PART 66 CATEGORY B1 MODULE

MODULE 7 7.11
MAINTENANCE PRACTICES BEARINGS

INDEX

7.11 BEARINGS..........................................................................11-2
11.1 Cleaning and Inspection of Bearings.......................................11-2
11.2 Inspection of Bearings..............................................................11-3
11.2.1 Normal Fatigue..............................................................11-3
11.2.2 Excessive Loads............................................................11-3
11.2.3 Installation and Misalignment.........................................11-4
11.2.4 Loose Fit........................................................................11-4
11.2.5 Brinelling........................................................................11-4
11.2.6 Overheating and Lubrication Failure..............................11-5
11.2.7 Contamination and Corrosion........................................11-6
11.3 Safety Precautions....................................................................11-6
11.4 Storage.......................................................................................11-7

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 PART 66 CATEGORY B1 MODULE
MODULE 7 7.11
MAINTENANCE PRACTICES BEARINGS

1.1 BEARINGS

When correctly installed and efficiently lubricated, bearings require little but thorough,
attention during service, to ensure a long working life. The majority of bearings used in
aircraft engineering are of the sealed or shielded type. These bearing are designed to
prevent the ingress of foreign matter, which will damage or contaminate the bearing
contact surfaces.

1.2 Cleaning and Inspection of Bearings

Cleaning

Before a bearing can be checked it must be cleaned thoroughly to remove any dirt and
the old lubricating fluid. The manual will dictate the cleaning process including use of
any solvent, but a typical method is as follows.

 Remove any excess grease with clothes and dry compressed air, whilst ensuring
that the rolling elements remain stationary or only rotate slowly.

 Soak the bearing in an approved solvent, such white spirit, to remove the remaining
grease. The solvent may be applied as a forced jet if necessary.

 Dry the bearing by using clean warm and dry compressed air, again avoiding fast
rotation of any rolling elements.

 Lightly lubricate all bearing surfaces with oil to prevent the onset of corrosion.

Testing

Testing a bearing is usually restricted to rotational checks and excessive backlash or

free play. Slow rotation of the rolling elements and raceway will highlight any roughness
due to damage, corrosion or wear. A serviceable bearing should have a smooth
actuation. Free play should be tested in both a radial and axial direction and is normally
done by using a DTI. Some wear is usually permitted and will depend on the grade of fit,
but any wear that leaves excessive backlash in the system is unsatisfactory.

The rate of this wear depends on the speed the bearing is rotated at, with high speed
bearings failing quicker than those which rotate slowly or through distances of less than
one complete revolution. A bearing that has any indication of a fault should be discarded
immediately.

For training purposes only Rev. 0 Issued 28 Feb 11 Malaysian Aviation Training Academy All rights reserved
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 PART 66 CATEGORY B1 MODULE
MODULE 7 7.11
MAINTENANCE PRACTICES BEARINGS

Due to their construction internal inspection of shielded bearings will be restricted. Taper
bearings can be dismantled and a thorough inspection of the rolling elements and
raceway surfaces can be completed.

1.3 Inspection of Bearings

Once clean the bearing should be inspected for signs of failure, some of the more
common being:

1. Normal Fatigue
2. Excessive Loading
3. Installation and Misalignment
4. Loose Fitting or Spinning
5. Brinelling
6. Overheating and Lubrication Deficiency
7. Contamination and Corrosion

1.3.1 Normal Fatigue

Normal fatigue failure is often shown as a fracture of the running surface, with
subsequent removal of small particles of metal and is commonly called spalling. (Refer
Fig. 1)

It occurs on both rolling elements and raceways, and is always accompanied by an

increase in vibration. Moderately spalled areas show the bearing has reached the end
of its normal service life.

1.3.2 Excessive Loads

Excessive loading of a bearing is usually the same as normal fatigue, but the rolling
elements wear path is usually heavier. There is also increased evidence of overheating
with a widespread and deeper fatigue or spalled area. This often causes premature
bearing failure. (Refer Fig. 1)

Spalled
Area

Ball
Path

Fig. 1
Spalled Areas
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 PART 66 CATEGORY B1 MODULE
MODULE 7 7.11
MAINTENANCE PRACTICES BEARINGS

1.3.3 Installation and Misalignment

Installation damage is usually the result of an impact that occurs when a bearing is fitted
incorrectly. This may be due to a sharp strike from a drift or pressing the wrong raceway
when mounting the bearing.

