Dude - Where's My Preload

Many of us have been there; the bearings had the correct preload. You know it, you were there, and you personally saw the measurements. Now, the testing is done and the preload is gone. Not a little gone, not sort of gone - gone, gone. Finger pointing ensues. Suppliers are dragged in by their wrinkly Polo collars. You know the drill. Losing preload in a tapered roller bearing (TRB) system over the life of your application can be a troublesome problem, particularly for gear sets that are prone to noise or severe applications that rely on a very rigid and stable system.