Spicer xc OEM carrier bearing alternative (4wd ONLY)

I have over two years and 23k miles on mine with zero issues. Lots off offroad use too.

 

What did the bearing cover look like? Shield or seal? I have one in the garage i can clean up and post some photos

 

Looks just like the IEDLS one minus the yellow poly

 

Mine had a black seal

 

Sounds like it's a sealed bearing, weird that it has grease on it

 

Here's both the Spicer 211590-X bearing and the stock Spicer 5002007. Seem to have similar-type internal bearings.
Seems as though they felt the need for a protective boot on the stock piece.
Their new XC bearing literature (
https://spicerparts.com/en-emear/pa...cial-off-highway/xc-center-bearing-assemblies
) brags that it's a sealed bearing which has no need for a dust cover...but according to Spicer the 211590-X is not an XC.
Very confusing. Wish Spicer would be more helpful.

 

What would answer this question 100% is if someone could remove the grease from their Spicer 211590 bearing and get the model of the bearing itself. We could then pull up the spec sheet and verify if it's actually sealed or just has a plastic/rubber shield which I've seen on some unsealed bearings.

I can do this on mine but it might take a few days

 

just as I find I need a new carrier bearing, this controversy comes up.

 

Got some good news, had some time today to clean up the grease. Unfortunately the seal didn't have any useful markings on it, just two numbers that brought nothing up online but I then noticed a stamp that looked like the bottom of "SKF"



I decided to spray some silicon lube around the bearing and pry it out of the rubber, revealing a bearing inside two clamshells



I tapped off the side with the SKF marking revealing the full model number



According to the SKF bearing catalog, bearing 6206-2RS1/C3GJN7 is a two sided NBR (nitrile) sealed bearing with high temperature GJN grease. The catalog states "Bearings capped on both sides are lubricated for the life of the bearing and are virtually maintenance-free"

Not sure why spicer would even bother putting grease around this but I had to quiet my brain before installing it.

 

Glad to hear they are still using sealed bearings!

 

So just to clarify cause Amazon is sketchy with PN's

$42 Spicer 211590-1x Center Bearing

Spicer 211590-1x is correct for 2014 4wd?

I need to replace ujoints and want to do it all at once.

 

Yes sir

 

Any updates on the performance of the

$42 211590-1X Center Bearing

211590-1X from those who have installed it? I'm about to do this install this weekend and just want to confirm it's still a good strategy.

 

Bout to put my second one in this weekend. First one lasted about 7 years and 60k ish miles can't go wrong for the price.

 

The OEM "garbage" typically last 150K, if you get half that I"ll be surprised.

 

You'd recommend the OEM one? That's generally my strategy but I've been towing pretty heavily recently and that's when mine started failing - if there's a more robust solution, I'd like to NOT have to do the work to replace this again.

I've seen that others have injected the OEM housing with silicone and let it cure before installing. Any thoughts or experience with this?

 

You realize it's a bearing, right? And bearing wear out. By design, fact of life, whatever. They need to be replaced occasionally.

Of the 225000 miles on my truck, I've had a trailer behind it for about 50000 of those miles. I replace the Spicer bearing every 100000 miles, whether it needs it or not. (Much easier to replace in my garage on a lazy Saturday afternoon, than on the side of the road, at midnight, in the rain, when it decides it is done doing what bearings do.)

A little preventative maintenance goes a long way...

 

I'm all good with preventative maintenance and following standard service intervals - not to say that I'm always on top of it. I've had 5 Tacomas (and a few pickups, land cruiser, etc.) and just never had an issue with a carrier bearing or drive-shaft, in general (at least not with easily discernible symptoms), until now.

If CSB replacement is just part of the territory, no worries - it's not the worst project to tackle. But if there's a better option that provides more longevity or performance, or better suited to more rigorous conditions (like towing near capacity) I'd prefer that.

Regardless, I've ordered an OEM bearing. Figure now is no time to diverge from my general strategy of sticking to factory replacements.

 

I get that - I guess I didn't read that in your comment.

As for "better" - over the years, I've seen many products advertised as better, and so many do not live up to their advertisement. (Years ago, they were called "snake oil". LOL)

 

@ppleasants I see you already purchased another oem, but if you wanna spend some money next time and give this a chance it just hit the market recently

https://slewhousemotorsport.com/products/toyota-billet-adjustable-center-support-bearing