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Article: The case of the battered bearing.(True Stories)
- Article from:
- Design News
- Article date:
- July 18, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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My father was a genius at coaxing the last year or so of service from old tractor, truck, and car engines. He could distinguish between the usual squeaks and rattles and the much more serious "pecks" of a loose connecting rod bearing, or worse yet the "pounding" of loose main bearings, also known as journals. Main bearings serve to keep the crankshaft aligned and free to rotate in the engine block. Trouble with the mains often indicated the impending end of the engine.
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Scene of the Crime
Some 20 years ago routine maintenance of a near-new, two-engine airplane showed particles of bearing babbitt in the crankcase oil. Such ...