Where to buy Timken Bearings

[dewdev]

I want to buy Timken US bearings for my Oliver Elite II and have not had any luck in find a supplier at a reasonable cost. 

I do not want to buy through Amazon because I am afraid they will be selling Timken Chinese knock offs bearings, not real US Timken bearings, as I have seen mentioned in other Oliver forum threads.

I spoke to Timken direct and was able to confirm the bearing and cup part numbers along with a part number for a National Seal but they would not sell to individuals,

It seems I have been getting the "run-around" from Timken on where I can buy their bearings. The told me to go to their web site locator and the site will tell where I can buy Timken bearings. Timken's web site directed me to VIP Discount Auto. VIP no longer sells parts and VIP sent me over to their parts cousin, O'Riely Auto, and they do not sell Timken bearings either.

I contacted every automotive parts store in my state and they do not sell Timken Bearings.

I then contacted Dexter Axle and they would sell me their bearings but could (or would not) tell me who made the bearings they sell. 

Dexter then referred me to Southwestwheel.com and they would sell me Timken bearings. To buy one set of timken inner bearing and its cup, the outer bearing and its cup and a National Seal they wanted $61.18 per wheel which is $245.92 for a set of 4. 

HELP! Has anyone found a place to buy legimitate Timken bearings?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Jairon]

I'd suggest Summit Racing Equipment if you want legit parts for cheap. They ship all over the US.

Summit Racing is 20 minutes from the Timken factory and is an authorized distributor. Odds are good they are legit. 😁

Edited February 26, 2021 by Jairon

[BackofBeyond]

Motion Industries - locations across the  USA. Or any decent local bearing supply place. I have learned to stay off the internet in this area. You want bearings and races. They will not be $20 each. 

 

RB

Edited February 25, 2021 by BackofBeyond

[rideandfly]

3 hours ago, BackofBeyond said:

Motion Industries - locations across the  USA. Or any decent local bearing supply place. I have learned to stay off the internet in this area. You want bearings and races. They will not be $20 each. 

 

RB

+1 on Motion Industries

[AndrewK]

I really don't know if you can ever be sure you are purchasing authentic items but, I just purchased 5 Timken grease seals and one set of bearings from Amazon, sold by Amazon.

They all verified as authentic using the WBA Check App.  

The bearing set was $20 and the seals were $8.

Andrew

[WandR]

I have found Timken bearings hard to find and there appears to be some relationship between Timken and National.  I am in the process (as needed) of replacing my bearings and have been replacing them with National Bearings.  They are made in China but my sense and hope is they are built under more stringent perimeters.  I have  attached National Light Trailer Bearing and Seal Guide with the Dexter 3.5K axle highlighted.  The hand written note at the bottom is another choice for the seal from E-Trailer that I like as it has a reinforcing spring within the seal.  My sense and I believe others have stated that if you do the proper annual wheel bearing maintenance as prescribed by OTT that you will be ok as you will see problems before they become critical.  I purchased my bearings at O'Reilly Auto Parts and have been satisfied thus far.  I feel they are better than the original bearings but not as good as Timken if you can find them.  As others have said use good wheel bearing grease.  I use No. 2 Mystik  JT6 which OTT uses.  I know others have their favorites also.  Good luck!National Light Trailer Bearing Guide.pdf

Edited February 26, 2021 by WandR

[connor77]

South Shore Bearing in Quincy, MA.  They are an authorized Timken dealer and have very knowledgeable people working there.  They're almost local to you in Falmouth, ME.  Good luck!

https://southshorebearing.com/

[dewdev]

Thanks All - Very Helpful

For those interested, here is the pricing I found from the below vendors for the Timken Bearings for our Dexter 3500 pound axle:

Bearing                             SouthShore Bearing                 Summit Racing Equipment           Motion Industries

Outer Bearing & Cup            $11.50 each                           $10.99 each                                   $26.19

Inner Bearing & Cup            $12.00 each                            $9.99 each                                      $28.41

Seal                                          $8.50 each                              $6.99 each                                     $6.43

Looks like I am going to buy from Summit Racing.

Richard

Edited February 26, 2021 by dewdev

[Galway Girl]

I'm planning on buying kits for our 3.5K axles as well to have spares on the road.

Looking for part numbers I found this...but I'ld like confirmation from the forum members.

This is a pix of the Axle lable for our Elite II - 2019

Found t

 

Below in the table is the replacement chart from the Dexter User Materials.

The last row I believe has the part numbers for the 3.5K Axles.

Can anyone here confirm the part numbers for our 3.5K Elite II axles are 

Named as "set 4" -  L44649/L44610   
Named as "set 17"  - are the L68111/L68149.

I'm thinking of buying the kits. 

 

Craig

[BackofBeyond]

1 hour ago, dewdev said:

Thanks All - Very Helpful

For those interested, here is the pricing I found from the below vendors for the Timken Bearings for our Dexter 3500 pound axle:

Bearing                             SouthShore Bearing                 Summit Racing Equipment           Motion Industries

Outer Bearing & Cup            $11.50 each                           $10.99 each                                   $26.19

Inner Bearing & Cup            $12.00 each                            $9.99 each                                      $28.41

Seal                                          $8.50 each                              $6.99 each                                     $6.43

Looks like I am going to buy from Summit Racing.

Richard

$28 a wheel - not bad - get 4 sets  - $100 order -free shipping. Might as well add 8 extra seals - then you are set for years. Summit racing!!

