1

MCA 1
1.Bearing wear on sleeve type bearing is measured
with
(a) ball anvil micrometer.
(b) pair of outside caliper and dial indicator.
(c) pair of inside caliper.
(d) depth micrometer.
A1.(a) ball anvil micrometer.
The ball anvil micrometer has got a ball end instead of
flat end so that it can measure the curved surface
thickness. Bearing being curved surface, ball anvil
micrometer can be used for measuring the thickness
and after measuring the thickness of the bearing it is
possible to measure the wear down of the bearing.

2
MCA 2
Q2 The bearing used to support the crankshaft are
generally called
Ans. 2 Main Bearings.
Main bearings are the bearings which support the crankshaft. The
full load or the full power developed by the engine is transmitted to
the crankshaft through various moving parts such as pistons,
connecting bearing, crosshead bearing, bottom end bearing and
ultimately to the crankshaft. From crankshaft, it is transmitted to
the propeller shaft. At the same time, the downward forces acting
on the crankshaft are taken care of by the bearings which supports
the crankshaft. Hence they are called the main bearings as they are
the most important bearing of the system. If they are not of proper
strength or are worn out, the crankshaft may get deflected and
there is a possibility that the crankshaft may crack. Also, the
complete alignment of the engine is fully dependent on these
bearings; hence they are called main bearings.

3
MCA 3
Q.3 While inspecting the main bearings on a diesel
engines you find impregnated dirt and scratches. You
would therefore suspect that

Ans. 3. The lubricating oil was not properly filtered.

If the lubricating oil is not properly filtered, dirt and hard
particles will find its way between the bearing and the
shafting. Due to this, there will be scratching marks on the
white metal of the bearing. At the same time, the hard dirt
will get impregnated inside the soft surface of the bearing.

4
MCA 4
Q.4 To determine the main bearing clearance of a
propulsion diesel engine, you should measure the shell
by using ball anvil outside micrometer and measure the
crankshaft journal using the
Ans. 4. Outside micrometer.
The wear down of the bearing can be measured by using a
ball anvil outside micrometer so that it can the thickness of
curved surface of the bearings. By determining this, the
total wear down of the bearing can be found out which can
be utilized to find the inner diameter of the bearing. By
measuring the pin diameter, by using an outside
micrometer; it is possible to measure the clearance of the
bearing by knowing the inner diameter of the bearing and
the pin diameter.

5
MCA 5
Q.5 Worn main bearing will cause the compression ratio
of an auxiliary diesel engine

Ans. 5. to decrease.
When the main bearings are worn out, automatically the
crankshaft in order to keep contact with the bottom half of
the main bearing will try to sink downwards. Due to this,
the clearance volume between the piston and cylinder head,
when the piston is at TDC, will increase. This will cause the
loss of compression pressure.

6
MCA 6
Q.6 Insertion shims in the main marine diesel engine
between the connecting rod and the bearing box would
result in

Ans. 6. increase in compression ratio.

The marine type of connecting rod has a * and if that * is
fitted over the bottom end bearing housing and by inserting
the shims between the palm and the bearing housing
automatically the piston is raised up and when the piston
is raised up the compression ratio increases

7
MCA 7
Q.7 Diesel engine crankshaft deflections are taken at
four crankshaft positions. Good engineering practice
require the deflection gauges are indicated to be

Ans.7. left in place for all four readings.

When the crankshaft deflection is taken it is done at four
position of the piston. As a matter of fact actually five
positions of piston. During this, we are checking the
distance between the two webs. In order to check the
distance between the two webs, it is necessary that the dial
gauge fitted between the two webs should be continuously
kept in position to get the correct reading all around the
cycle.

8
MCA 8
Q.8 An acceptable method of measuring the correct
rotational force applied to the connecting rod and main
bearing bush is to use a
Ans.8. Torque Wrench.
The tightening of the bottom end bearing bush can be done
safely and properly by use of Torque Wrench. It has got
silicon clutch and hence it will never get over tightened.
When a particular torque is reached it will give a sound
which will indicate proper tightening without over stressing
or over tightening of the bolts. Hence torque range is the
better method of tightening the bottom end bearing bolts.
At present, there are other methods such as angle and
hydraulic methods which are much better than the torque
method.

