What Front Hubs is everyone buying?

[Gordy]

When pricing front hubs for my 01 tahoe 4wd I seem to find a wide range of pricing. The ones I have are originals with 125k on them. I do not want the cheapest if they are not going to last. But I do not think they are worth stealership prices either. Mine pass the slop check, but I have some front end noise that gets louder if turning left or in 4hi. I think its the hubs diff fluid is clean.

Gordy

 

[andrew383]

Timken brand..

 

[07Burb]

Timken all the way. IMO, there's no other way to go. They last longer and perform well. Just did this on the front of my Burb. They'll cost roughly $200 a side but worth the money.

 

[Gordy]

It seems Timken does not offer any warranties where I have priced. Found Timkens for 139.00. Others offer any where from 12/12000 to 24/24000 some even unlimited milage for less dollars. The part is not that big a deal to replace, as long as the part is covered in my eyes. Seen a few posts where new hubs petered out in a year.

 

[MASS-HOE'Z71]

And another one with Timken, great quality and I got mine for free from one of our vendors at work. Asked him one day if they carried em when he was in for a meeting with one of the buyers , didnt say i was goig to buy them or anything and 2 days later thy were on my desk.
I have heard people seeming to like napa brand hubs, typically very good quality, can't beat the price and they have excellent warranties on their stuff

 

[chip]

You can get SKF hubs on EBAY, with a warranty, for under 80 dollars. I replaced both of my fronts and I have no complaints.

 

[07Burb]

How many miles have you had the SKF's on?

 

[chip]

More than 10K miles. I know they've more than paid for themselves.

The way I found out about them, was when I took my truck in to Midas for an allignment, they tried to sell me wheel bearings for a thousand dollars, so I told them to give me a written estimate. I took the part number off the estimate and found the exact same bering assemblies online (The SKF), researched the company, then found the chapest seller of that bearing, bought 'em and did it myself for under $160 for the entire front, done!

 

[07Burb]

More than 10K miles. I know they've more than paid for themselves.

Not bad for the price. The reason I ask is cuz I've heard of some folks going on the cheap with this part and it only lasts them a couple thousand miles before they are replacing them again.

 

[chip]

Yeah, when it comes to parts like these, you definitely don't want to "cheap out", but if you know enough, and do enough research, you can find high quality parts for cheap. It just depends on how much time you want to invest in it.

 

[Gordy]

Well Napa Has Timken hubs for 190 bucks each come with a 3year/45000 mile warranty.

I found A pair of hubs at A1 auto online for 155 bucks for the pair 2 year unlimited milage warranty. There are cheaper ones yet out there in the 55.00 ea range.


So you gotta ask yourself if the cheap ones are indeed that cheap. How can the auto parts industry make a product that keeps the tire from coming off the vehicle possibly killing or mamning yourself or others.....That cheap??


I'm not a tight ***, but seriously there are some huge price differences in hubs out there. What do you think most people will be inclined to buy not knowing the possible consiquences in the inferior cheaper part. They look at it as I got 125000 miles out of the last pair. So I should at least get that out of the new pair. Everyone knows going to GM to buy they charge as if they are gold plated.

 

[chip]

Well Napa Has Timken hubs for 190 bucks each come with a 3year/45000 mile warranty.

I found A pair of hubs at A1 auto online for 155 bucks for the pair 2 year unlimited milage warranty. There are cheaper ones yet out there in the 55.00 ea range.


So you gotta ask yourself if the cheap ones are indeed that cheap. How can the auto parts industry make a product that keeps the tire from coming off the vehicle possibly killing or mamning yourself or others.....That cheap??


I'm not a tight ***, but seriously there are some huge price differences in hubs out there. What do you think most people will be inclined to buy not knowing the possible consiquences in the inferior cheaper part. They look at it as I got 125000 miles out of the last pair. So I should at least get that out of the new pair. Everyone knows going to GM to buy they charge as if they are gold plated.

That's fine logic for most. It's a safe way of thinking. That's good.

I've had a SLS flip on me a few times, hit a few trees, and land on the roof when the front drivers side wheel bearing seperated and allowed the wheel/tire to come off, so I'm familiar with the potential consequences. Once you understand how they work and/or degrade, and also what the warning/wear signs/sounds are, you're good. I would rather buy the cheapest of the best, than the most expensive of the best. I see quality as a catagory, not a single item. Items either qualify as "Quality", or "Junk". I buy the cheapest "Quality" parts I can..................and every now and again, I pick up some junk. Gotta keep it balanced!

 

[07Burb]

I would definitely have to agree with your line of thinking, Chip. The hard part is defining that line of the "cheapest of the best"

 

[chip]

I would definitely have to agree with your line of thinking, Chip. The hard part is defining that line of the "cheapest of the best"

That all depends on how close you want to cut it. I also have a "Ehh, not sure" - type grey area in between. I don't buy suff in this area either (typically). That gives me a nice buffer zone. A product doesn't qualify as "Quality" if there are any doubts. If it looks like "maybe", it goes in the grey area, like quarantine. "You might be alright, but I don't know that, so you're shit out of luck!"

 

[gdddup]

timken bca and skf are all quality brands stick to them and youll be good. stay away from the knock offs or house brands

 

[07Burb]

I'll definitely have to keep SKF in mind the next time. I'd never really heard of them before this thread but I'll have to give them a whirl next time since they are cheaper but still seem to hold up well.

 

[shawnallansls1]

I have timken on mine now.. i did the mistake of installing duralast just because i didnt know about the timken brand and it was my first set of hubs ever to install well.. a week later they gave out.. so i went back to autozone and they recomended timken and changed them out for free so i got it for the duralast price but if i ever have to change them on my yukon i know which to go with first

 

[chip]

timken bca and skf are all quality brands stick to them and youll be good. stay away from the knock offs or house brands

Damn Brother! Where do you live that you can get away with 50% up front and 15 on the rest? I need to move there!

I'll definitely have to keep SKF in mind the next time. I'd never really heard of them before this thread but I'll have to give them a whirl next time since they are cheaper but still seem to hold up well.

That's what Midas recommended me. After researching their company and products, and also with my experience, I'd say they're plenty good. If you buy them on ebay, they're plenty cheap too!