13 replies to this topic

[tiger99]

A depressingly large number of discussions here relate to front or rear hub bearings which don't fit properly, run hot, have a very short life, or have other serious problems. These problems simply did not exist 20 years ago. It seems that the market is flooded with bogus parts, and some of the suppliers are clearly not using due diligence to check that the parts they are reselling are genuine. Sooner or later, there may be a serious accident involving a Mini fitted with counterfeit parts, if it has not happened already.

 

With that in mind, I think it apropriate to pass on some links which I became aware of at work, showing that the actual manufacturers of genuine parts are very well aware of the problem and are taking appropriate action in every case that they discover.

 

http://www.schaeffle...jsp?id=31165504

 

http://www.stopfakeb...ngs.com/#/start

 

The battle is not yet over, and the counterfeiters are not yet all in jail where they belong, so please do take great care in choosing your replacement parts, and avoid "non-genuine" bearings, which are likely to be dangerous junk. And, if you have what you think is a counterfeit bearing, pretending to be from a reputable manuafcturer, please do contact them and report it. That way, action can be taken.

 

Oh, and if you know of proven sources of genuine, high-quality parts, why not tell us? The reputable suppliers deserve our business.

 

 

[Pickwah]

Im finding this with cheap bearings on ebay! they only seem to last me 4-6 months at a time! My 13x7s wont be helping but still..

[Tahiti Joe]

I completely agree with the fact that there are bearings of dubious quality floating around the market, and that if the retailers that are selling these are aware of this fact, then it is shameful that they are continuing to sell them. It is good to here and be made aware of that the manufacturers are correcting this as they are made aware of it.

 

A bit of good news though, i recently completed, a trip of 4'500 miles around Europe. A little over a thousand miles into the trip, my offside front wheel bearing started making an awful noise. Upon stripping the hub in the middle of a field it was apparent that the Timken (possibly original, low mileage car) had worn out. Luckily i was carrying 2 spare sets, these were the 'Minispares' non genuine variety. The fit was perfect and all seemed of good quality. And nearly 4'000 miles on, they still feel as tight as when they were fitted!

[phil hill]

Im finding this with cheap bearings on ebay! they only seem to last me 4-6 months at a time! My 13x7s wont be helping but still..

You answered your own question here.........

 

Phil.

[OfMini&Men]

I went to my old work who sourced me some NOS ones from there branch full of random classic car parts paided £20 for both rear sets :)

[A-Cell]

Good one tiger and thanks for raising. We all should be aware. I reckon the moral is to be very careful where we get our parts, if not sure of the source then challenge them.
Unfortunately it's not just bearings but pretty much anything, especially when bough off the Internet. It's been going on for over 30 years but in the last 10 years or so is at epidemic proportions. Manfacturers of OEM parts, Vehicle maker and Trading Standards are constantly battling against this. It's a black industry that is worth billions and can cost lives.

It's also in the Aircraft world as way, both Civil and Military.

[sonikk4]

It's also in the Aircraft world as way, both Civil and Military. 

 

To a lesser degree yes, although we do have more stringent checking processes in Civil Aviation. However i have personally seen bogus parts and to be honest they do stand out like a sore thumb. The ones that do not are items that either come from crashed aircraft or from desert storage without any detailed paperwork.

 

Then we are talking serious issues here that can have a detrimental affect on an aircraft serviceability and safety.

 

ICAO / UK/ European registered aircraft do not tend to suffer these problems too much its the third world aircraft / airlines you need to be very very careful with.

[mini danny]

Cheap bearings are bad news I found out !!!! I brought my mini just 13 days before this happebed. The bearing heat seized in place at 70 on the m6

[IainStallard]

Cheap bearings are bad news I found out !!!! I brought my mini just 13 days before this happebed. The bearing heat seized in place at 70 on the m6

Blimey that's bad! Were you alright after an accident like that? You could have a court case in your favour there!

[mini danny]

There was 3 of us in the mini at the time all of us walked away only I got a few cuts and bruises but we are all alive that's the main thing

[myredmini]

There was 3 of us in the mini at the time all of us walked away only I got a few cuts and bruises but we are all alive that's the main thing

What a day that turned out to be on the way to bingley this year.

[miniman24]

The only non genuine bearings I would use are Minispares own ones, as they are developed by Minispares themselves.

[Frisco]

Badly installed or overtightened bearings have a role to play too

[tiger99]

Frisco, yes I think we would all agree with that. If the hub is worn, or the bearing seating dirty, or whatever, the preload will be wrong, and they will fail. Even worse, of course, is pressing in the complete bearing by applying force to the inner member, and therefore loading the balls or rollers. And, there are umpteen other ways of ruining them. Following the maunal exactly is always a good idea.

 

miniman24, sorry to disillusion you but Minispares do not have the capability to develop bearings themselves. It needs a huge amount of capital, and basically you have to be an established bearing manufacturer to do that. I will not under any circumstances use their bearings because they do not say where they actually come from. It is a fundamental principle of Quality Assurance that you must know what you are buying, and that involves never, ever buying anything such as a bearing where there is not full traceability of where it came from and how it was made and tested.