Alpha one Gen 1 Upper shaft bearing question.

[Condor1970]

Ok, as a guy who rebuilds industrial pumps frequently, I am primarily used to working with ball bearings, and not roller bearings.

I took the top cover off the drive today to inspect because of the noise I've been getting. Definitely sounds like a bad bearing, but wanted some advice here.

After removing the top cover, the top race/cup has some tiny rust spots from sitting for a few years, and what worries me the most, is the carriage that holds the rollers in place is noticeably moving up and down/side to side with the rollers in them. As I roll the carriage around, I can feel the rollers moving, and they are slightly audible and a tiny bit gritty feeling.

Now, from my experience with hundreds of ball bearings, there should be ZERO movement between the inner and outer races. The carriage should not move in any direction, except rotationally, and there should ZERO gritty or noisy feeling. On this roller bearing I get that feeling, but it is a roller, which has much larger surface contact areas, and so I am not totally certain of the attributes I should be expecting.

Just to make sure, I am pretty sure this is the culprit of my problems, but wanted some of the guru's to chime in if possible to reaffirm my suspicions, since I am not used to dealing with rollers like this.


Any knowledge here would be greatly appreciated.


P.S. the gears look great. Even contact wear on the teeth, and nothing rounded off.

 

[alldodge]

Ok, as a a guy who rebuilds industrial pumps frequently, I am primarily used to work with ball bearings, and not roller bearings.

I took the top cover off the drive today to inspect because of the noise I've been getting. Definitely sounds like a bad bearing, but wanted some advice here.

After removing the top cover, the top race/cup has some tiny rust spots from sitting for a few years, and what worries me the most, is the carriage that holds the rollers in place is noticeably moving up and down/side to side with the rollers in them. As I roll the carriage around, I can feel the rollers moving, and they are slightly audible and a tiny bit gritty feeling.

Now, from my experience with hundreds of ball bearings, there should be ZERO movement between the inner and outer races. The carriage should not move in any direction, except rotationally, and there should ZERO gritty or noisy feeling. On this roller bearing I get that feeling, but it is a roller, which has much larger surface contact areas, and so I am not totally certain of the attributes I should be expecting.

Just to make sure, I am pretty sure this is the culprit of my problems, but wanted some of the guru's to chime in if possible to reaffirm my suspicions, since I am not used to dealing with rollers like this.


Any knowledge here would be greatly appreciated.


P.S. the gears look great. Even contact wear on the teeth, and nothing rounded off.

Your going to get more movement with roller over ball bearings but not that much more. Rust pits on the race is a automatic replace issue. and any roughness is an also issue which requires parts replacement.

 

[achris]

If it feels gritty and you can hear it, replace it. It's normal for the cage to be' loose'... And the rollers to' rattle' when the outer race is not in place. But it should be quiet and smooth otherwise.