[dewdev]

Backand Beyond- You second guessed what I did. Bought bearings for all 4 wheel and 8 seals.

Galway Girl - Below is  what I found in my research for part numbers.

                                              Universal Part#                              Timken Part #

Outer Bearing Cone     L44649                                    SET4               

Outer Cup                      L44610                                   Included in SET4

 

Inner Bearing                L68149                                    SET17  

Cup                                 L68111                                    included in SET17

Seal                                  -                                               473336

Dexter Kit: K71-303-00 seal only

Dexter Kit: inner bearing: K71-390-00

Dexter Kit: outer bearing: K71-306-00

The Universal part #'s are consitent with what WandR provided as an attachment in his post listed above. Looks like you found basically the same information.

Richard

Edited February 26, 2021 by dewdev

[rideandfly]

Galway Girl,

In addition to dewdev's above post, you can get a specific build sheet from Dexter for your axles that show Dexter information for brakes, seals, bearings, and dimensional info.

Here's where you find your axle serial number:

https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/light-duty-axle-identificationb27a839d2ba463c18d7aff64007a4014.pdf?sfvrsn=66dee048_0

Here's a sample axle build sheet for our Ollie. Most LE2 Ollies cannot use our axle information because Oliver ran out of 3500 pound axles while building our Ollie installing single axle Ollie 5200 pound axles.

 

[dewdev]

Galway Girl,

Your axle Serial # is also on the label attached to the axle that you included a picture of in your post.

Richard

[Ghostriderc227]

Great information.....

I would like confirmation on if the inner bearing and outer bearing on each hub are the same.  My reason for asking is that in the past I have changed out bearings on axles that are a different size between inner/outer.

I have not serviced the bearings on my LE 2 yet, but plan on it for this season.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

[Ghostriderc227]

Might as well add a 1 pound can of  Timken wheel bearing grease to that order.  Timken GR224TUB.....$6.99

 

Steve

 

[AndrewK]

14 minutes ago, Ghostriderc227 said:

Great information.....

I would like confirmation on if the inner bearing and outer bearing on each hub are the same.  My reason for asking is that in the past I have changed out bearings on axles that are a different size between inner/outer.

I have not serviced the bearings on my LE 2 yet, but plan on it for this season.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

Steve,

Ours are different and I suspect all are.

Andrew

[Mainiac]

21 hours ago, dewdev said:

HELP! Has anyone found a place to buy legimitate Timken bearings?

I went to the Advance Auto Parts web and put the Timken part numbers into the search window. Boom. It came up and listed as Timken. Now to go to my local store and talk to the guy I trust. He is into old cars and high end hot rods. I know he will steer me straight. Timken bearings and National seals. Time will tell...

[Geronimo John]

On 2/25/2021 at 12:38 PM, Jairon said:

I'd suggest Summit Racing Equipment if you want legit parts for cheap. They ship all over the US.

 

Summit Racing is 20 minutes from the Timken factory and is an authorized distributor. Odds are good they are legit. 😁

Jairon:  I have been using Summit Racing for years, and also using Motion Ind. for bearings.  I had not thought of Summit for the Timken Bearings.   

THANK YOU!

GJ

[Geronimo John]

On 2/26/2021 at 5:51 AM, dewdev said:

 

                                              Universal Part#                              Timken Part #

Outer Bearing Cone     L44649                                    SET4               

Outer Cup                      L44610                                   Included in SET4

 

Inner Bearing                L68149                                    SET17  

Cup                                 L68111                                    included in SET17

Seal                                  -                                               473336

 

For the less bearing experienced, the "Cup" is the running surface of the bearing housing.  Some refer to this replacement surface as the "Bearing Race".  They are the same part, and should always be replaced when replacing the bearings.   The reason for buying eight seals is that you need to replace the seals at each surface.  The Timken bearings will last many many years with good grease and service.  The seals generally get damaged in their removal process.  They are cheap and saving a few $$ is nothing compared to a seal failure allowing grease into the brakes!

I disassemble, clean with brake cleaner, dry and re-grease at the start of each season.  But then I am also covering at least 8,000 miles a season.   

The cheap Dexter bearings IMHO should be trashed at your first or second service depending on your use.

For the bearings and seal face, this is the synthetic grease that John Davies recommended, and many of us are using.  I also highly recommend it:

Red Line 80401 CV-2 Synthetic Grease with Moly (14 Oz Jars) .  It is available via Amazon.  

 

Some owners use a "bearing grease press" to fill the bearings with grease before installation.  I have tried some, and found that I waste a lot of grease with them.  So, like many older salts, we just use the palm of our hand and a dollop of grease, kneading the bearing into the grease from both sides.  This works very well, saves grease, and gives you the satisfaction of KNOWING that your new bearings are well lubricated.

From Dexter, here is the Bearing Adjustment and Hub Replacement process:

Finally, having a pile of rags and a trash bag handy is really helpful.

Good luck and safe travels,

Geronimo John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Geronimo John]

Attached is a summary that I keep in my trailer.  It has much of what is discussed above and may be a handy reference for the future.

Timken Bearings and National Seals.docx

As is apparent, much of my Oliver bearings and seal info is from John Davies.  A great source of information and advice.  Thank you John D!

Geronimo John

Edited March 6, 2021 by Geronimo John
Credit to the Great JD!