Wheel bearing shop cost? OEM part only?

[cn90]

Chinese bearings are universally bad, whether it is for Volvo, BMW etc.

Search bearing forums, even the Chinese engineers admit their bearings are no match when compared with Japanese and German bearings.

[Attacking Mid]

Originally Posted by master1917

Thank you, biase aside, how bad are Chinewse bearings for $50? Anyone tried? Mileage?

I can't say specifically for this application, but in general terms, Chinese bearing quality is all over the map. They are capable of producing excellent quality bearings, but they also put out a lot of low quality products with significantly shortened lifespans. One personal example was my son's Subaru Impreza that had had a (cheap) clutch installed shortly before he bought it. The crappy Chinese throwout bearing made it about 15K miles before biting the dust. I specifically hunted for a cross-referenced Japanese bearing to replace it.

IMHO, in a critical application or one that is labor-intensive to replace, it's just too risky to install a Chinese bearing and hope it's a good one.

AM.

[master1917]

Originally Posted by Attacking Mid

I can't say specifically for this application, but in general terms, Chinese bearing quality is all over the map. They are capable of producing excellent quality bearings, but they also put out a lot of low quality products with significantly shortened lifespans. One personal example was my son's Subaru Impreza that had had a (cheap) clutch installed shortly before he bought it. The crappy Chinese throwout bearing made it about 15K miles before biting the dust. I specifically hunted for a cross-referenced Japanese bearing to replace it.

IMHO, in a critical application or one that is labor-intensive to replace, it's just too risky to install a Chinese bearing and hope it's a good one.

AM.

Thank you all for responses! This is helpful.

[master1917]

Also, are the front and/or rear bearings on E70 X5 or X5M are known not to last even if OEM? I came across a lot of posts about f15 and f85 with clicking noises. How frequently should I expect to have fronts and rears replaced? Is it like in normal cars once a lifetime of a car or regularly like 50k km?

I have heard from a few mechanics that because X5 is very heavy, all suspension parts and bearings and tires just wear out relatively fast compared to non-SUVs (sedans, coupes, etc.).