chriswtx

Made it myself out of a stock hood..

ONE BMF

Nice Job on the hood-- just got done putting two new pulleys on --the part # you gave is the same exact bearing as the ECS ones-they are made in south korea --napa has them in stock dremeled out the one that goes by the alternator --now the pulley system is quiet as a church mouse just blower whine now--just goes to show there are new bearings that are bad right out of the box-i spun the new ones before i left the store listening to the sound inside these two sounded good compared to the one that was growling intermittently -i got 2 in 2 weeks thanks for all your help my friend -its comforting to know the pulleys that are most likely to fail are right around the corner at a local parts store

chriswtx

Yeah, nice to be able to get them localy. Plus with a 1 year warranty..

Warp Factor

Unfortunately, you can't necessary tell if a new bearing is defective by spinning it. It might feel fine, and still fail because of a problem with clearances, heat treat, or grease fill.
If you want to send me one of the failed ones, I can probably have one of the engineers at NSK look at it and see if they can tell what the problem was.
I wonder if the part number will cross with one from a reputable domestic or Japanese source, like NSK, SKF or NTN?

chriswtx

I believe the ones I got at NAPA are SKF brand..I will look tonight when I get home...

LRD VDR

Mine went bad after the first week. Chris sent me another overnight and has been good so far. Hope I didn't just jinx myself!

Shahram

ONE BMF

I know for a fact that spinning this one in my fingers by my ear made noises my 2 new ones didn't --plus this bad new bearing had the same feel and made the same noise before and after install-i think when they press the outer ring over the inner assembly (both races & bearings ) some of them get farked up why else would there be so many of them failing prematurely on an otherwise well aligned pully system

ONE BMF

Yes they are bro made in South Korea and thanks again for that part # YOU DA MAN

Warp Factor

ONE BMF, the new one I got from ECS is a GMB which is made in South Korea. If the one Chris got from NAPA is an SKF, it might possibly be a better part. I don't know though, my wife who works at NSK didn't know much about GMB, which may say something in itself. If they considered GMB to be a competitor, she'd know a lot about them.

If you detected roughness on a new bearing, that definitely doesn't sound good. But as I mentioned, even if it's smooth, that doesn't mean you're good to go.

Many things are critical on a semi-high-speed bearing like this.... I'll guess it's spinning about 3 times engine rpm. Assembled clearances; the right type and quantity of grease; surface finish, concentricity, heat treat, design and installation of the cages, slight surface rust before assembly, contamination with grinding abrasives, I could go on and on.
Damage from pressing together may or may not be a cause. I can't tell from your photos whether the outer race is machined into the outer wheel or is a separate piece. If it's separate, it's likely pressed in before the ***** are installed. If either the outer race or housing is slightly out of spec, an incorrect interference fit would mess up clearances.

chriswtx

Yes the NAPA is an SFK... The one that ECS sent and failed was made in the great USA marked ETI and INA part#FC68768.3

chriswtx

the FC68768.3 comes up as a timing belt idler for a CHRYSLER NEON, STRATUS 2.0/2.4

chriswtx

Here are some pics of mine. Single row of bearings. It was full of grease, but felt real rough and completely fell apart as soon as I touched it..

Warp Factor

Hmmm...
INA is a German company with some manufacturing in the US. Supposed to be plenty decent.
Maybe the application puts the part over its design load.

peter pan

^^^^Wow Chris that was all f$cked up

Cliff99C5hardtop

Which idlers is everyone having a problem with?? There are 2 of those larger ones....1 on the PS bracket and 1 on the tensioner under the charger. There is also another small steel one on the tensioner on the bottom, the small one. I just upgraded to all of the new ones, hope I don't have an issue....

chriswtx

I just upgraded the small steel one on the tensioner on the bottom as well. Hope it doesn't fail...

DOUG @ ECS

Sorry for the trouble guys, we try and purchase US products and the highest quality, but I guess every now and then bearing companies have QC problems too. These seem to all be in one stretch so hopefully this will go as fast as the problems came.

ONE BMF

ONE BMF, the new one I got from ECS is a GMB which is made in South Korea. If the one Chris got from NAPA is an SKF, it might possibly be a better part. I don't know though, my wife who works at NSK didn't know much about GMB, which may say something in itself. If they considered GMB to be a competitor, she'd know a lot about them. The bearings i got from ECS have the same exact markings (GMB ) as NAPA --I got mine in a SKF box and the bearing seal says "GMB" on it ---the numbers on the seal match ECS's

Warp Factor

It's possible that a GMB seal was used in an SKF bearing. it's also not unheard of that a manufacturer will supply another's part in a pinch if it meets specs and durability testing.

Whatever the case may be, I don't mean to be hard on ECS. Bearing manufacturers will do a considerable amount of product development and testing for a car company that places millions of dollars in orders.
An aftermarket niche supplier needs to make their best guess from what's already available and seems to be proven.
And as Doug said, bearing manufacturers have quality control challenges just like any other product.

Then there's the product counterfeit problem..........

chriswtx

This sucks.....I just had another idler go bad... Its squealing like a pig... And I had a dyno set up for tomorrow.... We need a better idler Doug!!!!! WTF!!