Moog Hub/Bearing proprietary WS Sensors & studs

[JimO]

After a road testing for a customer's complaint of "Intermittent odd feeling when braking" we identified it as an intermittent false ABS stop. Not unusual for a late model GM truck. We identified the L/F wheel speed sensor dropping out at lower speeds and ordered a wheel speed sensor. I remembered that we had replaced the L/F hub/bearing about two years ago with a Moog hub/bearing assembly which concerned me. The new wheel speed sensor arrived in a tattered, taped up box and would not fit, the sensor tip was contacting the tone ring. The part was re-ordered in a different brand (OEM this round) and we were disappointed again, still improper fit. I then called Moog Tech Support and found out that if an ABS WSS fails on a Moog hub/bearing it can't be replaced. Moog uses a proprietary WSS and is unable to be sourced separate from the hub/bearing. I confirmed with tech support that this is the case for all Moog hub/bearings that include a WSS and NOT isolated to the vehicle that we were working on. To add to this issue I also found out that ALL Moog hub/bearings have proprietary wheel studs so if a stud strips or is damaged on a replacement Moog hub/bearing you have a major problem because the hub/bearing will need to be replaced, studs alone are NOT available. I tried to contact Timken and BCA to see if their hub/bearings are the same as Moog in regard to proprietary WSS's and wheel studs but neither answered my email request for assistance. All of this is news to me, maybe because we use quite a bit of OEM parts but I thought I should pass it on since it will make me think twice before ordering a Moog hub/bearing.   

[RWI]

Just another reason to avoid these parts in my book, thanks for the heads up!