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I have 2008 R56 hubs that came with the car, but I'm not sure if they are authentic. There is no "Mini" stamps on them at all. Even the bearing has no markings. No Schaeffler, No SKF, no nothing. I'm brand new to Mini, or BMW, or European cars for that matter, so I'm puzzled.
The bearings on the car are good, but require repacking and restoration. Seals are fine, so are the races, so are the cages, and etc. I don't like any non OEM stuff and would love to keep what came with the car, but I need to know before restoration.
I just put SKF’s on mine, why because they are the oem ones without mini logo. Why spend the extra money for real? Not like you have a concourse show car. And before you start flaming newbie, those of us that are still around posting have been here for a bit, and might have spent countless hours here reading and researching or have been through the pain before.
Right. Nothing like having opinions, but forgetting to read the actual question. Everybody wants to sound smart on the internet, and "educate" others, but kind of does not understand how bearings are build. Those R56 bearings are life time bearings, because of how they are produced. No need to buy new once unless you don't know better. You just need to know how to open them up without damage, repack correctly, and restore them (optional). Cost is basically zero, except for time, which is subjective to each person. I have restored motorcycles and race cars since 80s and they still sit in museums in Europe. This Mini of mine is being blue printed and restored to beyond factory condition. I like to use factory items most of the time hence the original question. And since we live in a world where everyone copies everything in order to make money, I sometimes struggle to identify what is what. The cheap bearings I can identify simply by heat marks alone, but the average once and above gets more difficult. And if you did "ton of research" you would know, most of the authentic once do not have Mini or other markings at all. Not even inside. Hence my original question. And that same tons of research should tell you, the actual SKFs (life time) start at $250 per one and everything else cheaper you see on the internet is a COPY. To each his own, not my problem or opinion, I was only asking if someone can identify correct bearings for this car. But it's OK, I got the actual measurements already and will measure my parts to make sure I have the real deal and will rebuild those. Thank you. Good Night.
Right. Nothing like having opinions, but forgetting to read the actual question. Everybody wants to sound smart on the internet, and "educate" others, but kind of does not understand how bearings are build. Those R56 bearings are life time bearings, because of how they are produced. No need to buy new once unless you don't know better. You just need to know how to open them up without damage, repack correctly, and restore them (optional). Cost is basically zero, except for time, which is subjective to each person. I have restored motorcycles and race cars since 80s and they still sit in museums in Europe. This Mini of mine is being blue printed and restored to beyond factory condition. I like to use factory items most of the time hence the original question. And since we live in a world where everyone copies everything in order to make money, I sometimes struggle to identify what is what. The cheap bearings I can identify simply by heat marks alone, but the average once and above gets more difficult. And if you did "ton of research" you would know, most of the authentic once do not have Mini or other markings at all. Not even inside. Hence my original question. And that same tons of research should tell you, the actual SKFs (life time) start at $250 per one and everything else cheaper you see on the internet is a COPY. To each his own, not my problem or opinion, I was only asking if someone can identify correct bearings for this car. But it's OK, I got the actual measurements already and will measure my parts to make sure I have the real deal and will rebuild those. Thank you. Good Night.
If the PO of my car included some loose hubs/bearings with zero packaging or markings on the bearings or hubs, I'd assume they're some ebay/amazon trash and I'd bin them. But then again, I'm not a 5 post count know-it-all with a "blue printed [sic] and restored to beyond factory condition" Mini, just the owner of a cheaply built 12-year-old borderline-shitbox.
So this bearing (the intermediate shaft bearing) has to be rebuild. They don't make 19s these days. They are mostly 16s. Bilstein does make them technically, but who knows what they are like. I have not seen it in person. This *** "lifetime bearing" does separate the oil from the thickener, so you need to repack.
