Hub Assembly

Anyone have any experience with Dorman or Master Pro front hub assembly? Those are my two options.

 

I've installed many Dorman assemblies. Try to stay away from Oreilly's and Autozone house brands if you can.

 

That’s what I was thinking as well. I did find some SKF hub assemblies at Napa, considerably more expensive. Would that be the better option?

 

I would stick with Dorman personally. That way if you need warranty help, it is rather universally available.

 

A quick search for gen. 3 Tacoma hubs showed more choices than the two you mentioned.
I'd recommend Koyo brand or OEM hub/bearings.
What model Tacoma are you driving?

Cheers

 

2019 SR5 with the 3.5. Only option because the dealership wanted $1100 per side. I was hoping to buy the entire assembly locally and just charge it myself, sooner rather than later. It sounds pretty rough.

 

With bearings you don't know what you're going to get anymore.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g_eIcjEwmAo&t=1s&pp=2AEBkAIB

That's a video from a rear axle thread I saw just last night. The guy compares a new Toyota rear bearing assembly with a Napa/SKF. They both use the same Koyo bearing but I'm sure the rest of the hub assembly is made in China. Napa charges more for the same aftermarket parts but generally gives you a longer warranty.

Major bearing manufacturers don't seem to have a problem with putting a competitors bearing on their box when they don't happen to make that size. If I buy online I look very carefully at the pictures to see what I'm actually getting.
I bought cheaper Koyo front wheel bearings for my subaru and got NTN bearings that were stock to my car.

I've bought Doorman stuff but never bearings. You might just find it has a Koyo bearing too.

 

I've used two Dorman hubs assembled with National bearings by TW members. No issues.

I'm currently running an SKF hub/bearing assembly made in China, also fine.

There was one report of a Moog hub where the black dust cap wouldn't fit properly. That was the only bad thing I've heard about aftermarket hubs.

 

I ended up going with SKF assembly. Made is china by SKF lol. We’ll see how it does.

 

Steel is steel. I wouldn't worry about where it's made as long as it isn't made in India.

 

Take a look at a 2011 Tacoma frame and tell me steel is steel...

 

You mean there was something wrong with the quality of the steel? or do you mean that it wasn't coated properly? Big difference. It isn't like the frames were supposed to be Stainless. Carbon steel is iron and carbon. It doesn't matter if it is made in Allentown or Shanghai. Being made in China doesn't make it bad. It makes it cheaper because they don't care as much about the environment as we do here.

 

Yes, quality of the steel used was inferior.

 

^That is true to a certain extent. 2nd gen frames use weaker steel than 3rd gen frames; that is just the continually evolving crash safety requirements.

 

I would agree the frames are stronger to meet NTSB and NHTSA requirements but if the frames met the crash safety standards on the 2nd gens, Toyota would not have lost over 3 billion dollars replacing the frames on almost 1/4 million trucks.

 

Inferior in what way? I know you 'civilians in uniform' don't have a lot of experience with steel as those of us that spent hours covering everything in sight with several layers of paint (this also included tree trunks on base).

 

This is the source for my "inferior" comment. And HEY!! Airplanes have corrosion too! Sometimes...when they aren't composite. And I'm not relaxing on the beach somewhere on base waiting for the waitress to bring me my second drink while "on duty".

 

The 2nd gen frames met the more lenient crash safety standards in place at the time. Remember the frame replacement campaign was for customer satisfaction, not a recall.

You should also know the stronger grades of steel are typically more susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, but that's a material technology discussion for another day.