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Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy
Engine section Engine type Ref. Date Issue Document No. Page
10, 11 & 14 W32, W34SG WFI–S/Joku 20.11.2006 01 3210Q046 1(8)

Bearing assessment for WÄRTSILÄ® 32 based

engines
General The purpose of these instructions is to define assessment criteria for the
main bearings, big end bearings, small end bearings, and camshaft
bearings of the WÄRTSILÄ® 32, 16V34SG and 20V34SG engines.
See the engine instruction manual for further information:
- Maintenance schedule (chapter 04)
- Clearances and wear limits (chapter 06)
- Bearing assembly instructions (chapters 10 and 11).

Bearing types Bearing types concerned are shown in figure 1. The type of bearing has an
influence on the visual wear pattern.

Figure 1. Bearing types.

Inspection intervals Bearings are to be inspected according to the maintenance schedule. See
chapter 04 in the engine instruction manual.

Bearing lifetime Bearing lifetime will be influenced by:

- Engine load profile and operating conditions
- Fuel and lube oil properties
- Adequate prelubrication before starting and sufficient lubrication during
operation
- Proper lubricating oil care including regular and optimized separation
routines
- Proper maintenance of lube oil filters
- Clean working conditions while working inside the engine
- Regular draining and cleaning of lube oil tanks

Wärtsilä Finland Oy P.O. Box 252 (Tarhaajantie 2) Telecop. +358 10 709 1847 Tel. +358 10 709 0000 Business ID 0773744-3
Services, Vaasa FIN-65101 Vaasa, Finland Telecop. +358 10 709 1380 Registered Office: Vaasa
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Services, Turku FIN-20811 Turku, Finland Telecop. +358 10 709 3410
Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy Operating instruction
Issue Document No. Page
01 3210Q046 2(8)

Bearing designations It is recommended that new big end bearings and main bearings are
marked with an electrical engraving pen on the side edge of the bearing
(figure 2). See also chapter 00 of the instruction manual. The big end
bearing should be marked with the cylinder number (figure 3) and the main
bearing should be marked with the bearing number (figure 4).

Figure 2. Bearing shell Figure 3. Cylinder numbers. Figure 4. Bearing numbers.

Safety check After fitting a bearing, the bearing temperatures have to be checked and
confirmed to be even between corresponding bearings:
- Run the engine for about 5 minutes up to nominal speed with no load.
- Follow the engine behaviour.
- Stop and check the bearing temperatures by hand or with a temperature
measuring device.

Wear pattern The typical wear pattern of sliding bearings is slight polishing over broad arc
on the most loaded area. In bearings with a flash layer the normal wear
pattern is that the flash layer is worn off from the most loaded area. See the
wear pattern of a bearing shell in figure 5.
Wear pattern on the small end bearing of the connecting rod differs from the
other sliding bearings. On the small end bearing the typical wear pattern is
two parabolas closing to each other in the middle of the bearing on the most
loaded side. See wear pattern in figure 6.

Figure 5. Bearing shells Figure 6. Small end bearing.

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01 3210Q046 3(8)

Wear indication Big end bearing

Big end bearings should be replaced whenever the bearing housing is split.

Main bearing
Bimetal main bearing
Measuring is a proper wear indicator for bimetal bearings only.
A ball anvil micrometer should be used to measure the bearing shell
thickness. Measure the thickness on a few points on both sides (A and C)
as shown in figure 7. See measurement record 3210V035. See also engine
manual section 10.3.2 for more limits.

Figure 7. Measuring points on Figure 8. Free spread of the bearing

the bearing shell. shell.

Trimetal main bearing

Visual inspection is the proper wear indicator for trimetal bearings.
If nickel-dam is exposed on trimetal bearings, the bearing has to be
changed (A nickel dam can be identified by scratching the sliding surface
with a sharp tool. The bearing overlay is much softer than the nickel dam).

Free spread of the bearing shell

Free spread of the bearing shell is shown in figure 8. The free spread of the
bearing has to be at least 0.5 mm bigger than the inner diameter of the
bearing housing, see measurement record 3210V035.

Small end bearing

Wear of small end bearings can be indicated by a visual inspection as
shown in figure 9. See the Measurement Records for small end bearing and
big end bearing bore:
- 3211V017 (WÄRTSILÄ® 32)
- 3411V033 (WÄRTSILÄ® 16V34SG and 20V34SG)

Figure 9: Measuring point of the small end bearing.

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01 3210Q046 4(8)

Replacement guidelines
It is recommended that the bearing is replaced if one of the below
mentioned criteria is fulfilled:
1. The thickness of the bearing is under the wear limit.
2. The nickel layer is visible (trimetal bearings)
3. Fretting on the back of the bearing.
4. Fatigue marks on the sliding surface.
5. Cavitation has penetrated through the bearing layer (minor cavitation is
allowed).
6. Rough sliding surface: More than a few scratches or cavitation has worn
the bearing on a wide area.
7. Corrosion on the bearing.
8. The recommended replacement interval of the bearing has been
reached.
Notes:
- In case of doubt of a bearing condition, the bearing should be replaced
to avoid consequential damage.
- If there are minor scratches on the journal, it can be polished e.g. with a
500 grid emery paper.
- Bearings are formed to the housing. Thus unnecessary dismantling of
the bearing should be avoided.

