Xsara Picasso Front Wheel Bearings

Post by **RichardW** » 19 Dec 2010, 07:56

Last year we ended up getting both FWB replaced on our Picasso. Both were subsequently replaced under warranty when they went again - the first after less than 3k miles. It appears that one of them has gone again

Not sure of the make fitted, but they were obviously cheap after market ones. Any recommendations for replacements - can you get SKF aftermarket or should I just 'invest' in Citroen one(s)? I might do it myself - the £80 the garage would charge would just about cover the cost of a bench press. Otherwise it would probably be worth paying the extra for the decent bearings at he garage so that I don't have to have them done again in 10k miles

Or maybe fit a cheap one and then chop it in

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 19 Dec 2010, 11:04

Richard was it a used car dealers warranty that payed for the bearings to be done, if so was it the same company did the work,

i would think you can buy SKF bearing kits,

regards malcolm

Post by **RichardW** » 21 Dec 2010, 12:33

Local garage changed them for me - been OK in the past, and they changed both again without question when they went noisy.

Checked and Citroen ones are £90 / side. Ouch! Struggling to find a price for an SKF kit, but probably up around £70 - ECP has SRN kits for around £42 so that might be the middle of the road option.

Needs a new windscreen now (again - only done 18 months ago

) as it cracked across the middle on Friday night when SWMBO had been sitting in it for an hour with engine on, then I washed the screen at -7 or so....

It picked up a small chip in it soon after it was put in, obviously enough to act as a stress raiser and cause it to crack. Also seems to have lost a bit of coolant - always been near the Min, but the warning light came on this morning, so SWMBO had to top it up. Monitor it for a while, but I wonder if I might be doing 2 HDi timing belts in the near future! Also got an ABS failure warning twice a couple of weeks ago, but that seems to have fixed itself at the moment

It's teetering on the edge of getting chopped in....

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 21 Dec 2010, 21:44

Richard

I've just bought a front wheel bearing for my ZX. I decided to avoid cheap bearings after bad experiences in the past. The main dealer wanted 90 pounds for one bearing. I decided to get SKF if I could, as they are one of the best makes. I got a quote from an SKF distributor (Simply Bearings) for 65 pounds. I decided that was still too expensive, so I checked the prices on Eurocarparts. They were selling SNR bearings for 31 pounds. I did some research and found out that SNR are very good. So I ordered the SNR kit from ecp, and when it came it was actually an SKF bearing kit instead. I was very happy as I got the best bearing possible for a third of the main dealer's price.

On the SKF website, there's a cross reference list (or online selection system) of car makes and models to SKF bearing kits. Watch out for people selling fake SKF bearings. ECP should be ok, but beware on ebay.

Do you know the Citroen part number for the bearing you want? It might be the same type as the one I bought for the ZX. Post it here and I'll have a look if it's the same as the one I bought. I think the bearing I bought was equivalent to Citroen part number 335016. The SKF box is labeled VKBA 915 (a superseded SKF part number) and there's a Eurocarparts label over the top with the number VKBA 3593 (the latest SKF part number). Also on the label is the ecp stock number 628 54 5030. Double check the part numbers yourself though, rather than relying on my information.

Here's a link to the SKF online catalogue. Get the number of the bearing kit for your car from here, then you can check prices more easily.

http://compass2.vsm.skf.temp.pi.se/Inde ... uage=en-GB

Paul

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 22 Dec 2010, 08:04

Paul wrote
"Watch out for people selling fake SKF bearings. ECP should be ok"

are you sure about that Paul

regards malcolm

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 22 Dec 2010, 08:30

citronut wrote:Paul wrote
"Watch out for people selling fake SKF bearings. ECP should be ok"

are you sure about that Paul

Well they'll be in serious poo if they are selling fakes.

Post by **RichardW** » 22 Dec 2010, 11:54

Paul

3350 16 is the right cit part number - it seems to be common to quite a few Cars - Xantia included. I saw the SRN bearing on ECP so might go for that - currently £41.71 inc VAT. Especially if a SKF bearing comes back!

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 22 Dec 2010, 12:23

SNR bearings are fitted at the factory by BMW so I'd presume they are of decent quality.

Post by **RichardW** » 22 Dec 2010, 13:59

RichardW wrote:... the SRN bearing on ECP ...

DickieG wrote:SNR bearings are fitted at the factory by BMW

SRN - that's hovercrafts of course....

Will go down that course - just to decide if I tackle it DIY or not. Depends on the weather

addo · Post by **addo** » 22 Dec 2010, 21:42

Malc - is this something I need to worry about with the bearings you sourced for me?

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 23 Dec 2010, 08:09

Adam i realy dont know for sure regarding these big companys selling sub standered goods in quality branded box's,

its just a gut feeling,

a good few years back i bought a set of brake pads from the G company,

they were branded BENDIX but certaily did not have the quality feel and look, very rough texture and very badly painted/coated backing, this happend several times,

trouble is who knows what is and isnt fake these days,

regards malcolm

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 23 Dec 2010, 17:20

I hope the SKF bearing I bought from Eurocarparts is genuine. They must sell so many that they'd get found out quickly if they did sell fake bearings.

Here's an article on fake bearings with some pictures of a fake and genuine SKF bearing. The markings on the side of the real SKF bearing actually looks worse than the fake bearings. The bearing I got looked genuine based on these two pictures.

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/ ... -real.html

Paul

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 24 Dec 2010, 07:29

well when even prescription drugs are being faked

who knows what is the real deal anymore,

regards malcolm

addo · Post by **addo** » 24 Dec 2010, 07:41

I blame the womens. They've been faking it for years.

Almost on-topic: A shopfitter mate told me that unsold stock from many well-known fashion brands/products is physically destroyed beyond saleability on the premises, before being tipped or compacted. Obviously this wastage keeps the retail price high out of necessity. I can sadly see parallels being possible with some of the car part brands.

Post by **myglaren** » 24 Dec 2010, 10:06

Looks like a bit of effort has been made to curb the sale of counterfeit goods.
Online at least.