North Point 377 RLBH disc brake conversion

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

Lol!
One thing about the bearings and seals...
When my dealer replaced my brakes last year, the service tech claimed to have installed Timken bearings and seals. I was skeptical but he offered the information without me asking about it. Turns out, they used the same cheap OEM made in china junk.

He may have put in Timken. Most bearings that go into road applications are Chinese. Your truck likely has all Chinese bearings throughout it too.

I only buy Made in Canada LOL

Products from China are like lawyers, 99% of them give the good ones a bad rep.

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by PlayersZ28

He may have put in Timken. Most bearings that go into road applications are Chinese. Your truck likely has all Chinese bearings throughout it too.

I only buy Made in Canada LOL

Products from China are like lawyers, 99% of them give the good ones a bad rep.

Timkin bearings and races are clearly marked Timkin. I just bought Timkin bearings for my trailer and all US made.

Earl

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Mopar_Earl

Timkin bearings and races are clearly marked Timkin. I just bought Timkin bearings for my trailer and all US made.

Earl

Just saying not all Timken is US made. Hit or miss. If the ones you got were then that's good if you feel US made equals quality vs China made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_YFye-Z7GY

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by PlayersZ28

Just saying not all Timken is US made. Hit or miss. If the ones you got were then that's good if you feel US made equals quality vs China made.

Oh my yes!


Earl

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by Mopar_Earl

Timkin bearings and races are clearly marked Timkin. I just bought Timkin bearings for my trailer and all US made.



Earl

Nothing marked Timkin.

Only “China “

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

Nothing marked Timkin.

Only “China “

That's as bad as china gets, no name lol

Timkins are always clearly marked with Timkin and were made. Seals, I'm not sure. I've always been a National kinda guy for seals.


Earl

[jasum]

Timkin kinda sounds like China to me........

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by jasum

Timkin kinda sounds like China to me........

Yes, they are now marked as "Chinken" so it's obvious they were made in China, "Timken" means made in Timbuktu.

I prefer National or FedMogul for bearings & seals. That being said I've had jobber grade truck hubs outlast the more expensive "name brand" ones.

[Mopar_Earl]

Such hate for Timkin up in here lol


Earl

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Mopar_Earl

Such hate for Timkin up in here lol


Earl

Nah, I don't hate on them, just don't view them as much better than other products on the market. Not any more anyway, maybe 20yrs ago they were.

Assuming a person pays more than 3$ for their bearings, the longevity comes down to initial prep/packing, maintenance and pure luck (cause $hit happens)

[Mopar_Earl]

I somewhat agree. If my china bearings didn't fail, I wouldn't dislike them. Only reason I like Timkin is US made. Yes, some say they are all china, but the ones I buy are stamped US. My last trailer I had 3 bearings fail. Lippert china. I put in US made bearings (yes Timkin) and put 4 times the mileage on those then the china lasted. You could see and feel the difference in quality between the two. I'm into quality over cost. Mostly it's not about the brand, but where made/quality. I also like Japan and Germany bearings. I recommend Timkin as those are the only ones I myself know if that are US made. Bought them from auto parts, Amazon and rockauto, all stamped US.

I also couldn't get any reliability out of china tires. Had 4 blow outs with different brand china tires and one ready to fail. Switched over to us made LT tires and no more issues.

I'm just not into china anything. But in today's cheap cheap world, sometimes China is all there is.


Earl

[quailman50]

H i there what was the cost of your disc brake kit and how long did it take to arrive from the company that you ordered it from.

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by quailman50

H i there what was the cost of your disc brake kit and how long did it take to arrive from the company that you ordered it from.

The kit was 1620 and it took 5 days to receive it after placing the order

[Cannon]

How far did you get on the install.

[Magnolia Tom]

I’ve got one side done and the lines run. Need to install drivers side, permanently attached brake lines, fill and bleed the reservoir

Had some other things going on this weekend and rain which prevented me from completing this. Hopefully I’ll have it wrapped up tomorrow

[Cannon]

Pictures look good. Can't wait to see how they work. I keep mine set on 10 and barely tell I have any.

[Magnolia Tom]

Mine has been on 9.5 and i could barely feel the trailer brakes doing anything

[Dskyward]

You said you found grease in the hub earlier. Could be why. Seals seem to leak slightly given they spin and the rubber just wears and given time, grease will get slung onto the hubs.

Now that you have disc brakes, you can monitor that area much more easily with direct view...it’s getting down under and looking is the hard part.

Simply keeping the inner wheels clean can show traces of grease more readily. I know I’m going to be getting down under upon arrival at each campsite from now on.

“Git down on it...” anyone remember that one?

[Magnolia Tom]

Yes that’s definitely why. I’m guessing I’ll find another one with grease on it when I do the drivers side.

Kool and the gang—“”get down on it”

[Cannon]

Dskyward, is there a big difference between your disk and the factory brakes.