Engine Bearing Failure Analysis - by Touchstone Research Laboratory

Touchstone was commissioned to examine engine bearing failures.

Engine bearing specimens were evaluated in an attempt to identify manufacturing characteristics that may have led to engine failure.

The following tests were performed: 1) elemental analysis of the lead babbitt overlay of the used, new, and diesel truck engines, 2) thickness measurements of 6 bearings, including 2 of the bearings from the damaged engine, one new bearing, and one bearing from a used diesel truck engine.

Visual examination found that one bearing was significantly more damaged than the other and demonstrated severe overheating. The cause was assigned to localized blockage of an oil port that deprived one bearing of oil. The debris form this bearing then caused secondary damage to the rest of the engine.

If you need failure analysis in this or other areas, don't hesitate to contact us. Our areas of expertise include:

Failure Analysis
Corrosion Evaluation
Light Microscopy
Mechanical Testing
Metallography
Research & Development
Scanning Electron Microscopy

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