serpentine belt and hose replacements

Kayteg1 wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Back when Timken made the bearings in the USA, you could expect them to last much longer. Now that some manufacturers have replaced them with the cheaper garbage from China, you can expect failure to come sooner.

You are right about good quality Timken, but the issue is wider spread.
Driving Mercedes for couple of decades, the German-made SKF bearing seem to drop quality as well. I had older MB cars with 300k miles and original bearings.
Now on our 2004 model, the idler pulley bearing seized at 150k.
But when I read, lot of Mercedes parts are made in Czech republic, Poland, France.
I hope wheel bearings will not have the same issues.

You don't have to buy roller bearings in typical automotive market locations. If you are in a major metro area, do a google search for industrial bearings. If available, go to a "Bearing Store" or online places like McMaster-Carr. (no affiliation) Roller bearings are widely available for applications from the space shuttle to childrens skateboards. Expect to pay for quality, but it is available. People behind the counter at bearing stores tend to know a little more about bearings than the average automotive parts counter guy. Tell them your application and budget. Buy the best quality you can afford and don't let someone else spoon feed you their specifications.

Google: ABEC

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