1946 P15 3-speed # 853880-29 tranny bearings

[3046moparcoupe]

Wanted to share this with the forum.

 

I just placed the order so we shall see if it turns out as good as I'm hoping for.

 

The bearings in my 3 speed manual tranny were as follows:

 

pp# MRC207 SFG (main pinion drive bearing shielded one side),##note##thxs to DB4YA I knew the shielding on one side was important and has to be there.

pp#MRC207 S       (main shaft front bearing)

pp#MRC206 S       (main shaft rear bearing)

 

My understanding is that the main pinion drive bearing is typically the one that will go bad 1st, and sure enough when I checked these (as instructed by PlymouthyAdams) it was the one of the three that was noisy. Wasn't finding much on the MRC part number, however did find where it had been previously discussed here on the forum once before, and DB4Ya had helped another member cross the original Mopar part number (619167), over to a Federal Mogul p# of 1207SL....I thinking like other company's and in respect to the economy, they can sell off/ merge/ etc...seems like business as usual these days, anyway - the best luck I was having on the 1207SL part number was under Timken. The bearing looked correct by description, so I'm thinking Federal Mogul and Timken may all be the same now,..

 

lastly here, I'm a newbie, that's learning,..but even I can understand the importance of quality in respect to bearings,...and Timken is a name I've seen since I was young..however today when I discovered that MRC is a division of SKF,and that they were USA made, I purchased a full replacement set (all 3 bearings) MRC207SFG, MRC207S and MRC206S, for a total of $42.00 + $13.00 (4 day shipping) = $55.00 to my door from locate ballbearings.com. According to the Fella I spoke with (Mark Hoffman, see the info below), by ordering through him, I cut out the middleman....he told me he stocked and sold quite a few of the bearings I purchased, that he recognized the numbers, etc...course, only he and the man upstairs know if that's actually true or not. Typically I've learned, " if it seems to good to be true, it probably is - too good to be true ", so I was/still am a bit skeptical, but I needed to make a decision and pulled the trigger and ordered from them....so well see, I suppose.

 

Just wanted to share this info with the group, as the prices I was getting on a Timken 1207SL bearing were ranging from around $70 + shipping and upwards towards a $ Benjamin.

 

I'll follow up with this, once they are received, etc..

 

Mark Hoffman
Locate Ball Bearings
www.locateballbearings.com
mark@locateballbearings.com
75090 St. Charles Place, Suite B
Palm Desert CA 92211

 

Steve

 

[palmersparts]

Good to know... most of us will at some point in time need bearings..   keep us posted once you get em and let us know how it all works out...

[KLyons]

Thank you for taking the time to post your findings.. This is a repair I will probably need to do soon. Yes please keep us posted  on the outcome!

[3046moparcoupe]

Glad to post, definitely want to help back any way I can - as I've received so much help here on the forum, stayed up most of last night reading about this company,....they have an A+ BBB rating, but I've also discovered that as of late the Better Business Bureau has been charged with given folks a minimum of an A- rating for a $425.00 fee they call a club fee (no matter what or how many complaints they have),....when I looked at their reviews on the BBB, it was based off of just a small handful of reviews, (something like 8 positive, 3 neg, and 1 neutral),...I also noticed that a bunch of the positives were dated on the very same day,..(which seemed a little suspicious to me),...after ordering I also discovered that they sell on ebay,...99.3 satisfaction rating there, but I don't think I'd buy my bearings off of Ebay,....the more I've read, it sounds like these guys at locate bearings may be buying their bearings from anywhere, or anybody,...so if there's ac chance your getting a bearing that's been dropped, a second, etc....I sure don't want it......

 

I point blank asked the fella, are they New,..answer (yes), you are just cutting out the middle man,.....are they usa made , (yes), .. and then when I read that MRC was now a product of SKF, I ordered them....

 

One thing about the few complaints I did see on the reviews is that they were consistent, company sent the wrong bearing - very poor communication, delay in getting refund, and in final was charged a 20% restock fee even though it was their fault,......??

 

Locate Ball bearings shows to be in California and Ohio,....I found where the Ohio branch showed annual earning of $7 million, that's quite a few bearings, I believe I read 3-4 really bad reviews,....don't order from this company - they are crooks, etc....same thing on ebay,..1779 positive, 8 neutral, 13 negative....

 

I'm usually not one of the lucky ones

 

All responses encouraged and welcome....actually very much encouraged....:)

 

Steve 

[3046moparcoupe]

Well, I received my new bearings from Locateballbearings.com....Not sure yet exactly what to think about them....Sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees, that for sure, and as a buyer (in hindsight) I should have been a bit slower to act on this. Again these may be fine, but I'm super anal about not taking chances. All that said here we go, here's what I basically know so far.

