Maintenance of bearings

When determining whether the dismantled bearing can be reused, it is necessary to inspect the condition of the raceway surface, rolling surface, mating surface, wear of the cage, whether the bearing clearance has increased, and whether there are any damages or abnormalities that affect the decrease of dimensional accuracy after cleaning the bearing. For non separable small ball bearings, use a single hand flat end inner ring and rotate the outer ring to confirm smoothness.

Separate bearings such as tapered roller bearings can be inspected separately for the raceway surfaces of the rolling element and outer ring.

Due to the inability to rotate large bearings by hand, attention should be paid to checking the appearance of rolling elements, raceway surfaces, retainers, and retaining surfaces. The higher the importance of bearings, the more careful they need to be inspected.

When determining whether a bearing can be reused, it should be determined based on relevant factors such as the degree of damage, mechanical performance, importance, operating conditions, and inspection cycle of the bearing. However, if the following defects are found during inspection, the bearing cannot continue to be used and needs to be replaced with a new one.

(a) There are cracks or notches in any part of the inner ring, outer ring, rolling element, or cage.

(b) Any one of the rings or rolling elements is broken.

(c) There are obvious scratches on the rolling surface, retaining edge, and rolling body.

(d) The retainer is significantly worn or the rivets are noticeably loose.

(e) Rust or scratches on the raceway surface and rolling body.

(f) There are serious indentations or bumps on the raceway surface and rolling body.

(g) There is significant creep on the inner diameter surface of the inner ring or the outer diameter surface of the outer ring.

(h) Obvious discoloration due to overheating.

(i) The bearings, sealing rings, or dust covers sealed with lubricating grease are severely damaged.