The wheels of industry turn on bearings, so why do the wheels often vibrate, clatter, squeak, drag, and overheat? Bearings can fail for a lot of reasons. Most failures (as shown in Figure 1) are related to lubrication and contamination, but myths and misconceptions handed from one generation of maintenance engineers to the next help perpetuate many easily avoidable problems. These myths fall into three general areas of bearing use: installation, misapplication, and lubrication.
It’s okay to hammer a bearing into position if needed — False.