Bad Timken Hub Asembly?

[1BADI5]

IMO return them both, There is so much "CHINA CRAP COPY" infiltrating our supply system and amazon is a "Dealer" in "CHINA PRODUCTS". As advised above, Purchase OEM from a reputable source such as rockauto.

Agreed 100%

Items like this I order from Rockauto since they deal directly with the vendor/manufacturer

 

[gmartin1215]

I placed an order with Summit. They did have a Beat-the-Price thing, and I mentioned how much Rock Auto charged. I was able to get a bit lower price than what Rock Auto would have got from me out the door. Anyway, I'll post what my experience is with the parts after I get them from Summit; they have the parts in their warehouse but are supplied directly with Timken.

 

[Geotrash]

I placed an order with Summit. They did have a Beat-the-Price thing, and I mentioned how much Rock Auto charged. I was able to get a bit lower price than what Rock Auto would have got from me out the door. Anyway, I'll post what my experience is with the parts after I get them from Summit; they have the parts in their warehouse but are supplied directly with Timken.

I have a friend who owns a seal and bearing manufacturing company in India. They're a top tier supplier for automotive and industrial OEM applications, with proper engineering done for each application. When I was last there visiting he and his family a couple of years ago, he was telling me that the biggest problem they're having right now is counterfeiters making lookalike parts that aren't properly engineered (seal material and circumferential spring tension must be extremely precise for the fluid viscosity and pressures for the application) and putting them in boxes marked with his company's logo, and even duplicating the foil seal. He's had to spend a bunch of money to implement a serial number tracking system so that his customers can verify that the parts they have in hand are in fact genuine.

 

[gmartin1215]

I have a friend who owns a seal and bearing manufacturing company in India. They're a top tier supplier for automotive and industrial OEM applications, with proper engineering done for each application. When I was last there visiting he and his family a couple of years ago, he was telling me that the biggest problem they're having right now is counterfeiters making lookalike parts that aren't properly engineered (seal material and circumferential spring tension must be extremely precise for the fluid viscosity and pressures for the application) and putting them in boxes marked with his company's logo, and even duplicating the foil seal. He's had to spend a bunch of money to implement a serial number tracking system so that his customers can verify that the parts they have in hand are in fact genuine.

Wow! That is just nuts!
Too bad big suppliers Like Amazon can't do the same guarantee!

 

[Geotrash]

Wow! That is just nuts!
Too bad big suppliers Like Amazon can't do the same guarantee!

Yep, that's the thing. There's no guarantee that the parts you think you're buying from Amazon or eBay sources are in fact the genuine article. So that's why I go to places like Summit. I used to live in CO and couldn't get stuff from RA either. Summit has always done right by me.

 

[wsteele]

I think the whole China knock off thing is way bigger than most realize. I have a good friend who was born and raised in China. He said they used to be really careful when shopping for groceries, things like fake eggs (yes, indistinguishable from real eggs, were routinely sold at markets).

My favorite story of China knock off culture was the fake Apple store in China. It was a duplicate of an Apple store, sold all Apple knock off products, the employees all thought they were Apple employees, they even had a Genius Bar to help the customers use their fake Apple products...

 

[Charlie207]

Wow! That is just nuts!
Too bad big suppliers Like Amazon can't do the same guarantee!

It's because Amazon's system is setup so that each product has a single SKU, and they don't care who makes the product that has the SKU. So, there could be 10 companies that make the part, and they are all assigned the same SKU. When you order the part, they guy in the warehouse (or robot) picks from a big basket that includes everything with that SKU, so you can get something that varies tremendously in place of origin --> quality.

Also, alerting Timkin may not even have a positive effect. I pointed out through a detailed email with pictures and all sorts of info, that they were assigning the same part number for the 2004 TA60 (Pathfinder) Armada and 2004 R50 Pathfinder front hub assemblies.
The Pathfinder uses individual spindles/bearings, while the Armada uses a one-piece hub assembly. They never got back to me, and continue to incorrectly label their parts.

 

[wsteele]

It's because Amazon's system is setup so that each product has a single SKU, and they don't care who makes the product that has the SKU. So, there could be 10 companies that make the part, and they are all assigned the same SKU. When you order the part, they guy in the warehouse (or robot) picks from a big basket that includes everything with that SKU, so you can get something that varies tremendously in place of origin --> quality.

Also, alerting Timkin may not even have a positive effect. I pointed out through a detailed email with pictures and all sorts of info, that they were assigning the same part number for the 2004 TA60 (Pathfinder) Armada and 2004 R50 Pathfinder front hub assemblies.
The Pathfinder uses individual spindles/bearings, while the Armada uses a one-piece hub assembly. They never got back to me, and continue to incorrectly label their parts.

I think your point about alerting the manufacturer probably is right, for a lot of reasons.

