Causes of Thrust Bearing Failure: Ways to Fix Them

Determining the cause of thrust bearing failure can be easy but usually challenging. The best thing to do is follow the user’s manual during installation and troubleshooting process to prevent failures. Continue reading this article to learn more.

What is bearing failure?

Bearings have fixed lifespan depending on speed usage, application, load, and operating conditions. A bearing failure happens when bearings fail to meet their expected function and performance which causes the machine shaft to fail or completely ruin.

When a bearing fails to function properly, it gives a negative result to your vehicle, machine, and/or engine’s overall performance. That’s why it’s necessary to understand what causes its failure to fix them or prevent them from happening.

What causes thrust bearing failure?

Thrust bearing failures don’t frequently happen. But when they occur, the repair cost can be demanding. The common causes why thrust bearing fails are overloading, contaminants, and misalignment.

• Overloading

It happens when you put too much load on a bearing. When you look at an overloaded bearing, you can find overheating signs, heaving rolling-element wear paths, and visible damages spreading around the bearing.

• Contaminants

The most common cause of thrust bearing failure is contamination. It occurs due to dirt, airborne dust, sand, and water contaminants. Other contaminants such as corrosives and chemicals can also ruin bearings. You can see denting of rolling components and raceways on the bearing that cause vibration.

• Incorrect Positioning

Misalignment can cause intense vibration and loads. Misalignment occurs when the shaft is bent, when housing shoulders or shaft has dirt, and when shaft threads do not match with shaft seats.

8 Key Factors Affecting Thrust Bearing Failure

Crankshaft thrust bearings are responsible for providing gap control on fore or aft for crankshaft’s axial movement. Here are different factors that cause thrust bearing failure:

1. Contamination

When foreign contaminants such as dust, abrasive grit, dirt, and etc. reach into bearing lubricants or cleaning solutions, the thrust bearing can get damaged which can lead to failure in the future.

2. Improper Lubrication

A recent study shows that 80% of bearing failures are due to bad lubrication. For instance, lack of lubrication and using incompatible types of lubricant. This is noticeable when you see discolored rolling components, overheating signs, and excessive damage in the bearing.

3. Corrosion

Corrosion can extremely damage thrust bearing. It occurs due to acid, moisture, poor grease, bad wrapping, and condensation from intense temperature reversals. This is visible on rolling components and raceways.

4. Spalling

Due to overloading, too much preload, and tight inner-ring fits, spalling or fatigue happens on the bearing. It’s noticeable when you see fractures of running surfaces. Spalling can spread over time and causes noise and vibration.

5. Incorrect Mounting

When a thrust bearing is improperly mounted, it may lead to wear, denting, cracked rings, early spalling, and possible bearing failures. Poor mounting usually happens when applying too much pressure or excessive tightness.

6. Overheating

Overheating happens due to poor lubrication and too much operating temperatures. Too much heat can cause the grease to bleed which lessens the efficiency of the lubricant.

7. Bad Storing Practice

When bearings are not stored properly, it can be exposed to dust and dampness, and then lead to corrosion.

8. False Brinelling

Fast movement of the balls in a raceway while the vehicle or equipment is idle wears away the lubrication. Also, a lack of movement or rotation in the bearing prevents the lubricant from getting into the right spot. These conditions can lead to false brinelling. It can create linear wear marks in the axial direction.

Symptoms of Thrust Bearing Failure

Take note of these signs or symptoms that show thrust bearing failure:

• Shifting Gears Struggle

In a vehicle’s failing clutch thrust bearing, you’ll struggle to change gears. It’s hard to smoothly engage or disengage gears. Sometimes, there’s resistance or no response when trying to shift gears.

• Strange Noise

When you hear strange thrust bearing noise such as squealing, grinding, or whining noise when you depress the clutch pedal, there might be a problem with the thrust bearing.

• Vibration

Thrust bearing failure happens when there’s intense vibration in the clutch pedal when it is depressed. You can feel the vibration is unusual and abnormal.

How to Fix Thrust Bearing Issues?

You can’t just ignore a vehicle or machine’s thrust bearing issues. It’s necessary to address the issue promptly. When your vehicle is experiencing clutch thrust bearing failure, you should consult an expert mechanic to properly diagnose the issue.

Here are some tips on how to fix thrust bearing issues:

• Do a vehicle/machine examination and diagnosis. If you can’t do it, let the professionals or experts do the job.
• Based on the diagnosis, the suggested remedy can be repair or thrust bearing replacement.
• Follow the user’s manual when doing repair or bearing replacement.

Tips to Prevent Thrust Bearing Failure

Here are some important tips to consider to avoid thrust bearing failure:

• Always ensure proper mounting and alignment of bearings.
• Avoid operational stress as much as possible.
• Do proper lubrication based on the manufacturer’s recommendation.
• Beware of environmental influence such as external heat, dust, dirt, corrosion, and more.

FAQs

1. Is it okay to drive while having a defective thrust bearing?

You can drive with a defective vehicle’s thrust bearing but it can lead to a lot of troubles including worsening wear on the clutch system, shifting gears problem, and possible accident.

2. What is the effect of thrust bearing noise?

Thrust bearing noise is one of the symptoms of thrust bearing failure. If not fixed properly, this can lead to worse damage of the thrust bearing.

3. When should you replace thrust bearing?

If your vehicle is experiencing the symptoms of thrust bearing failure stated above, you should replace thrust bearing immediately.

4. How can I fix thrust bearing noise?

The best thing to do to fix thrust bearing noise is to replace the thrust bearing with a brand new one.

Conclusion

A good functioning thrust bearing is important to prevent possible vehicle troubles. Proper care and maintenance are required to make thrust bearings last for a long time. Always refer to the user’s manual when doing repair, replacement, and maintenance.