On Mon, 5 Mar 2001, Fred Thomas wrote:
>
> Called TRF this am about wheel bearings, they confirmed they have 2 brands
> of wheel bearings, they also only recomended "Timken", makes me feel a lots
> better hearing this straight from the salesman. "FT"
NAPA sells Timken tapered roller bearings. They also have standard roller
bearings as well that are repackaged from a variety of US
manufacturers. Timken has been in business for nearly a century now. In
fact, the famous "Four Aces", a steam locomotive built in the 40's was a
'Northern' or 4-8-4 type of locomotive that was constructed solely as a
demonstration platform. When Timken started promoting their heavy use
tapered roller bearings, none of the US locomotive manufacturers were
interested in using them. They tried convincing different railroad of
their virtues to no avail. So this private bearing manufacturer ordered
the construction of a steam locomotive at their own expense (several
hundred thousand dollars at that time) with Timken bearings on the main
axles. They then toured this locomotive around the country and let
different railroad test it out in service. It proved to be easier
starting and required much less maintenance. It really was a superior
design. They would often have promotional stunts where they would have a
dozen ladies pulling on a rope attached to the front coupler and they
could move this massive monster of steel and steam. It was a very
convincing demonstration. Since then, Timken is the standard of the
industry and has a long history of reliable performance.
The Four Aces, or engine #1111, was sold eventually to the Northern
Pacific Railway and was renumbered #2626 and lived on until the late 60's
where it was finally scrapped unceremoniously in Tacoma, Washington. In
over a million miles of service, the bearings never failed or suffered a
'hotbox'. Today roller bearings are the only type allowed on any rolling
stock (freight and passenger cars) along with engines for safety.
But back to the brand- NAPA has always sold Timken bearings and assorted
other US roller bearings. If you run into a store that has foreign brand
bearings, it is because that particular shop owner has brought in some
from a third party and are not officially supported by the national NAPA
Auto Parts chain. If you have a failed Timken bearing, you can go to any
NAPA for a warranty replacement if it's defective. If it's a third party,
you'll have to go back to the same store you bought it from.
--
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