Misalignment damage can be seen on the raceway of the non-rotating ring because the
rolling element wear path is not parallel to the raceway edge. Excessive misalignment
can cause high temperatures as well as heavy wear of the cage.

1.3.4 Loose Fit

A bearing should always be mounted onto a shaft or housing with an interference fit. If
the raceway becomes loose then it will rotate on these surfaces and cause fretting. This
fretting will remove metal particles, which oxidise and leave a distinctive brown colour. It
usually occurs when the bearing outer raceway rotates inside a worn housing. The
external surface of the raceway will be scored and discoloured as a result of a loose
fitting bearing. (Refer Fig. 2)

Fig. 2
Loose Fit Damage

1.3.5 Brinelling

Brinelling marks on a bearing raceway resemble the indentations that result from a
Brinell Hardness Test. They are described as being either True Brinell or False Brinell
marks.

True Brinelling occurs when loads on the bearings raceway exceed the elastic limit of
the raceway material. Brinell marks are indentations on the rolling element caused by
an excessive static or dynamic loads.

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 PART 66 CATEGORY B1 MODULE
MODULE 7 7.11
MAINTENANCE PRACTICES BEARINGS

The indentations can be seen on the raceways and will increase bearing noise and
vibration, which leads to the bearings premature failure. The damage is often caused by
dropping the bearing or installing it incorrectly. (Refer Fig. 3 Left)

False Brinelling occurs when there is only small relative motion between the rolling
elements and raceways during non-rotation periods. It is characterised by elliptical wear
marks in the axial direction at each rolling element position (Refer Fig. 3 Right).

If the bearing is not turning then an oil film cannot be formed to prevent raceway wear.
False Brinelling marks are normally perpendicular to the line of motion, well defined and
maybe surrounded by debris.

Fig. 3
True Brinelling (Left)
False Brinelling (Right)

1.3.6 Overheating and Lubrication Failure

Excessive heating of a bearing manifests itself as discoloration of the rings, rolling

elements and cages from gold to blue. Excessive temperatures will usually be in excess
of 400°C. In extreme cases the rolling elements and raceways will deform. A blue/black
colour indicates an area close to the heat source and changes to a silver/gold
discoloration the further you move away.

Failure or lack of lubrication often has similar signs as overheating because good
lubrication should cool the material and transfer away any heat produced during

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 PART 66 CATEGORY B1 MODULE
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MAINTENANCE PRACTICES BEARINGS

rotation. Restricted flow and excessive temperatures can also degrade the chemical
composition of the oil, making it ineffective and increase wear rates.

The outcome of either overheating or lubrication failure will always result in the eventual
failure of the bearing.

1.3.7 Contamination and Corrosion

Contamination is one of the leading causes of premature bearing failure. The symptoms
are dents or scratches embedded in the bearing raceway and rolling elements, resulting
in bearing vibration and wear. (Refer Fig. 4 Left)

The contaminant would be an abrasive substance that gets into the bearing, such as
sand, grit or dust. The principal sources are dirty tools, contaminated work areas, dirty
hands and foreign matter in the lubricant or cleaning solutions.

Corrosion is usually the result of a chemical attack on the bearing material by an

incompatible fluid such as moisture. It manifests itself as either black pitting marks or
red/brown rust coloured areas on the rolling elements, raceways, or cages. It usually
results in increased vibration followed by wear. (Refer Fig. 4 Right).

Fig. 4
Contamination (Left)
Corrosion (Right)

1.4 Safety Precautions

The cleaning of bearings for inspection normally involves the use of solvents, so the
appropriate PPE should be worn. This will include respiratory, eye and skin protection
by using breathing masks, goggles and inspection gloves. The moisture from the human
hand may contaminate a bearing surface, as easily as the lubricant can cause damage
to the skin through dermatitis.

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 PART 66 CATEGORY B1 MODULE
MODULE 7 7.11
MAINTENANCE PRACTICES BEARINGS

1.5 Storage

If a bearing is to be used immediately after inspection, it should be lubricated with

correct lubricant and installed. If there is liable to be a delay before installation, then the
bearing should be coated in rust-preventing inhibiting oil, wrapped in greaseproof paper,
boxed and labelled. The bearing should always be stored horizontally, in a clean dry
atmosphere.

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