Hill Engineering Tensioner Bearing A/C

I think ALL original Ferrari bearings are not so far from "junk" grade.

 

HE parts are almost always superior, I didn't know this one existed but I just replaced my tensioners and had my bracket modified to accept the new style tensioner, I'll probably replace this too

 

The oem Ferrari clutch release bearing was leaking grease after 15 k miles on my 430, the Hills replacement was a work of art and a lot cheaper than the oem part

 

The Hill version of 179698 uses the identical SKF bearing on the inside as the Ferrari one. It is not a 'superior' part; it was manufactured about 5 years ago when there was a shortage of the original Ferrari version.

I have already had four direct queries about this today.

 

That is a blanket statement and simply not true. Ferrari doesn't 'manufacture' any bearings; they source them from SKF, NTN, NSK, etc. The 'junk' arises when original stocks are depleted and in the process of obtaining more, the buyer chooses a bearing based on size or generic specs alone --- not really giving enough care to loads, temperatures, and the 'use case' of that was carefully considered by the original engineer at Ferrari.

 

Right. Ferrari is worldwide known for having a long history of robust and fail free components. They break and keep breaking because are of a superior quality.

 

That part is incorrectly named. A result of Ferrari using language school students for translating their books. It is not a tensioner and only fails when used as one. It should not be contacting the belt. Its only purpose in life is at high RPM when the belts "Whip" this pulley should prevent the belt from over riding the pulley and coming off. If correctly adjusted should outlast the car but too many actually use them to tighten the belt.

 

Interesting when my clutch release bearing was changed, the bearing it self was fine but the seals had failed and it was leaking grease into the housing, they picked it up on a service as the space should have been dry and not oily.

 

This may be true for the tensioner bearing but the release bearing is not... Here is a quote from their website;

Hill Engineering's Clutch Release bearing for 360F1 & 430 F1 & Scuderia (#234953) - Pre fitted with OEM Seals.

Also fits: 599 F1, Enzo & Maserati 4200 Cambiocorsa & Granturismo ( F1 Only)

(Superseded from #201024)

All Hill Engineering clutch release bearings utilise a much improved bearing that is specifically manufactured for Hill Engineering by RHP-NSK. This bearing has been designed with many improvements including uprated seals and grease over the OEM SKF bearing that has a tendency of failing prematurely.
​

So when given a choice between the OEM bearing and a Hill Engineering one, I will always choose Hill Engineering. Ferrari are great engine designers, but they aren't perfect and like all automobile manufacturers they do have to deal with the idea of cost and availability across the entire manufacturing lifecycle of a model, whereas Hill has a different set of priorities.

 

I do understand that. I've been selling Hill Engineering items for 20 years. My point was simply that item uses the same SKF bearing as the Ferrari version.

 

I've found since they use the same components as many other manufacturers. Mine is as reliable as my Porsche. It's not about the parts as it is about having a competent mechanic and not abusing the car.