Good day bolters, fixing up our family's 1953 1/2 ton 3100 and would like a high quality set of made in USA front wheel bearings. Please chime in if you have a tip on what I should use.
A few Timken bearings are made in the USA and a few MOOG bearings are made in the USA, but I'm not certain any of the original style bearings are still made in the USA for the 1953 pickup. Many have converted to roller bearings (there are pros and cons). The last time I looked I couldn't find any USA-made front wheel bearings for the 1952 1/2 ton, but I could have missed them. Are you certain you need to replace what is there?
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
US made bearings are harder and harder to find. That being said, are your wheel bearings really in need of being replaced? Have you inspected them closely. Just because they're 70 years old doesn't mean they're bad. If they've been maintained and adjusted properly, they are likely still serviceable.
Nice looking engine and the stand. Good use of that perforated angle.
[on edit] Jon beat me to the punch on really needing to be replaced.
Last edited by klhansen; 09/15/20236:23 PM.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
If you view manufacturing and assembly of Chinese parts now a days, it's as good or better than USA. The USA went thru a period of quality problems in various areas in the past. The days of Japanese and Chinese bad quality parts are over. Like it or not. These countries have gone past us due to our own fault. Korea is close. Many companies use Japanese and other foreign machining tools for price and equal or better quality. Chinese, Japanese and Korean construction and farming machinery is all over the place. All of the products we consider as traditional Made in the USA have lots of foreign parts in them. So just buy what you want at a place with good return policies.
Companies call themselves "global" . This is a buzz word for moving away from USA costs.
"Timken — A global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission equipment. Timken now incorporates products formerly made by Torrington and Fafnir. Timken manufactures in 33 countries around the world. The quality of a Timken bearing remains consistently high regardless which factory bearings are produced. Timken was formed in 1899 in the USA and still has its head office in Canton, Ohio -USA."
The story they all give, including Steele Rubber, is "the foreign stuff is made to our specifications."
So as I say, move into the groove and stop worrying. Not much at Walmart, Costco, Home Depot or Amazon is American made.
The large Aerospace company I worked for 20 years ago had little or no Brown and Sharp, Cincinnati, Bridgeport, Rockwwell left... went to Japanese cheaper price and better tolerances.
Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. - William Penn
As for bearings in general- I have found that a John Deere parts guy can cross bearings into their numbers and tell you if they have an equivalent one- It seems their bearings are usually not Chinese. That has worked for me when getting trailer wheel bearings before.
