W123 Front Wheel Bearing kits, Where the Bearings Might Be Made - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Diesel911 · #1 11-18-2020, 04:03 PM

I go by 300D man over on Benzworld. The person who stared the thread ordered SKS front Wheel Bearings and both turned out to be made in China/PRC. Discussion and pictures follow.

https://www.benzworld.org/threads/front-wheel-bearings.3062435/page-2#post-18105150

Diesel911 · #2 11-18-2020, 10:47 PM

Here is one of the answers from an eBay seller: This is a wheel bearing kit that has the grease cap/hub cover seal, static piece and even a new clamp Allen head screw plus the seal and the 2 bearings
"Hello,
Thank you for reaching out to us, Unfortunately our staff is working remotely and do not have access to our warehouse. The manufacturer did not give us that information. What we can offer is to ensure fitment of these front wheel bearings if you could, please consider sending us your full VIN. We will use your VIN to confirm that this part will fit your vehicle, or we will find you the correct part. Please let us know.

Thanks,
- Griffin"
The above company has no idea what they are selling.

Another seller selling SKS front Wheel kits said the bearings were made in Germany and I bought 2 kits. If the bearings turn out not to be made in German I can go to eBay with an "item not as described" and eventually get money back.

vwnate1 · #3 11-19-2020, 12:08 AM

This is why I always jot down the correct part # and go huting, the Bay of E, Amaon or other on line sales place will always have new old stock bearings, I'll take German, Japanese or American made ones .

Long, long ago, Timken's guarantee was : only TIMKEN bearings go in our boxes .

Even in the 1950's it was common for various brands to re box their competition's products .

rrgrassi · #4 11-19-2020, 07:38 PM

Take the old bearings you have to a bearing supply place. We have one here in Greenville, TX, that carries US made like SKC.

Diesel911 · #5 11-19-2020, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrgrassi

Take the old bearings you have to a bearing supply place. We have one here in Greenville, TX, that carries US made like SKC.

People try to plan a head on their jobs or they need to get the Car back on the road.

I found out SWAG also makes a Bearing Kit. I have a timing chain rail I bought from SWAG and it has the Mercedes star and part number on it.

I contacted the eBay bearing seller and got an answer and they said they did not know where the SWAG Bearings were made.

"Mercedes benz Front Wheel Bearing KIT SWAG OEM Quality 10850010" that is the SWAG kit part number.

In the attached pic the Box has made in Germany and on one of the bearing races you can see swag Germany. But sellers use stock photos and that pic is likely not the exact product they are selling.

Diesel911 · #6 11-19-2020, 08:32 PM

Has anyone used any Mexican made Bearing?

Some AC Delco Parts are made in Mexico.

party · #7 11-19-2020, 10:51 PM

SWAG sources parts from all over the place. They're not a manufacturer. I would guess that what's in the photo would have been accurate at the time it was taken but current stock could vary.

Current crop of FAG wheel bearings for W201 are from Vietnam.

Zulfiqar · #8 11-20-2020, 01:59 PM

Why deal with such when you can buy these bearings at places like NAPA, You can look at the item before handing your money to them.

I would be a bit wary of ebay bearings anyway. I recently ordered 4 pieces of front bearings for a ford and mazda (same bearings). They were advertised as Koyo, complete with boxes and everything - the boxes were damaged.

I installed one bearing and it became noisy within a week, I then opened up the rest of the bearings and each of them had rusty marks in the grease, the grease was the right kind (Koyo have white grease) but very low quantity.

Im suspecting that either these were not original Koyo items (lots of Koyo fakes in the world) or these were damaged beyond use.

Diesel911 · #9 11-20-2020, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zulfiqar

Why deal with such when you can buy these bearings at places like NAPA, You can look at the item before handing your money to them.

I would be a bit wary of ebay bearings anyway. I recently ordered 4 pieces of front bearings for a ford and mazda (same bearings). They were advertised as Koyo, complete with boxes and everything - the boxes were damaged.

I installed one bearing and it became noisy within a week, I then opened up the rest of the bearings and each of them had rusty marks in the grease, the grease was the right kind (Koyo have white grease) but very low quantity.

Im suspecting that either these were not original Koyo items (lots of Koyo fakes in the world) or these were damaged beyond use.

I go by quality and next cost. You can often get good quality on ebay if you take time to locate what you want.
NAPA is also a Bastian of Chinese bearings. You can likely get US ones and pay more the same if you go to a place that specialize in Bearings. Costs more.

I bought an SKS Bearing from a different purpose and it has made in France on it and it is from a bearing dealer in Florida that also sells on ebay.
I have also bee looking for bearings for my Alternator and some of them are SKS from Italy. Both are on ebay.

I also have a picture of SKS bearings made in Argentina.

My question is if I am going counterfeit SKS bearings why would I pick France, Italy or Argentina to put on the box and on the bearings?

Seems to me if I counterfeit I would put SKS Germany on them.

Also most bearings have the make and country indented into the steel which makes it more complicated to counterfeit.

With others it is etched on or that info is on the bearing shield. On those to it would be easier to counter fit because of the ease of marking the bearing.

People are buying Injector Nozzles FARID that are supposed to be from Italy. How do we really know that is where they are from?

OM617YOTA · #10 11-23-2020, 04:44 PM

I've said it before: If you're buying on eBay or Amazon, you have no idea what bearings you're getting.

I don't care what the box says, people are more than happy to counterfeit packaging too. My day job is in the electronics industry, we deal with this daily.

If you want to know what you're getting, go to an authorized distributor and pay the money. Anything else and you're rolling the dice.

Screwdriva · #11 11-23-2020, 06:02 PM

Main dealer?

Sugar Bear · #12 11-23-2020, 06:58 PM

They are very common wheel bearings A2 and A5 IIRC. Go to a NAPA and ask for A2 and A5 see what they have. They are probably on the shelf at a GM or Ford dealer but those dealers won't know the bearing by A2 and A5. Bought bearings from the MB dealer decades ago, they were made in Italy.

Good luck!!!

Diesel911 · #13 11-23-2020, 11:14 PM

This is an eBay Example: I needed rear axle bearings for my Van. The originals were made by Torrington.
I have not see any sort of bearing made by Torrington since the 1960's.

I found the exact Torrington made in the USA Bearings on eBay. There was of course other companies that replaced the originals but I went with the Torringtons.

vwnate1 · #14 11-24-2020, 09:17 AM

Like so :

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=a2+bearing&_sacat=6000

And :

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=a5+bearing&_sacat=6000&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=6000&_odkw=a2+bearing

Or :

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=w123+wheel+bearing&_sacat=6000&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=6000&_odkw=a5+bearing

I've had poor results with L & M brand wheel bearings, since then I have cleaned , repacked, installed and adjusted Chinese wheel bearings and they were O.K., I don't think I'd ever buy any though .

Don't be afraid of this job, no special tools are necessary ~ you can easily set the correct adjustment by hand .

Diesel911 · #15 12-14-2020, 06:27 PM

The SKS made in Germany Front Wheel Bearing Kits arrived from Kaunas Lithuania.
That is 2 Bearings and the Hub Seal which is made by Corteco.
The number on the kit is VKBA596.