Almost Died Yesterday...Autozone Value Craft wheel bearings disintegrated...

[ragajungle]

So I am off work today and tomorrow until truck is done being fixed (God only knows how much $$ this will cost me) I have been running 31x10.50/3:73 ratio with no issues as of yesterday nite rush hour.... Started out w/ a squeal and went down hill FAST!

I drive my truck all day long in Chicago and live in Wisconsin so I have a commute ontop of a lot of stop and go driving. This summer I put Timkens in the driverside and ran short on cash and installed "Value Craft" on the passenger side. Well needless to say they lasted less than 10K miles (No off roading, no abuse, only commuting) They were installed with mobile 1 lube and tourqued to spec with a quality t-wrench and lock tighted red. I have done wheel bearings since I was 15 (now 32) and this is crap, and it keeps happening to people buying these bs bearings.


I will post pics of the damage and what's left of the bearings later when I get my baby back. grrrrrr!

Stay clear of house branded wheel bearings!

-Mike

 

[ragajungle]

Forgot to mention D28... YES I will be SAS to D44 asap

 

[Lrpalo]

Let me guess it looked something like this...... I was able to stop before the wheel actualy came off

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Forgot to mention D28... YES I will be SAS to D44 asap

It ain't the axle fault you put cheap bearings in it...

 

[r1hatman]

Yeah, Value craft sucks! Always use Timkin!

 

[177CIOfPureLove]

Very glad I chose to reuse stock and not install the value crafts. I held both the timken and the value craft in my hands at work and was like, wow, these are trash. Didnt think they were this bad though.....

 

[dangerranger83]

I've never had a problem with timken products. When it comes to bearings, don't go cheap, and if you do, replace them often.

 

[jhammel85]

man, thats a shame. I'm glad you didnt get hurt

 

[ragajungle]

I know I know.... I should have used Timken on both sides but I was broke -- live and learn (Or die and don't learn) I just cant believe they came apart so quick.





Still waiting to here back from the shop. hopefully the spindle hub ins't shot

(I would fix it myself but I broke down 60 miles from home during rush hour on the highway)

 

[4x4junkie]

How much are they gettin' for Timken bearings where you're at? (I seem to remember something like $16 a pop for SET37s) Doesn't seem like there's much to save there, though a lot to lose, as you apparently found lol.

 

[ragajungle]

you know how you are a truck nut? When you spend the last $17 on wheel bearings. That's where I was at when I did the bearings.... It cost $17 for the cheap-os It would have cost $24 for set of the timkens. See. This way I was able to buy 3 Mc(explative-ing)Chicken sandwiches AND Change my bearings for $20... seriously? I would have bought the good ones if I had $7-8 more if I had it.

 

[dangerranger83]

And that $7-8 "savings" is now going to cost $$$. I would have miss a meal for my safety driving my truck.

 

[bobbywalter]

its ignorant to assume it was merely poor bearing quality...i do agree though in this case, its most likely.


without actually having all the pieces in my paws to gawk at, i cant put it on one thing.

with sane back spacing, i never hear of heat destruction of the hub with small tires like a 31. i have warped the hub so bad on a few occasions the studs lose seat and the wheel comes loose with 35's though. (loose from wallering not as in wheel flying off) that really sucks in rush hour traffic when theres no easy way to get the lugnuts off, its also why i only used steel wheels with the big tires so i could snap them studs off when the situation presented itself...also all too often imo. bearings were usually fine at that point, but would have failed in short order had the studs stayed tight.

and those studs failed and spun in thier holes because the whole fawking thing is distorted...from heat. took me some time to figure that out. once i did, if i seen signs of seer during routing inspection, rotor would get trashed and replaced with all new shit.

popping fresh races and bearings into a even a mildly distorted rotor hub will destroy any bearing before its expected service life comes to an end. i have no way to even know if a rbv rotor/hub is mildly distorted....always a gamble...the spindles are usually less then ideal as well after 6 months of 35s in stop and go detroit/toledo/cincinati area type bullshit traffic..once its been run to the point of bearing failures..

another thing to consider, if i know i am going to be more then an hour from the house, at least one complete assembly went into the truck--spindle/rotor/bearings packed and ready. its about a 20 min 1/2 hour deal if something gets ugly on the road. saved my ass many times.

the simple truth is, almost all rbv owners that actually maintain the rig even minimally will have no issues ever, even with light 35 in tires. imo, the combination of vehicle load and drive cycle is a big factor...at least thats my opinion i come to based from personal experience.

i had some extreme issues because i used the truck to the extreme. i overloaded and worked it to death....still do.
456 gears and 31's with a v8 is not long term option...i was kinda stuck with 35's.....long range cruise anyway...often i run 33's town.

shit just ended up that way.


so i can say this, if the timken side fails in the next year....wouldnt surprise me in the least.


i know how to set up bearings properly, and can comfortably state i would go toe to toe with anybody that says they can do it better, or that i am doing it improperly. no sweat. i work with all kinds of bearings nearly daily and the setups on some are crazy.

but with all of the variances from conditions that can potentially influence the end result, its tough to say something you do is indeed perfect.


since i dont know when the rotors were last replaced, and the calipers etc etc its really a tough guess as to the failures actual cause.

look careful at all of the parts once cleaned up, and carefully clean and inspect the other side...and make sure the calipers are not draggin before you write this off as simply cheap bearings.

 

[88_Eddie]

glad to hear you're ok, but i gotta say i work at autozone and i wouldnt put Valucraft windshield washer fluid in someone's car that i hated.....let alone something important like brake pads or wheel bearings. i refer to it as "Value-crap" while i am being paid by autozone to sell the shit. people are constantly bringing back valucraft stuff back because it breaks, doesnt fit right or just doesnt work

 

[ragajungle]

bobbywalter: Thanks for the thoughful response. I am extremely meticulous with my truck. Extremely. I have experimented with this set up all the way back to my Mom's Aerostar (Eventually became mine) been fighting RVB TTB since I was 15...

20Ft lbs while rotating, back off a quarter turn then 20in-lbs
Also tried
35Ft lbs while rotating, back off a quarter turn then 16in-lbs

can do it asleep.
either way it is only recently that I have had a rash of serious product deficiencies (particularly with this bearing brand / PN)

You probably have a good point about the rotor and hubs. All That I can say is that they were on it when I got it. As were "China" stamped inner and outter WBs. The rotors ARE warped slightly (at least I notice a typical pulsating pedal).......... Would have never thought that would create and issue. Is there a sticky somewhere on this? If not there should be.

Anyways thanks thorough reply

And yes until I do SAS I will be putting a WB set, spindle and rotor in my whip




AND NO I didn't by Mc Chickens in place of Timkens WB --- uuuuhg! I couldn't afford them with what I had - live and learn or crash n burn