Which Wheel Bearings??

I have a 2008 Tacoma Sport 4WD, and I have two bad front wheel bearings. I was wondering what was the best wheel bearing for our trucks. I have heard of Timken, MOOG, and Toyota OEM. I am not going to put Dorman or any other low-quality parts in my truck. What wheel bearings do you have experience with, and what do you guys think? I have not been able to find Timken's wheel bearings online.

Another question: did you replace the outer axel seals when replacing the wheel bearings?

 

Made by a TW member:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wheel-bearings-hubs-press-service-4x4-prerunner-nsk.537080/

I have ones made by an ex-TW member but unfortunately he was ultimately banned for lack of customer service. Quite happy with the product otherwise.

 

I have the Dorman complete hub/bearing assembly on my truck. Ordered from Summit Racing, got them next day, replaced it in a couple hours and was back on the road vibration free quickly. Worked for me. Beats having to press the old ones in and out.

 

Never been a fan of Dorman quality, but their hubs are reasonably priced especially for being ready to bolt in, and have a lifetime warranty. Even with them being rather easy I'd prefer not to be changing them too often. But... I'm definitely thinking I might buy a Dorman hub, leave it in long enough to be able to get the OE hub out and pressed into a good bearing, then swap them and keep the Dorman as a spare for next time.

Koyo or NSK are great bearings. "Moog" (who AFAIK is just reboxing someone else's parts), SKF and Timken are better than most, although in general none are as good as they were 5 years ago.

 

Where can I get Koyo or NSK bearings?

 

They might just be in the generic white boxes at the usual part stores. No kidding, a few years back I opened a several of the generic boxes and found Koyo inscribed on side of the bearing and they were the OE. Reboxing is a big thing in the auto parts business. So look at the inscription.

The labels on the box itself may also be meaningless. I have a couple of wheel bearings that came in boxes labeled Timken and SKF but inside are also Koyo bearings. If you plan on keeping your truck for a long time, or offroad, or drive bad roads, the latest OEM bearing it the best one IMHO. It has one more roller in each half of the bearing and all the rollers are longer. I've been calling it the HD bearing for lack of anything else.

 

I will have to check with the dealer. I know they quoted me $1600 to do both fronts. I wonder how much two front wheel bearings will be from them.

 

Dorman, the Harbor Freight of auto parts. They are famous for cheap parts - not parts that last as long as OEM - or anybody else for that matter. That said, if you want something fast and cheap, buy Dorman. If you want something to last, don't.

 

I just replaced the entire assembly on both sides last week on my '08 Tacoma (just over 120k miles). The (Made In USA) brand that I chose is escaping my memory. They looked great and came with the inner seals too. My driver side inner seal was shot. Neither had much play, but it was enough that the garage noticed it when they went to align it after I bought 4 tires. I bought the impact 6pt 35mm 1/2' drive socket for the axle nut. My calipers were an absolute bear to get broke free. Thankfully the neighbor's impact was bigger than mine. Rusted in place! While the brakes work well, they obviously hadn't been off in a long time. Pads looked very good.
Hindsight being 20/20, I would have PB Blaster-ed them a day before beginning the work... My neighbor also had a huge digital torque wrench that we used to torque the axle nut in the reassembly.
I saved over $600 from what the garage wanted to charge me for this job before they would align it. I had it aligned elsewhere when I got the new parts on.

 

@05Taco4x4 is where I got mine. Quick easy transaction.

 

This ^ O.P do not buy cheap Dormans.

 

These are not cheap Dormans but Koyo bearings. Maybe @05Taco4x4 will reply.
Just a suggestion, I have no skin in this game.

 

@05Taco4x4 is also where I got mine.
The amount of time you save by buying an assembled hub is awesome.

 

The dealer charges $260 per hub/bearing assembly. I bought the Dormans for $99 and replaced them myself in about 45 mins per side.

 

I meant for the O.P too buy the good ones from 05 Taco,and not to buy the cheap Dormans he is considering buying.

 

Guess I misunderstood.

 

I have the DuraGo bearing/hub kit #29596058. You do have to press the bearing assembly onto the hub. Doing well after 20K miles. If you don't see any rust inside the knuckle, then the seal on the knuckle is OK. I replaced the driver side but then realized I didn't have to; passenger side has OEM seal. I did have a little rust where the bearing assembly bolts to the knuckle; so, I added a little bead of silicone sealant when I bolted it up. There is only the O-ring that's suppose to prevent water from leaking past the assembly. I put silicone on both sides of the brake guard.

 

Good thing they were easy. You'll be doing them again much sooner than the original bearings.

 

I used 05Taco4x4 great service and well made product..