9
MCA 9
Q.9 Small cracks in the surface of diesel engine
crankshaft bearings are an indication of

Ans.9. fatigue failure.

When the crankshaft bearing is subjected to fatigue, the
strength at which it will crack will lower down and hence
the cracks appear. These cracks are quiet significant and
are not because of corrosion or insufficient lubrication or
abnormal wear. This will not give the cracking. Cracking is
due to the material which is under stress due to fatigue.

10
MCA 10
Q.10 If water is found in the crankcase of a diesel
engine the cause may be

Ans.10. due to cracked cylinder head, cracked cylinder

liner and leaky cylinder gasket.
In case of four-stroke engine if the cylinder head is cracked,
there is a possibility that water may enter the crankcase
when the engine is in stopped condition. If the cylinder
liner is cracked water may enter from the cylinder head
through the gap between piston rings and it will enter into
the crankcase.

11
MCA 11
Q.11 The amount of wear on a speed precision main
bearing can be accurately determined

A.11. by comparing the data from previous reading to the

present reading taken with ball anvil outside micrometer.
Ball anvil outside micrometer can be utilized to measure
the thickness of curved surface. So by comparing the
thickness (previous and present) of the shell bearing, we
will be able to find out the degree of wear of the bearing.

12
MCA 12
Q.12 Friction, engine wear, and oil consuming in a
diesel engine are directly related to the
Ans.12. viscosity of the oil.
In case of lubricating oil, viscosity of the oil place an
important role in reducing the friction wear and wear down
of different components of the engine because the formation
of film lubrication depends on the viscosity of the oil. The
viscosity of oil has to maintained in a preset condition so as
to have proper film thickness and to reduce the friction
between the rotating parts and to take out the heat
generated due to friction. Hence viscosity plays an
important part in determining the engine wear and friction.
At the same time, if the viscosity is too low there is
possibility that excessive consumption will take place
because of leakage of oil and more amount of evaporation
will take place.
13
MCA 13
Q.13 The nuts of main bearing, connecting rod bolts
and all other moving parts are to be secured by

Ans.13. split pins or other effective means.

All the nuts of these parts after tightening should be locked
by means of locking washers, star washers or split pins so
that they will not tend to loosen out. This is a safety
measure in addition to hydraulic tightening.

14
MCA 14
Q.14 An acceptable means of tightening connecting
rods and main bearing cap bolts is
(a) to measure the torque applied to each nut and bolt
assembly
(b) stretch up each nut before and after tightening
Ans. 14 to measure the torque applied to each nut and
bolt assembly.
The torque should be measured so that they are tightened
to the required torque and they will not be over tightened.
Hence it is necessary to measure the torque applied to each
bolt at the time of tightening. At the same time, the
elongation can also be checked to countermeasure to
confirm the proper tightening.

15
MCA 15
Q.15 One method of determining crankshaft
misalignment is by
Ans. 15. taking micrometer readings between the crank
webs opposite the crank pin every 90 degrees or the
crank angle rotation. This means that we are actually
measuring the distance between the two crank webs at
every 90 degrees position of the crank. The distance
between the webs will change according to the
misalignment of the crankshaft centerline. If the crankshaft
centerline is misaligned because of weardown of the main
bearings, the gap between the webs may increase at
particular crank position and it may decrease excessively at
particular crank position. Hence by comparing the web
reading between these two positions, it is possible to find
out the misalignment of the crankshaft.
16
MCA 16
Q.16. On large slow speed main propulsion diesel
engine lower main bearing wear is usually measured by
using
Ans. 16. bridge gauge.
Considering that the crankshaft is sufficiently flexible and
heavy enough, it will always keep the contact with the
bottom half of the main bearing. If the bottom half main
bearing wears down, the centerline of the crankshaft moves
downward in order to keep the contact with the bearing.
Hence automatically the bridge gauge reading which
measures the position of the crankshaft centerline with the
fixed machine surface transverse girder. If this increases it
indicates that weardown has taken place. This reading has
to be compared with the previous reading so as to measure
the weardown of the main bearing bottom half.