I got some knock off Hornaday A-Max rifle bullets I used for some long range precision rifle shooting. I realized I had a product problem as I used to sort the bullets before loading by weight and load them in lots. When I realized the weights were all over the place, I called Hornaday and their tech support guy confirmed they were fake. He determined it by comparing lot numbers with the packaging and determined they never sold that lot number with the packaging I received mine in. I told him which national retailer I had bought them from and he just said, "I will pass it along, but there really isn't much we can do about it. You would be surprised how often this comes up"

 

[Charlie207]

I think your point about alerting the manufacturer probably is right, for a lot of reasons.

I got some knock off Hornaday A-Max rifle bullets I used for some long range precision rifle shooting. I realized I had a product problem as I used to sort the bullets before loading by weight and load them in lots. When I realized the weights were all over the place, I called Hornaday and their tech support guy confirmed they were fake. He determined it by comparing lot numbers with the packaging and determined they never sold that lot number with the packaging I received mine in. I told him which national retailer I had bought them from and he just said, "I will pass it along, but there really isn't much we can do about it. You would be surprised how often this comes up"

I'm not surprised at all with how insane ammo prices have become. Small-time internet shops are popping up all the time with reloads going for more than factory ammo was priced at 2 years ago.

 

[wsteele]

I'm not surprised at all with how insane ammo prices have become. Small-time internet shops are popping up all the time with reloads going for more than factory ammo was priced at 2 years ago.

This was like maybe 7-8 years ago. I can't remember if it was during one of the previous craziness periods (probably), at least I have never found fake smokeless powder...

 

[tom3]

I agree the grease looks cooked. I'd hate to think what the inside looks like with that much heat. Probably lousy machining and needed major heat to get it together. Junk. And China stuff has taken over for sure.

I

 

[gmartin1215]

Thanks for all the great responses, guys!

 

[Fless]

Lovely.
Well, sending back the Amazon POS parts and going to try Summit. Unfortunately, I can't use Rock Auto since they won't ship to my state (Colorado).

Rock Auto WILL ship to certain areas in Colorado, as long as the area (either incorporated or not) has given the State the authorization to administer taxes. For example, I can have things shipped to my son's place, which is in the same county but in an unincorporated area. But the Town I live in administers its own taxes so, no go for shipping to my place.

 

[jz57]

That's true. Even French wine becomes knock-off in China. China can sell French wine there more than France annual exporting.

My favorite story of China knock off culture was the fake Apple store in China. It was a duplicate of an Apple store, sold all Apple knock off products, the employees all thought they were Apple employees, they even had a Genius Bar to help the customers use their fake Apple products...

 

[jmm121783]

I might be wrong, actually ya I got Moog's, they had a blue cord for the ABS sensor but I can tell you right now, I would not install that on my truck. I would take it back where you got it and ask for an exchange and check it in store before leaving to make sure you have one you like. If they all look like that, I would go with MOOG.

 

[Mooseman93]

Thanks for all the great responses, guys!

Summit is a top notch place. I used to buy racing stuff from them all the time with no issues.

 

[EddieC]

One of ours went bad at about 65k. Our mechanic said our Chevy trucks are know for that. He drives a GMC so he's might be snooty.

 

[irwires]

Go online and look up Timken Bearing Corp. Go to their site and look for where to buy or call them to find a parts dealer.
Many places on the web to buy their products.

 

[wsteele]

One of ours went bad at about 65k. Our mechanic said our Chevy trucks are know for that. He drives a GMC so he's might be snooty.

Aren't they the same part number for Yukon (GMC) and Tahoe (Chevrolet)?

 

[Joeltz]

Hi.

I recently purchased two new Timken SP500301 hub assemblies for my 2009 Tahoe LT. Unboxing both hub assemblies, I noticed some grease around the area where the sensor wire attaches to the hub. Both hub assemblies are doing this and I provided a picture of one of them. Is it normal to expect something like this coming from the box? I wouldn't think so and would expect this area to be clean. Please, let me know if you think this may be a problem.
Also, one hub assembly has what looks like burn marks or where the metal overheated near a couple of places where the wheel stud is attached. I attached some pictures. Again, I would not expect this for a new part.
Anyway, I mostly want to know if these parts are OK to use, or if you would return them for another set.

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Similar Situation ordered from som company that had American Flag on website picture
The bok looked like it was opened and the part was repacked The antilock sensor wire was CUT.... I wrote back within a day or two wanting return ... they said we will mail you a generic sensor Timken did not have one... im sending it Back..... They said NO Just keep it and credited my Full purchase price... and Keep it. The original sensor worked. I think that seller that was 30$ cheaper ... Sent returns & known defective parts Thinking some people will just put them in anyway ??? Then Sell the vehicle