NAPA Wheel bearings?

So I've been hearing telltale growling of wheel bearings going out. Still on the fence between bearings and tire noise as my AT tires wear down, but figure it can't hurt to change 'em anyway at 110k miles.

Any experienced folks have opinions on the Napa Proformer($80ea) line vs Koyo($180ea, OE according to napa website)? I'm typically not one to cheap out, but I'm a little tight on the budget and wouldn't mind saving $200 if the Proformer quality is just fine for typical road/occasional light offroad use.

Thanks

 

I've had issues with the cheaper brands and water crossings. I've thrown sub 100$ bearing at my last jeep with many issues. I stick to SKF or Koyo etc now, its worth the extra money in the long run.

 

OP, just for fun check the inscription on the side of the bearings. You never know. I looked as some generic white box ones awhile back at one of the stores, that did not even have a manufacturer label, and surprise, they were the same Koyos as OEM. But also stay far away from China bearings IMHO or bearings that are not inscribed with an ID..

 

Careful. There are a number of fake bearings out on the market these days. Laser inscribing somebody else's product labeling is very easy to do and a number of unscrupulous (Chinese) manufacturers do it on a regular basis.

 

Unless you enjoy performing the labor of a wheel bearings install more than once, go with quality over price on items like these.
Look into these made by a TW member:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wheel-bearings-hubs-press-service-4x4-prerunner.537080/

 

Duly noted, thanks. That was my biggest worry, up here in Maine I slog through snow and slush quite a bit.

Thanks, I'll probably be ordering a pair of those when I get around to it.

Appreciate the input as always.

 

Also in Maine..
Which bearings did you go with? How well have they held up?

 

I actually redact my original comment from 2020, napa now uses SKF bearings. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BRGBR930978?impressionRank=3 I'd use these in a heart beat. Pre-assembled to boot.

 

It is now a question of Koyo, or the SKF. Do I need hub and bearing or not...
Thanks for the tip. I am/was aiming to snag some from a member, but he is on vacation till Halloween, and the bearing is starting to howl a bit.
Napa is just a hop, though.

 

These are really easy https://www.ebay.com/itm/161936484299

 

Unit bearings are one place that I personally never skimp out on, it's not worth the headache. This come from personal experience over the years. If you stick with a major big name company ( SKF, FAG, Koyo, Timken, ect..) you will be ok. Don't buy anything from a-mazon or fleabay, you're about 100% guaranteed to get a chinesium knock off part from a sleaze ball "dealer" that will tell you to go pound sand when you have a problem.

 

I got the Beck Arnleys from RockAuto. They're about $100 each. I can't say how long they'll last because I just installed them a few months ago. I'm planning on rebuilding my stock hubs 'one of these days'.
I've not heard anything bad about them.

 

Same, had the becks for maybe 2 yrs and 20k? 2 or 3 trips from pa to wi. So far so good , however time will tell.

 

That’s what I used.
Been on just over 13k now. Which isn’t much.
So I can’t give a good opinion yet.

I will say, one of the dust seals fit loosely in the knuckle.
I had to “modify” it. Hammer and punch and deformed the metal lip just enough to make it a tight fit.

 

It's been my experience with NAPA their prices are always noticeably more inflated than what you can get the same part elsewhere for. In this particular case they want almost $100 more for the SKF wheel bearing/hub assembly.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BRGBR930978?impressionRank=3

https://www.partsgeek.com/ss/?i=1&ssq=BR930978

As far as the bearing howl, do whatever you feel comfortable with but there's been plenty of us around here who've rolled with a howling dog for tens of thousands of miles.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/350-000-miles.760492/#post-27109064

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/350-000-miles.760492/#post-27109990

 

I bought one from napa when i first got my truck 4 years ago. Ive put 80k on it and its still going strong. Recently replaced the other one with whatever was cheapest and in stock at autozone. No issues so far.

 

I buy from the same seller, albeit the single version. $150 for a koyo bearing isn’t too shabby

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1512860824...624&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY