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Date:         Sun, 9 Sep 2001 11:38:36 -0700
Reply-To:     pensioner <al_knoll@PACBELL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         pensioner <al_knoll@PACBELL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Bearings Bus Depot Flames
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

In the opening song of the Eagles album Hell Freezes Over they have the answer to Rich's problem.

IMNSHO, doesn't make a tiddly who made the bearing. All bearings fail, some sooner some later. For those of you familiar with failure curves, most failures occur either early or late in the application.

The bearing could have been seated incorrectly with a bit of an offset. This can and will cause premature wear. Before I ranted about the vendor I would have a serious chat with the installer. The pre-load could have been wrong. The bearing might have been compressed enough to brinnell the surface once again leading to shortened service life. If the bearing was too lightly lubricated, the installer should have caught that.

If you did it yourself, even if you're a pro at this sort of stuff we all make mistakes, some of us learn the lessons.

Most bearings have a number that can be cross referenced easily. Check with King Bearing, give em the number get a Fafnir or whatever your manufacturer of choice is and replace the one you have. Be sure to keep the bearing and do a microscopic analysis of the races and balls/rollers to find out WHY it failed. Then let us know so we may learn from the experience.

Don't think for one single picosecond that all the stuff on the VAG shelf is made by highly trained cherman kraftswerkers in der Schwarzwald. VAG buys from many vendors, Hella, Bosch, Fafnir, to name only a very few. The part you get from VAG presumably meets their specifications. The part you got from Bus Depot was fairly offered as a Germany part. Said so on the box. Now if you can PROVE the country of origin had an effect on the quality of the bearing then of course you may have some minor point.

Ron graciously offered a replacement. Most vendors and bearing manufacturers would simply turn you away midst peals of laughter.

Virtually all bearings and electrical parts are not warranteed beyond 90 days. Bosch is a notable exception. If you have a private schtick to do with Bus Depot. Keep it private. I don't care to hear any more of the "misrepresentation" stuff on the list. Ron has a long list of satisified customers and a thriving business that provides a real service to the list. If you don't care to deal with a vendor, just don't. But don't air your shorts on the list.

"Get over it" ... from Hell Freezes Over - The Eagles


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