Dorman Wheel Bearing - Experiences?

104k miles, 4x4, both front wheel bearings going bad. Local mechanic can do it for $650 with Dorman bearing & hub assembly this week. Or $900 to pull/press new Koyo bearing and hub seal. Other shops quoted $900-1110 with a few weeks-month wait (both said aftermarket assemblies but didn’t give a brand).

Dormans - How have your personal experiences been with them? I’ve read mixed reviews, but can’t tell if there’s been actual failures or if the brand catches a bad rep in favor of higher quality parts. I’m ok with going for “good” instead of paying up for “great”. But if this particular product has a bad record than I’ll pay up for safety/peace of mind.

*edit: if there’s other bearing & hub assembly units by others lmk. I’m a bit wary of buying from eBay/users but that’s purely from being ignorant and a newb when it comes to these things

 

The Dorman claims to be OE replacement quality. After a lot of shopping around and reading reviews and comparing my options of preassembled or pressing my own I settled on the Dormans (950-001). Found a great deal on them on eBay and truthfully I haven't seen any bad reviews. These will be going on my DD Taco which also gets occasional heavy offroad abuse up in the mountains. I'll report any issues.

 

I’ve used their hubs but not the bearings. Never had any issues with them. At the time, their bearings had a bad reputation and you could only get unassembled pieces. So, I got their hubs and pressed in Precision bearings. Those got me about 60k miles. They didn't break; I replaced them at the first sign of play. I currently have DuraGo hubs and bearings. They will be my next set as well.

If you are in Socal area, you can borrow my garage and tools. The assembled units are a relatively easy DIY job.

 

thanks! So hubs are generally ok, bearings are what most people opt to spend up on (e.g. sellers putting koyo bearings into dorman hubs and selling on eBay). How was the hub when you swapped it at 60k?

id take you up on your offer but I’m in Hawaii. Called around and most shops here seem like dormans are what they’d put on. So far the humming is there, it’s not super loud so I might have time to order and wait for a better assembly to install. I’m just cautious with ordering on eBay if counterfeit bearings are rampant

 

I used a Dorman wheel bearing when I did mine a few years ago on my 2nd gen. Took about 1 hour. Easy to do. No problems after 4 years until the truck was totalled after being rear ended.

Good in my book. I think back then I got one for $70 off Amazon.

My truck was a pavement princess. Only went off-roading once when it drove up on a curb at the mall back in 2014.

 

For the amount of aggravation just replacing the bearing the time alone is worth the assembly. Have seen people forget to put the bolts back in and have to press the bearing/hub back out again. You could do both sides hubs and bearing and be on the road before they could press the bearing in the old one.

 

I ended up using the Napa brand hubs. They have a lifetime warranty (I’m pretty sure)

$160ish per side.

 

contact @05Taco4x4 on TW he has hub ass. for sale.
I have them on my truck with no problems.

 

A lot of “builders” use the Dorman hubs. But NOT their bearings.
@05Taco4x4 makes a good set of assemblies. And I always advocate to buy from the “little guys” first.

If however, you need them quick.
Napa sells assemblies made by SKF.
SKF amd Koyo are some of the best.

 

Thanks!! I pm’d 05Taco4x4. I’ll call NAPA and inquire about the SKF assembly too. The bearings hum but it’s not super loud yet. I do want to get them replaced within the a week or so.. new tires on and want to keep the wear even. I drive a lot for work, including up a 10,000 mountain, so hopefully he’s got some ready to ship

 

I should add, my local Autozone sells the Dorman for $155 each.
They come with the dust seal and o-ring.
So your mechanic is charging? $170 PER side?

I guess that’s ok.
But they are not particularly hard to do.
Realistically, $100 per side is more like it.
But then again, I don’t own a shop and have all the expenses that go with it.

 

I’d go with 05Taco assemblies if you can.

if you can’t……

Napa
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BRGBR930978?impressionRank=10

 

I ordered and had them in like three days

 

Mechanic quoted $300 for the dorman set and $360 in labor. Which is the best deal I could find locally going thru someone.. some of the shops quoting $900+ for parts and labor are using the same dorman product.

 

this is great, I was just searching on NAPA and it looks like they have these in stock. If I don’t hear back from taco, I’ll likely go this route. If it’s $300 for a pair of Dorman I’d rather pay up for these.

 

No doubt.
Toyota was almost $500 per side BEFORE taxes.

I’ve said it many times, I do not like working on vehicles.
The only reason I do it, is to save myself some money.

 

Beware. Many of these “assemblies” the hub cannot be reused if you decide to use a quality bearing like timken. So make sure you save your old bearings. Dorman is trash. And that’s coming from a tech with over 15 years experience. But do as you wish.

 

Alright, dormans are off my list - napa can get me those SKFs in within 1-2 days and I’ll wait to hear back from Taco. Sounds like I have 2 viable options here appreciate your quick replies and help! Mechanic bud is willing to do the install too. I just don’t have the space, tools, or time to do it all. Maybe someday soon

 

Dorman. The Harbor Freight of auto parts. Need I say more?

 

Another option, install pre-assembled units and refurbish your oem hubs with SKF/Timken/Koyo or other quality bearings. That way, you’ll have a set ready to go for next time. There are numerous videos on how to remove the inner bearing race from the oem hubs.