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Need Opinions on Ordering Parts for Old Car


Guest bofusmosby

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Guest bofusmosby

I am looking for some outer front wheel bearings for my 37 Pontiac, and I found that NAPA sells them for $27.99 each. I went in there to buy them, and upon inspection, I found that the ball bearing cage was made out of plastic, and these were made in China. Well, I decided to not buy them for obvious reasons. So, I contacted a parts place that caters to selling old car parts (Per the rules on this site, will remain nameless) and found that they sell them for $56 each. I then asked the guy where they were made, and he couldn't give me an answer. I then asked him if they could inspect them before I bought them to make sure that the ball bearing cage wasn't made of plastic. He then told me "I'm sorry sir, but we do not have the man power to do this for you". So, if I ordered them from this place, and they arrive and find that they (the bearing cage) is made of plastic, I would send them back, plus have to pay for the shipping both ways. Am I asking too much of someone? It would seem that a company that survives on sales would be willing to accomidate me with my request.

I would appreciate your opinions on this please. Thank you!

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Is there an industrial bearing store in the yellow pages? If there is, they can get you any kind of bearing you can name, and a few you can't. There is a fair chance they have your bearings in stock, if they were used on other things besides 37 Pontiacs. If you can find a phone number give them a call, give them the bearing numbers and tell them you want high quality bearings not made in China.

You will need the bearing numbers off your old bearings and seals. They have no way of looking up a 37 Pontiac but they can look up the bearing by numbers.

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If you're ordering wheel bearings, or another vehicle bearing for that matter, I highly, repeat highly, recommend Olcar Bearing Company. George has NOS bearings for most anything and the prices are reasonable. I've bought a number of bearings from him over the years and have always been very pleased with the service and the bearings. He is very knowledgeable and sends the parts out immediately. Here is the contact--there is no web site:

Olcar Bearing Company

135 James Creek

Southern Pines,NC 28387

910-693-3324

(P.S. I'm not being paid for this advertisement--I just like to promote good vendors to help others when relevant):D

Edited by 36chev (see edit history)
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If the bearing is a roller bearing,they should be available. Most of the roller bearings were supplied by Timken and should have the numbers printed on the bearing itself. If the bearing does not show any chipping on the rollers and the cage is not too loose it may be reuseable. Races should be okay provided there is no pitting on the bearing surface. You should be able to buy these bearings in a set or individually. Try Bearings Inc., Applied Industrial Technology, Allied Seal or any good bearing supplier. You will find that most of the bearings are made out of country( thanks to free trade)! I would stay away from odd brands and anything made in china.

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One more comment about Olcar: Some of the bearings for the differential on my 36 Chevrolet were available from modern parts suppliers (won't mention the names to keep from having this post deleted...), but Olcar was less expensive with better quality bearings. The front wheel bearings on my Chevy are ball bearing--Olcar had those. If you have the bearing numbers handy for George, it will help, but probably not necessary. When I've asked about applications, he has the parts books to look those up, or can often rely on memory.

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Guest bofusmosby

Thanks guys! On mine, they are ball-bearings. The bearings are pretty bad in places, and the races show signs of scaring. I believe that it would be best to just replace all, and not have to deal with this for a long time. I'll give Olcar bearing company a call tomorrow and see what they have.

Jpage, I strongly agree about staying away from Chinese junk, which is the reason why I wanted to make sure that their bearing weren't plastic

No one has touched on my original question though. Was I asking too much of the sales person to have THEIR bearings inspected before I bought them, so I wouldn't be buying plastic crap?

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Guest bofusmosby

I believe that the original numbers were the ones I gave you, and the numbers you have are probably the updated ones. Well, anyways, I hope that is the case.I already bought the inners, and their part number was 909002. I had others look these numbers up for me, and I was given the same numbers by more than one person.

Here is a link to one of the threads about the correct part numbers.

http://forums.aaca.org/f169/need-part-s-front-wheel-bearings-324781.html

Read the number 3 post.

Edited by bofusmosby (see edit history)
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Guest bofusmosby

Thank you for everything guys. Well, thanks to the fact that this site has some of the BEST members around, I was just offered a deal on some NOS bearings that I couldn't turn down! A BIG thank you to Wirewheel! The check is in the mail!

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I don't know if you have found a supplier for your bearings. If not, try Miller Bearings on Adamo Dr in Tampa. They are an industrial bearing & parts distrib. I had used them for many years while in the concrete business.

They do carry an extensive inventory that might include automotive bearings, races, etc.

AND to answer your question, NO I do not think you were asking too much to have that supplier verify something for you. If YOU are in the service industry, then service your customers or close your doors! IMHO

Regards,

Frank

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Guest bofusmosby

Thank you Frank for the info I had called the place you mentioned a few years back, and they told me that I would have to go through an auto parts place, they didn't stock them any more. BTW, I located a set of outer bearings from one of our very own members. I better not mention the price, but it was a GREAT deal!

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Guest Jay Friedman

I would like to re-iterate what previous posters said about Olcar Bearing Co. In my opinion, it's the best place to buy wheel bearings or any other kind of automotive bearing. The owner, George Bachleda, is very knowledgable, he has an extensive stock and his prices are very reasonable.

Quick illustrative story about Olcar. Some years ago I was rebuilding my '49 Cadillac's manual transmission including the replacement of 2 sets of needle bearings, one of which is for the countershaft and the other between the pilot and main shafts. Assuming they were rare and therefore expensive, I called George with some trepidation. Assuming that I needed to describe the bearings in detail--quantities, dimensions etc.--I started to do so, but before I got more than a few words out George interrupted by saying something like "Ah, you mean the 56 countershaft bearings, they'll be $3, and the 13 mainshaft bearings, they'll be $10. Thinking the prices meant "per bearing", thoughts of almost $300 started dancing around in my head, but George said the prices were per set, or $13, plus a few bucks for shipping!

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  • 2 months later...
Guest Antone Hornsby

Well, I would suggest you to opt for certain genuine and reliable online stores, which not only provide a warranty on each purchase but delivers parts which are OEM certified and offer the lowest price assurance. One such site that I refer to is autopartsfair. Get in touch with them, I am sure they will help you out.

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Another point of view on the bearing salesman.. Imagine you were paid on commission to sit at a phone and take orders all day. You looked it up on your computer when people called.

When done you push a button an it goes to a warehouse, maybe across the street, maybe across town or maybe right on premise.

They pull the orders, pack and ship.

Why if I am being paid to sell and measured by how much I sell, would I take an hour or so to go find a bearing ?

Not right and not the best way of doing it, but the way it works with places I deal with on a day to day basis.

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