Moog vs Timken front hubs

[01DeepBlue]

I just wanted to comment on my experience with front hubs recently.
I thought I had to replace my front hub(turns out the noise is actually coming from my CV axle) and didn't want to buy the generic brand of hub at the auto parts stores. I had the choice of Moog at Advance Auto Parts for $130(including online discount and tax) or the Timken at Autozone for $154($195 at the time since there was no discount then).
I chose the Moog since it was a name brand but cheaper, I could pick it up the same day from the store, I had past good experience with Moog, and I assumed it would be made in the USA or at least be a name brand on the bearing.
I was very wrong to assume it would be made in the USA or a name brand bearing. It was made in Korea and it had NO name on the bearing at all. I took off an original factory Timken with made in the USA stamped on it and was quite annoyed to have to replace it with an inferior product. If I had known that the Moog was foreign made and had a generic bearing I never would have considered it. It was basically the same as the generic house brand that the auto parts stores tried to sell me.
I advise anyone to buy the Timken over the Moog. I was very disappointed that Moog has gone the way most companies have these days by outsourcing parts and labor.

 

[600remguy]

Thanx for that. I was wondering because the Moog go on sale up here at Canadian Tire every so often and the Timkins cost me over $300!

 

[MidnightRebel07]

I've always used Timken hubs, they've taken all the abuse I put them through offroad and even worse yet driving on the crappy Pittsburgh streets.

 

[Demo1986]

I bought the napa skm or smk brand for just over 200 a piece. The skm/smk has timken bearings and made in the USA. The Chinese hubs are about 100 a piece but this is one part you don't want to cheap out on.
I've had them for 4 years and I have jumped my truck, been in deep sea water and mud without a single issue and no signs of any wear.

 

[Mr. Truckles]

I've had good luck with raysbestos and timken bearings. I get about 20k out of the Chinese ones I buy and about 40k out of the American ones which isn't great but I beat the hell out of them!

 

[CountriSquire]

Recently changed mine on 2006 and went with Timken for the U.S.A. manufacture. I think ~$320 for the pair on-line.

Moog import parts (I believe) have an 'R' prefix added to original part number for many products. Some sort of marketing phraseology to go along with the economy line. Guess they had to fight fire with fire because of losing sales to cheaper import parts.

 

[mustang6878]

I swear by Moog front end parts...tie rod ends, ball joints, idler arms. drag links.

I also swear by Timken hubs, I have NEVER had a problems after replacing OEM with Timken.

I guess I am just set in my ways...40 years of turning my own wrenches on my Fords will do that to a guy..

 

[HELMUT RONER]

I also swear by Moog and Timken. Moog USA only, though. My 2002 is only RWD and my daily driver, so I can't comment on hubs. Streets around the Tampa Bay area are horrible, too. The bearings I took out a couple of months before posting this had no branding on them at all and the grease was contaminated.

I had whatever China-made brand front wheel bearings from Advance Auto Parts on my old 1988 Mustang GT and one day without warning the bearings came apart. Thankfully, my spindle wasn't damaged and my wheel didn't come off. Had to replace the spindle nut, though.

Replaced September 13, 2015 on my 170K+ Sport Trac

No brand or country of origin

 

[01DeepBlue]

1 1/2 years later and over 50k miles and the Moog hub is still going strong. I replaced the other hub as well shortly afterwards with a matching Moog and it has over 30k thousand miles on it. The second hub I replaced the Moog with was a generic aftermarket that couldn't have been on there very long. That just goes to show you that you should never buy the cheapest parts you can find. Always go with name brand.
I might have been a little harsh with my original critique last year since the Moog was Korean instead of American made but it seems like a quality part nonetheless.
When it comes to front end parts I also go with Moog(not their budget line either). I used to usually buy TRW but since they're no longer around unfortunately it's exclusively Moog that I go with now.

 

[sethsport]

I just went through my first front wheel bearing going out. I needed a quick fix so I went to AutoZone and got the duralast part number 5052. I installed it and when I went to put my axle nut back on It wouldn't go on all the way because my buddy beat the crap out of it trying to knock the axle back. I rented a puller while I was at AutoZone as well And that got it off. Anyway, I tried limping it home because I was just a couple miles away. I got about a mile before I felt the bearing give out and my buddy said sparks were flying everywhere. I figured it was because I had not been able to fully seat the nut on the axle. The next day I pulled it out and compared it to the original and it was The wrong damn part, it was longer than the original. so I took it back to AutoZone and showed them the difference and they gave me another one. Part number 50-50. I brought that one back, went to install it and The holes didn't lineup on the triangle flange so I took that one back. they brought out a few others that I was comparing to the original. I finally found one that looked like it would work and bought it. After I left I decided to just go to advance and see what was available there. They had a Moog which I understand is a better part, it was less expensive, with a better warranty. And it looked identical to the original part. It bolted up like a breeze, I was able to go to the junkyard and get another axle nut and I'm back on the road. Point is, never go to AutoZone again. It seems like the one I bought from advance was a really good part, it was pretty burly, didn't seem like it was cheaply made but I will pay attention to that in the future. Go moog!

