Need Bearing Info

[Glaze]

I'm in the process of replacing bearings on my 1955 two horse trailer. but can't seem to locate replacement bearings. Has anyone out there heard of a Bower part number "BT09074" inside bearing or a Bower "BT15118" outside bearing? I don't have the part number of the axles yet, but was told by the part store it wouldn't help anyway. Are there any good websites for cross referencing part numbers?







Thanks for the help!!

 

['956Wheel]

Open up your yellow pages and look for a bearing supply house. They can match it up by size. The local parts boys are great... . when its in the book!



Mike

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Try Camping World or similar. They carry trailer bearings; automotive houses usually don't.

 

[RThompson]

Bearing supply house, ( Bearings Inc. ) they can problably give you a set off of the shelf just looking at what you have. Stay with USA brand names, they have the seals also. Lot of junk import bearings out there now that are being passed of as replacement wheel bearings.

 

[Matt42]

Originally posted by Glaze

I'm in the process of replacing bearings on my 1955 two horse trailer. but can't seem to locate replacement bearings. Has anyone out there heard of a Bower part number "BT09074" inside bearing or a Bower "BT15118" outside bearing? I don't have the part number of the axles yet, but was told by the part store it wouldn't help anyway. Are there any good websites for cross referencing part numbers?







Thanks for the help!!

A good parts store should be able to cross-reference the part number with no problems. What was the place that couldn't help you? Back in 1978, I had to replace a bearing set on trailer that had been made from the front end of a 1942 Chevy. At the time, all we had were the remains of the bearings and cups and didn't know about the Chevy bit. The parts store in Riverton, Wyoming (where we screeched to a halt) was able to cross-reference the numbers in about ten minutes, and they had them in stock. (That'll be an episode in my book, someday, along with the fake platinum. )



I agree with RThompson about import bearings. I just changed out all sets on my TT, where most of the bearings were Romanian and most of the cups were Chinese. Oddly, they didn't argue with one another, and they had part numbers on them that cross-referenced to a "real" brand. They could look them up by bearing number or axle brand with no problem.

 

[Glaze]

Solution!

Thanks for all the help! Here's what I found out.



As with many problems, the solution was quite easy once you talk to the right people. Also I'm still in the learning process (and probably always will be) as far as do-it-yourself. After visiting several parts stores which couldn't help me, I visited the boys at NAPA. The secret is how you run the part number. In my case I should have left off the "BT" portion and just gave them the number "09074". Apparently a company called Timken had a part in standardizing bearing part numbers, so as long as you provide parts stores with the numbers off the bearings (minus the letters) they should have no problem cross referencing the part.

 

[Matt42]

Timken's Role in History

That's correct. The owners of Timken, waaaay back, determined that some sort of standardization was essential. They also determined that bearings made up to their time were basically high iron junk. Timken actually developed a vertically integrated steel industry all their own. They bought their own iron ore, opened their own smelters, and made their own steel. From the 1920s on, one Timken bearing was indistinguishable in size and precision from another Timken bearing of the same variety. And they would LAST. From then on, for everyone else, it was a case of "Me Too!"



Thankfully.

 

[Paychk]

Timken was the company that had a patent on tapered roller bearings, so they set the standards. Anyone who wanted to build this type of bearing had to meet they spec's, so they just fell in line as far as P/n's go.

 

[WestTN]

Bearing info

Glaze,

I have an IBI interchange book from when I worked for a living. I looked up the IBI group numbers for your bearings and found there are many sources. Caterpillar, John Deere, Case IH among others. The simplest thing to to would be to go back to the store and tell them that a BT115118 is the same as a Timken 15118 and the BT09074 is the same as a Timken 09074. If they still can't find that one, tell them the IBI group numbers are 40052 for the 09074 and 20316 for the 15118. They should be able to find it then. Good luck!

 

[Texas Diesel]

Warning:



Avoid bearings made in china, they are a very soft steel, I have replaced dozens of them.