17
MCA 17
Q.17 Abnormal crankpin bearing and piston skirt
surface wear indicates

Ans.17. incorrect connecting rod alignment.

The connecting rod is to be aligned perfectly with the center
of the liner and piston. If this alignment is not carried out
properly, the centerline of the piston with respect to the
liner will get altered. Under such circumstances, the piston
will start rubbing against the liner wall thus giving
excessive weardown of piston skirt. At the same time, it will
cause alteration in the lubricating oil film produced in the
bottom end bearing and hence bottom end bearing
weardown will be non-uniform and excessive.

18
MCA 18
Q.18 To determine the main bearing clearances in a
diesel engine, you should use

Ans. 18. plastic gauge.

Plastic gauges are like lead wire in the form of stripes.
These stripes are to flexed between the top half of the main
bearing and the journal and the main bearing is to be
tightened. When this is done the plastic will flow and the
thickness of the plastic will get reduced and the width of
the plastic will increase. This increase in the width of
plastic is directly calibrated with the clearance in the
bearing and hence the bearing clearance can be checked
with the help of plastic gauges. These are more accurate
and safe than any other method of checking.

19
MCA 19
Q.19 In a large low speed diesel engine the clearance
between the piston crown and cylinder head is found to
be excessive. How is this corrected?
Ans.19. Shims should be inserted between the crankpin
bearing box and connecting rod foot.
In case of marine type of connecting rod, where connecting
rod is fitted on top of bottom end bearing, it is possible to
insert the shims between the crankpin bearing box and
connecting rod foot so that the position of the piston in the
cylinder liner with respect to the cylinder head can be
altered. Hence the compression pressure and clearance
volume can be changed.
 

20
MCA 20
Q.20 Which of the following operating conditions can
occur when shims are removed from the joint between
marine type diesel engine bottom end bearing and the
foot of connecting rod?

Ans.20 The piston position will move downwards with

respect to the cylinder head.
When the shims are removed, the piston will move
downwards with respect to the cylinder head. Hence the
compression pressure and clearance volume will increase
and compression ratio will reduce.

21
MCA 21
Q.21 Bearing crush as applied to diesel engine main
bearing will result in

Ans. 21. positive sitting of the bearing in the housing.

Due to the crush there is interference fit between the
housing and the bearing. The back side of the bearing will
have frictional contact or interference contact or
interference fit with the housing which will prevent the
rotation of the bearing in the housing when the shaft is
rotating. Thus it will give positive sitting of the bearing in
the housing.

22
MCA 22
Q.22 Crank web deflection readings will give a positive
indication of

Ans. 22. worn main bearing journal.

Whether the main bearing journal is worn out or the main
bearing itself is worn out because of the wear down, the
shaft will deflect downwards to maintain the contact with
the bearing surface. Due to this the centerline of crankshaft
will get sagged. Hence where the deflection is taken it will
indicate an excessive crankshaft deflection. This will
indicate that the bearing or the journal is worn out or the
bearing housing has sagged because of the transverse
girder of bedplate is sagged or distorted.

23
MCA 23
Q.23 Well lubricated bearing surface always appears

Ans.23. dull white.

Dull white is the colour of the overlay of tin which the
topmost layer of bearing surface. Below this is the layer of
nickle barrier which is hard and shining layer. Hence if the
bearing is properly running and there is no wiping then the
bearing surface must be dull silvery white.

24
MCA 24
Q.24You are inspecting a lower main precision bearing
on a diesel engine You observe that about half the thin
Babbitt lining are of milky white color The condition is
caused by
Ans.24. wiping out.
If wiping out takes place, the top layer of tin i.e. overlay is
wiped out. When overlay is wiped out there is bright nickel
barrier will be seen as shiny spots. Hence half the Babbitt
is already visible in a milky white color which indicates that
wiping has taken place because of lack of lubrication or
lubricating oil having water content or excessive loading of
the bearing.

25
MCA 25
Q.25 In a large low speed diesel engine excessive piston
clearance can be restored by

Ans.25. inserting shims between crankpin bearing box

and connecting rod foot.
By inserting shims between the bearing box and connecting
rod foot the piston position can be raised in the liner. When
the piston position is raised in the liner automatically the
clearance volume reduces and the compression pressure
increases. It can be restored back to the original.