 

Initially when I searched for MRC bearings (which I had never heard of before, but is what I found to be inside this manual transmission when I took it apart), I was led to the locateballbearings.com web site. The web site looks state of the art, A+ BBB rating, #1 government bearing supplier, etc...

 

Called their sales desk and told they were available, as NEW - made in the USA.and the total price was $54.00 delivered to my door for all three bearings (pinion drive and front and rear main shaft). Why so cheap ? I asked, response - you are cutting out the middle man.....so I ordered them.

 

They arrived in 4-5 days as promised, shipping container was very good. The following pictures show what was received.

 

After receiving the bearings I called them again and spoke with customer service. I asked where the bearings came from and was told "our west coast warehouse". I inquired about the generic blue boxes the bearings came in and was told, that the original boxes usually have shelf wear, tears, etc...so they re-box them up when they ship them out.

 

So in result, at best, what we have here is original MRC bearings that were purchased somewhere from surplus stock and re-sold.

 

After doing a little more digging, I ended up speaking with some folks at SKF (the Swedish bearing company that now supports the MRC bearing line) and they were good enough to ask that I send them pictures of the bearings, showing the engraving, etc..in effort of determining if these are real MRC or possible forgeries. My hats off to SKF for being good enough to do this, course I can see how they would be interested as well,..but still they reached out my what offering to help determine, if possible.

 

Waiting to hear back from SKF, I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

 

Purchasing these bearings would be a result in savings of $100 or better, probably more like closer to $150 - $175,....depending on where you bought the Timken interchange bearing. napa was the most expensive,...but honestly in hindsight I don't know of this is worth the uncertainty , etc... if the bearings aren't up to spec, no matter how cheap they are, it's nothing but a loosing proposition....

 

Again, I'll keep you guys posted on what SKF has to say about these.

 

Steve

 

 

Edited January 26, 2018 by 3046moparcoupe

[3046moparcoupe]

Well, as far as locateballbearings.com goes, and these MRC bearings I now have in my possession,...and if they are the real deal / built to spec, A stock, obtained at a really great price ????  I hate to say it guys - we will never know  

 

I have spoken with two tech engineers who work for SKF (the company that now builds the MRC line of bearings), both told me, you bet - send me the pictures of the bearings you have and we'll be glad to take a look at them and let ya know what we think, (could they possible be counterfeits, etc...), and neither one has returned my emails or called back as promised.

 

From what I've read on the topic, since purchasing these bearings so cheaply, I've learned that it can be so difficult to tell a fake from the real deal, that the metal sometimes actually has to be tested as the only way to find out for sure, etc..lab work type stuff...also, I've discovered it is common for re-sell places, or ebay sellers / amazon,... to buy old stock and run it through their process of re-storing or cleaning them up,...you can also read that these places will often buy B stock....etc...and guess what - this company boasts as being the largest volume dealer on both ebay and amazon....Course, everything is just speculation, and I may be chunking three of the best MRC bearings ever known to man, bought from a company that strives for ultimate customer satisfaction and quality....but unfortunately, in todays environment, it's a gamble - and according to what you read - a much bigger gamble than purchasing from your local retail provider.

 

I don't know how much of this is factual or possible thrown out there to keep the retail prices as high as possible...but,  I just don't think there's any way I can feel good about taking the risk.

I'm never lucky with stuff like this..

 

One things for sure, we're working way to hard on this project to gamble when not necessary....and I haven't cut corners yet, so I won't start now.

 

I believe I'll go down to my local bearing supply, and pony up,..as this has turned out to be my $50, learn a good lesson experience.....

 

Onward through the fog !!

 

Steve 

 

  

[Plymouthy Adams]

bearing....price varies as much as the places available vary.   Many companies say they are specialized , but their specialty is over pricing.  There are 52 bearing companies operating in the US according to the internet...however MADE IN USA can only be the fact that the final assembly was here from overseas components.  So, what are you really getting at that time.  You can go on and keep pondering this back and forth and drive yourself silly or you can assemble the transmission and drive yourself to silly places and enjoy life.   For some application I buy bearings buy bulk.  Yes, to the tune of 40 at a time.  Application is a very messy, heated and dirty environment and longevity is an issue regardless of who makes the bearing.  I have used top brand USA (oem replacments) and I hate to say this the last batch ordered came in was Russian made and skepticism abounded as to quality.  Instead of replacing these bearings twice annually, I am onto the beginning of my third year with these.  Fortunately my new mower also uses this size bearing in it's blade hubs so I feel good knowing that these will give me long service.  Just because it has a major brand name engraved does not mean the quality is there these days.  IF you are generally concerned over the bearing....be sure they meet specific Military Specs.  This is usually the best way to weed out the inferior grade.

[3046moparcoupe]

Thanks Tim, I always appreciate you taking the time to share and help..your knowledge and experience is second to none...again, thanks for being here on the forum to help so many.