Wheelbearings - brands to use, or those to avoid

[heraldcoupe]

I fitted new rear discs and bearings to my Mk2 GTi a couple of years ago. The bearings weren't labelled by brand, one of them was starting to rumble in time for the next year's MOT and was replaced to get it through - this after maybe 12,000 miles. About 6-7 years earlier I'd had problems with Roulex branded rear bearings on another VW, one side lasting only 600 miles, the other almost making to to 1000! The next set of QH replacements outlasted the car.

So with this in mind, the second of the Golf's replacement bearings is now rumbling and I intent to put together a pair of new discs and bearings. Which brands of bearings are worth buying? And which ones should I avoid under any circumstances?

Cheers,
Bill.

[itavaltalainen]

Why do you need new discs again?
Should not need doing after 12k miles

Brands for rear bearing I used on mk3 (pretty much same setup) were Febi, other than that I'd also recommend SKF. Not worth going for cheap chinese ones..... Set from SKF or Febi is only 10£ for each side

[Waspy]

I used Febi for my rear bearing maybe 700 miles ago, so I hope they are alright...

[boneybradley]

Febi are a great brand and well recommended by me (under £10 a side if you know where to buy  http://oemandmore.co.uk/wheel-bearing-kit-rear-pair-all-models-215-p.asp)

[heraldcoupe]

Why do you need new discs again?
Should not need doing after 12k miles

The discs have now done about 30,000 miles, 12,000 is when the first 'new' bearing failed.

The discs aren't a problem, but decent quality replacements are cheap enough to make it worthwhile building the bearings into a new pair, they can then be quickly swapped out on the car. My workspace is limited, I try to minimise the amount of time any of my cars is immobile and in the way,

Cheers,
Bill.

[jimjames]

I've just used Febi ones on my 16v. Cost was £7.50 delivered, why go any cheaper!

[VW BUSH]

Most bearings in Europe are made by the same companies, Febi bearings match FAG ID's last time I looked.

[mk28vpb91]

Have also had many problems with rear wheel bearings. After often getting advisories at MoT about too much play I found that adjusting them after a few 1000 miles use just resulted in them wearing out quick. Wish now that I trusted my work following the manual and left them alone.

Avoid SSP bearings from VW Heritage. Had one last less than 100 miles before it came so loose the disc started rubbing on the calliper. The tracks had no manufacturers' stamps on them at all.

Ended up fitting SNR bearings from Eurocarparts. Have lasted more than a year which is better than some kits I have had in the past.

[VW BUSH]

If you are wearing out good ones then most likely they are done up to tight.
You should get the life of the disc with one or two adjusts max.
cheap ones do suffer from bad heat treatment and higher wear, that's why I stick to proper brands like FAG or SKF

[boneybradley]

Funny you mention FAG, I've done LUK and INA for ages but never really dealt with FAG until recently (all owned by schaeffler) and I'm selling lots of them (for all VW's)!
I do have some Mk2/3 rear FAG kits in stock and they are competitive http://oemandmore.co.uk/wheel-bearing-kit-rear-pair-all-models-215-p.asp