26
MCA 26
Q.26 A thrust bearing is used in diesel propulsion
engine to
Ans. 26. control axial movement of the crankshaft.
When the ship moves forward or aft, the propeller produces a thrust
which is applied to ship’s hull. At the same time this thrust is
exerted on the propeller blades. As the propeller is connected to the
propeller shaft which is connected to the engine shaft, due to the
axial thrust created, there is a tendency for the crankshaft to move
inside the engine i.e. the crankshaft will have axial movement. If
this axial movement is not prevented or taken care off, there will be
misalignment between the piston connecting rod and bottom end
bearing. Also the crankshaft webs may touch the A-frame and the
main bearings which may damage to the engine structure. Also the
rest of the crankshaft will be subjected to axial thrust and hence it
may bend or break. Hence it is necessary to take care of this axial
thrust before it enters the engine and affects the moving parts of the
engine. For this purpose, thrust block is provided at the end of the
last unit so that all other units and crankshaft is protected
from the axial thrust and the crankshaft alignment will not 27
be affected. MCA 27
Q.27 The precision engineering bearing inserts are
manufactured with small portion of bearing ends
extending beyond the bearing housing or caps. The
installation process of these bearings requires sufficient
Ans. 27. crush.
The bearing shell itself is in two halves. The bearing shell
halves are extended beyond the bearing housing by
approximately 0.3mm. This is applicable in modern thin-
shelled bearings. As these bearings are thin-shelled, they
cannot support shaft on their own and hence need backing-
up support of the bearing housing. Hence it is necessary to
have full contact with the back of the bearing and the
bearing keep. Hence crush is provided to achieve this. Also,
it prevents the rotation of the shelf in the housing due to
the rotation of the shaft.

28
MCA 28
Q.28 On most modern diesel engines, the main and
connecting rod bearings receive their lubricating oil by
Ans. 28. pressure feed.
On most modern diesel engines, where the load is
comparatively high, it is necessary that the bearings should
be lubricated by lubricating oil. This lubricating oil will
form a wedge type film between the stationary bearing and
the rotating shaft so as to prevent the metallic contact and
the friction between the bearings and the journal. For this
purpose, it is necessary to supply large quantity of oil so as
to have a continuous and uninterrupted supply of
lubricating oil which is required to form the film as well as
cooling purpose. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to
continuously supply lubricating oil under pressure. This
will overcome the piping friction and also it will maintain
uninterrupted and sufficiently large quantity of
lubricating oil to the bearings.
29
MCA 29
Q.29 Which kind of bearing is most widely used for
main and connecting rod bearing of a modern high-
speed diesel engine?
Ans. 29. Precision insert.
The precision insert bearings are factory made bearing
which are just to be inserted into the bearing keep and no
scrapping or * of the bearing is required. These bearings are
mostly thin shelled white metal bearing and they have got
better fatigue resistance and high load carrying capacity.
Hence they are called precision insert bearings. Most of the
engines and bearings, where there is fluctuation of load and
heavy loading such as crosshead bearings and the bottom
end bearing, the thin shelled aluminum bearings are
utilized. Even on many engines, main bearings are also
made up of thin shelled bearings.

30
MCA 30
Q.30 Which of the following is an example of a solid
bearing?

Ans.30. Piston pin bushing.

Piston pin bushing, i.e. the gudgeon pin bearing, is a solid
bearing as it is not in two halves. It is bush which is
shrunk-fit into the boss of the connecting rod top end thus
forming a solid bearing.

31
MCA 31
Q.31 In a diesel engine, the main bearings are used
between

Ans.31. the crankshaft and the engine block.

The main bearings are used for supporting the crankshaft
on the engine blocks. Thus it is necessary to use the main
bearings in between the crankpin bearings so that the
crankshaft will be properly supported over the entire length
by the bearings at equal distance. This will prevent the
bending and sagging of the crankshaft and it will transfer
the power to the bedplate. This will help in having a rigid
bedplate which will support the crankshaft and have a
proper alignment of the crankshaft.

