Just replaced the rear bearings AGAIN, have some thoughts

One of the rear bearings on my 2012 was shot, probably a result of driving offroad while overloaded. The other side was a little iffy as well, so I replaced them both with SKF bearings off Amazon. Threads in here indicated they were a good brand.

Less than 3 years later one of them failed. No overloading or offroading this time, mostly highway driving. So yesterday I changed them both out for OEM bearings bought from a dealership to be safe. Luckily, I had thoroughly cleaned and covered the mating surfaces with anti seize so they came off pretty easy this time.

So... either SKF is no longer good or I bought fakes. It's a critical component so probably worth paying extra for known good parts.

If you're in the rust belt, the old ones can be very difficult to remove. I tried several different methods. The only one that worked was penetrating spray, a big hammer, and this bad boy:

Also, if you're in the rust belt your dust shields are probably on the way out. You might consider replacing those at the same time since you have to remove the bearing to do it.

 

I guess Amazon links are a no go here. The tool I used was basically a heavy steel bar that bolts to the bearing and you smash the end with a hammer. Crude, but effective.