Damage types Some typical sliding bearing damage is described below:

Smearing, wiping
Smearing and wiping is bearing damage related to adhesion. This occurs if
there is metal-to-metal contact due to failed oil film. Possible reasons are:
- Inadequate lubrication (e.g. starting without pre-lubrication)
- Low viscosity of lube oil
- High bearing load
- Small clearances (e.g. inadequate fitting of bearing housing)

Bearings as shown in figure 10 are to be replaced.

Figure 10. Smearing / wiping damage.

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01 3210Q046 5(8)

Cavitation
Cavitation is a phenomenon related to vaporisation pressure of the lube oil.
Cavitation bubbles are formed when lube oil pressure decreases below the
vaporisation pressure. When the local pressure rises above the vaporisation
pressure, the bubbles will collapse and cause erosion wear of the material.
Cavitation phenomenon is influenced by:
- Big clearance
- Incorrect lube oil pressure
- Vaporisation pressure of the lube oil has decreased (for instance
water/air in the oil, high oil temperature or dirty oil).
Cavitation damages are shown in figures 11 and 12.

Figures 11. Cavitation damages on bimetal Figure 12. Cavitation damages

bearing. on trimetal bearing.

Fatigue
Fatigue in the bearing surface layer begins with micro cracks, which are
hardly visible without a microscope. These cracks will grow until the bearing
layer starts to peel off in small flakes.
Fatigue is influenced by:
- Low viscosity of lube oil
- Bearing overload
- Improper bearing clearance
- High lube oil temperature
Fatigue on the bearing develops rather fast and will likely lead to bearing
failure. The bearings are to be replaced whenever fatigue marks are visible.
Fatigue damage is shown in figures 13 and 14.

10 mm
10 mm

Figure 13. Fatigue damage on Figure 14. Fatigue damage on trimetal

bimetal bearing. bearing
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Solid particles
If solid particles are bigger than the oil film thickness, they will scratch the
sliding surfaces or get embedded in the overlay material. See figures 15 and
16.
The origin of solid particles could be:
- Dirt from overhauling
- Particles passing the filtrations
- Particles from the combustion process
- Wear particles from engine

Note: Proper filtration is essential for lube oil cleanliness

10 mm 10 mm

Figure 15. Embedded particle on Figure 16. Scratch on trimetal bearing.

bimetal bearing.

Corrosion
Corrosion is the result whenever chemical reaction with the environment
predominates. Possible reasons for corrosion:
- Lubrication oil (e.g. low BN or water in oil)
- Storage
A bearing exposed to corrosion is to be replaced.

Figure 17. Corrosion damage on Figure 18. Corrosion damage on

bimetal bearing. trimetal bearing.
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01 3210Q046 7(8)

Fretting
Fretting might occur on the backside of a bearing if there is micro movement
between the housing and the bearing.
Possible reasons for fretting are:
- Low tightening torque of the hydraulic screws
- Low surface roughness
- Improper assembly of the bearing
- Reassembling of bearing with too low free spread
- Dirt between the bearing and the housing

Note: If fretting occurs, the bearing housing has to be dressed up before

mounting a new bearing.

Figure 19. Fretting damage on the back of the bearing.

Misalignment and shape errors

Misalignment and shape error wear pattern (polishing) on the bearing might
occur due to following reasons:
- Journal shape error
- Shaft misalignment
- Housing shape error
If this kind of wear pattern occurs, the reason should be investigated and
corrected if necessary.

Figure 20. Polished side edges.

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01 3210Q046 8(8)

Bearing assembly related problems

If the bearing is not properly assembled in the housing, the bearing might be
damaged (polishing, fatigue, wiping, etc.).
Most of the assembly errors are caused by:
- Incorrect mounting (for instance big end bearing shells grip each other
during assembly)
- Remaining dirt and/or black staining (oil carbon deposit) on the housing
and the bearing back surfaces
- Locating lug is not properly in its place
Usually this kind of error can also be identified by the contact pattern on the
back of the bearing.

Figure 21. Polished area on the bearing, because of dirt between the
bearing and the bearing housing.

Letter distribution Wärtsilä Service Network and owners/operators of concerned engines.

Letter validity Until further notice.

 2006 Wärtsilä Finland Oy – All rights reserved

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makes no representation, warranty (express or implied) in this publication and assumes no responsibility for the correctness, errors or
omissions for information contained herein. Information in this publication is subject to change without notice.

Unless otherwise expressly set forth, no recommendation contained in this document is to be construed as provided due to a
defect in the engine, but merely as an improvement of the engine and/or the maintenance procedures relating thereto. Any actions
by the owner/operator as a result of the recommendations are not covered under any warranty provided by Wärtsilä and such
actions will thus be at the owners/operators own cost and expense.

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