, quality seems OK. When quality-checks are totally thrown out the window, quality is rarely there.

That said, the question is whether you'd pair "Master Pro" inner bearings @ $26/ea...or spring for twice-the-price "National" brand?

I need to buy these on Monday since I'm delivering the vehicle to the shop at the end of the day.

Thanks for any comments.
Gregg

[Triathlete]

Don't know if they are available but Timken bearings are top notch.

[89Vette]

Don't know if they are available but Timken bearings are top notch.

That's what RockAuto carries...at a great price too. OTOH, My experience(s) with them during this past summer led me to believe they may be receiving "seconds" from their suppliers. Of 3 different items received from them, I had an issue.

[bearandbee]

I installed Timken a year ago and have had no problems. Since labor is expensive, i would spend a little more money for better parts.

[tom4bren]

Sometimes, the cheaper bearings only come with the caged bearings and maybe the inner race. They expect you to re-use the races since they are pressed in. That's never a good idea. Make sure you are getting a complete bearing whenever you order (go ahead ... ask me how I know).

[BigSwede]

FWIW Jerry Lemond sez stick with Japan-made bearings, not Chinese.

[Ldub]

FWIW Jerry Lemond sez stick with Japan-made bearings, not Chinese.

X2...I stay away from anything mechanical or tool related that is made in prc.

[Gizmo42]

Its really difficult to NOT get Chinese bearings these days. All the major top brands buy some of their bearings from there now. It's pretty much a crap shoot of which plant your bearings actually came from.

I havent had any issue with anything I've ordered from Rock Auto. I did just have to do a return on some lower control arms but only because I found out after they shipped there are 2 different ball joint sizes for the model of Volvo I have depending on when it was built and the ones I ordered were the wrong ones. Returned with no problem and full refund (no restocking fee), just had to pay shipping.

[89Vette]

The job was completed today. The 89k bearings had a bit of rust/corrosion so I installed the "National" brand bearings. The results feels smooth and improved.

Again, one of them is marked "Made in Japan".. The other, "Made in Spain". This is despite their being badged under the same "National" brand.

Hopefully, they'll work well. So...I ended up betting on the higher-priced route. The bearings along cost a bit over $200 total.

Ouch.