RCinNC
Well-Known Member
The right rear non drive side bearing is the one that went on my bike, just like Tabasco said. Mine lasted until 61,000 miles. I discovered it while changing tires; I always turn the bearings with my fingers during a tire change. There's s definite notchy feeling when they start going bad that you can feel with your fingers. I wonder what makes that particular bearing susceptible to early failure?
I don't see any need to source non OEM bearings if you're looking for quality ones. The ones in the S10 are made by KBC, Koyo and NTN (in the case of the lower steering head bearing), all of which are recognized as quality bearings. I went down the rabbit hole once looking for an alternate source for bearings besides OEM, and it ended up being a frustrating process, and a more expensive one too. But, if you ever do decide to search for something besides OEM, I still have this chart I made up that shows the actual OEM bearing sizes, manufacturers' codes, and possible alternate bearings from other manufacturers. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the other manufacturers; I didn't measure their bearings personally, it's just info I gleaned from on line. I did measure the OEM bearing sizes with a caliper though.
I don't see any need to source non OEM bearings if you're looking for quality ones. The ones in the S10 are made by KBC, Koyo and NTN (in the case of the lower steering head bearing), all of which are recognized as quality bearings. I went down the rabbit hole once looking for an alternate source for bearings besides OEM, and it ended up being a frustrating process, and a more expensive one too. But, if you ever do decide to search for something besides OEM, I still have this chart I made up that shows the actual OEM bearing sizes, manufacturers' codes, and possible alternate bearings from other manufacturers. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the other manufacturers; I didn't measure their bearings personally, it's just info I gleaned from on line. I did measure the OEM bearing sizes with a caliper though.