Roger Frazee Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I just purchsed new wheel bearings for my '47 Torpdeo. I expected to pay around $10 per bearing. Wow! Was I off! The outer bearings cost $59 each and the inner bearings cost $120 each!I was even more shocked when I looked at the new outer bearing. The ball cage is made of plastic.I purchased the bearings from a national auto parts store known by its four-letter acronym, but I can't help thinking that I paid too much for junk bearings.Did I get ripped off, or am I out of touch with modern bearing prices and structure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I just purchsed new wheel bearings for my '47 Torpdeo. I expected to pay around $10 per bearing. Wow! Was I off! The outer bearings cost $59 each and the inner bearings cost $120 each!I was even more shocked when I looked at the new outer bearing. The ball cage is made of plastic.I purchased the bearings from a national auto parts store known by its four-letter acronym, but I can't help thinking that I paid too much for junk bearings.Did I get ripped off, or am I out of touch with modern bearing prices and structure?_________________________________________________________________ I have two Pontiac's that I sometimes use for road racing. You don't want to know the price for those wheel bearings. BTW where are your bearings made?Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Frazee Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Be very careful with those plastic (nylon?) caged bearings. We installed a set on a '47 Cadillac, torqued as specified and the cages failed within 50 miles. We would not use them again, regardless of price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deerhuntingal Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I know how you feel...I work for a bearing distributor here in Idaho as the buyer for our branch and the mark up is astounding! A lot of bearings are made in China these days with some being better than others but it pays to check around and find the best pricing. The auto parts giants are not always the best places but sometimes that is the only place to go. If you look in the yellow pages under bearings and find a place like where I work, you can get a selection of brands and prices instead of just one choice. A lot of folks think they have to go to auto parts stores for bearings but that simply is not the case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Frazee Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 I agree that it pays to shop around. After purchasing the bearings at the auto parts store, I found the exact same bearings on Amazon for half the price. The auto parts bearings went back to the store.Now that I have ordered the bearings from Amazon, I have found NOS bearings on Ebay for half of the Amazon price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Foggy norm Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 If you have the patience, a lot of stuff shows up on Ebay. The past few month's I've noticed a lot of bearings showing up, I should make a list of my number's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Frazee Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Thanks for the good advice, Deerhuntingal. Bearing prices really are all over the place. Next time I will check with my local bearing house first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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