SERVICE BULLETIN

Practical Procedures to Simplify Your Service Problems

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Maximum Allowable Bearing Wear 183

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Maximum Allowable Bearing Wear

In response to customer Requests for our recommendation on maximum allowable

bearing wear in National Oilwell equipment, we have contacted several bearing
manufacturers for their recommendations. Their information was found to be
vague and quite conservative.

The following are figures found to be practical and acceptable to most customers,
and are frequently used by our service departments. These figures would apply to
all bearings used in our mud pumps and drawworks with the provision that they
passed a visual inspection.

0.008" - 0.010" Okay to run until the next annual inspection

0.011" - 0.013" Replace at next scheduled maintenance

0.014" - 0.016" Replace at first break in drilling (e.g., logging, or

completion of well)

0.017" & above Replace immediately

These are extreme outer limits and in some cases, the bearing may begin to spall,
which will cause damage to other parts.

Therefore, Close Observation is Essential

The best way to detect bearing spalling is through the use of an oil sample analysis
program.