 

[01DeepBlue]

Your problem wasn't buying from Autozone. Your problem was buying the generic house brand crapola. NEVER buy anything but name brand stuff. This applies to just about every facet in life btw. Autozone also sells Timken which would be regarded as the best top line brand hub you are going to be able to get. The original hubs were Timken from Ford as well. Advance sells Moog as their name brand instead of Timken.

 

[david4451]

Without a doubt Timken are the best front and rear bearings available. On my ST 4X4 front bearings I take out the speed sensor and put new synthetic grease in them with a grease gun, using a improvised fitting. The old grease comes out of the back of the hub and I just clean it off.

Having said that I did buy two Detroit Axle hubs for $75 the pair on Amazon, to look at them they look very good, ie well made. Obviously they are of foreign origin, China I suppose, only because of the price. Moog are probably doing the same as Detroit Axle as far as suppliers are concerned, but charging more?

The good thing about these cheaper alternatives is that top suppliers like Timken have drastically reduced their prices. My Timken hubs are still very good, the Detroit Axle hubs are just in case spares, but got the synthetic grease treatment, ready for use one day.

I've said this before that, as a young man we thought all Japanese parts were crap now they are held in high esteem. The same will go for China/Korean parts I have no doubt.

 

[01DeepBlue]

In the case of the Japanese made stuff it was simply fear of the unknown. However, in the case of the Chinese made stuff it's a different case entirely.
The Japanese have generally always had very high quality control due to high pride in their work and products. It's part of their very culture. With the ridiculously high failure and defect rate the Chinese made stuff generally doesn't prove itself to be anywhere near as reliable as Japanese made products. Of course there are always exceptions but as everyone has experienced many, many, so very many times before if it says made in China then you probably have cheap, disposable junk.
Korean made stuff is obviously not Chinese. There's not quite as many Korean made items in the USA as there is Chinese so it's harder to gauge from a quality standpoint but I would take Korean made over Chinese made any day of the week. I just didn't like that I had a US made part and I replaced it with a Korean made one from Moog. I expected Moog to be US made but was shocked to see the Korean stamp on it. It wasn't a cheap hub. I see now however that my worry was all for not since the hubs are still going strong after a lot of miles. The Korean made product has proven itself reliable. The generic Chinese hub that I took off the other side of the truck didn't have a lot of miles on it and it was starting to fail. It proved itself to be trash. The proof is in the pudding.

 

[david4451]

At the end of the day we are all looking for the best quality at a reasonable price. The major US manufacturers seem to be the ones that are outsourcing their products. Which is fine if they can reproduce the same quality as the home grown product at cheaper prices. The problem arises when customers who have been loyal to an indigenous brand find out its made in another country, they are then doubtful of the products and suppliers integrity.
As for myself I'm pleased to see Made in USA on a product and I'm a Brit, but it's getting hard to find nowadays!

 

[koda2000]

I've always used Timken bearings and have never had a problem with them. That being said, if a hub bearing goes out on my daughter's 2000 AWD Mountaineer tomorrow, I'll replace them with hubs from Detroit Axle. This truck is no longer used as a daily driver and frankly it isn't worth installing premium parts on it for an occasion trip to the dump or Home Depot. I've read where multiple people on the forum have installed Detroit Axle hubs without any issues and you can't beat their price. If this truck was still my daughter's daily driver, I'd buy the Timken hubs.

 

[01DeepBlue]

As for myself I'm pleased to see Made in USA on a product and I'm a Brit, but it's getting hard to find nowadays!

I'd love to see made in England, Germany, or any European country for that matter on my parts. Unfortunately, 95% of the time it's always an Asian country(though S. Korea seems to be a possible exception). Although dirt cheap, that usually means abysmal quality control and terrible longevity. I always shop around and then look for any coupon codes for the name brand parts to get them at the cheapest possible prices.

 

[Nimrod52]

Ive used duralast bearings on a 98 ranger without any issues but I would clean them and repack with ford bearing grease about every 2 months not sure the mileage but they've been on it for over 2 years of rough use the frame recently broke on the truck but the bearings never gave me issue if you view them as a regular maintenance thing such as brakes and oil changes and keep them cleaned and packed fresh they work great one speck of dirt or sand will spoil any bearing if you can go with a quality brand but if you go cheap just take care of the part if you have the tools you can repack bearings in about 20 minutes idk about other brands but cheap duralast worked fine for me I would use again no problem just keep them clean and taken care of