32
MCA 32
Q.31 What kind of motion are the Gudgeon pin bearings
subjected to?
Ans.31. Swinging motion
In the gudgeon pin bearing, there is no relative movement
between the pin and the bearing and there is only swinging
motion which takes place. The swinging is on one side
when the piston is moving downwards. The swinging comes
to zero at TDC and BDC and the swinging action turns over
the other side as the piston turns over the dead center and
starts moving upwards. Thus there is a swinging action
between the two extremities which will cause the oscillating
swinging of the connecting rod which ultimately gives the
oscillating movement to the gudgeon pin bearing.

33
MCA 33
Q.32 The proper location for journal bearing oil groove
is
Ans. 32. at the side relief where the two shelves meet.
If oil is supplied to the grooves, it can be conveyed very
easily and without any pressure drop on the loaded
bearing, i.e. bottom half of main bearing. Hence for the
pumping action of the rotating journal, it is necessary to
supply oil at the side of the journal, at the junction of the
bottom and top half, so that the rotating movement of the
journal the oil will be drawn and pressure will be created.
This pressure will cause the wedge type lubricating oil film
due to which the hydrodynamic lubrication will be possible.
At the same time, as the grooves are not in the loaded area,
it will not reduce the load carrying capacity of the bearings.

34
MCA 34
Q.33 Diesel engine main and connecting rod precision
bearing are made in two half. Each half exceeds one-half
bearing circumference by a small amount. The small
amount is termed
Ans. 33. the crush.
This crush is highly essential so that when two halves of the bearing
are fitted over each other and has been tightened by bolts the
bearing halves, they will have easy flow into the bearing housing
and will have a good first contact with the back side of the bearing
housing thus preventing rotation of bearing in the bearing housing.
At the same time, the load of the shaft is transmitted on the bearing
because thin shelled bearing due to its thinness they are unable to
carry out load on their own and so they require some backing and
this backing is possible through the crush. Also due to this crush,
there is a perfect contact between the back of the bearing and the
bearing housing and this provides thermal conductivity between the
bearing and the housing. Thus it keeps the bearing cool.
This crush provides the interference fit between the bearing
and that of the housing. 35
MCA 35
Q.34 On a large diesel engine installation, crankshaft
axial alignment is maintained by the
Ans. 34. engine thrust bearings.
In a large diesel engines, which is used for propulsion
purpose, because of the axial thrust created by the
propeller the entire engine shafting will get pushed inwards
inside the engine. Due to this there will be misalignment
with the piston, piston rod, connecting rod and bottom-end
bearing positions. At the same time, there is a possibility
that due to the axial movement of the crankshaft, the
crankshaft web will move and touch the transverse girder of
the bedplate thus causing damage to the bedplate.

36
MCA 36
Q.35 The most critical time for any bearing with
regards to lubrication is
Ans. 35. during starting.Most of the bearings used on the
engines work on the principle of hydrodynamic lubrication.
During hydrodynamic lubrication, there is no metal-to-
metal contact between the bearing and the shaft. The
bearing and shaft is separated by lubricating oil film. This
oil film is formed due to the rotation of the shaft inside the
bearing. As the speed of the shaft increases, more oil is
drawn between the shaft and the bearing and thicker
lubricating oil film is formed. During starting of the engine,
the speed is very low. Hence it is difficult to form a
hydrodynamic lubrication between the shaft and the
bearing. During this time, for a short period, there is metal-
to-metal contact between the shaft and the bearing surface.
Hence this is the most crucial period as the
characteristics of the lubricating oil (oiliness) comes
into use and this is time when more wiping out of the 37
MCA 37
bearing takes place. Hence it is necessary to coat the
bearings with anti-friction material to reduce the friction
between the bearing and the shaft at the time of starting
because once the engine is started and the engine has
achieved the speed, the white metal does not play an
important role because there is no metal-to-metal contact
and it is pure hydrodynamic lubrication. Hence white soft
coating is useful for the boundary lubrication which is
existing at the time of starting the engine.

38
MCA 38
Q. 36 When is the highest load applied to the diesel
engine crankshaft main bearings?

Ans. 36.At peak firing loads.

During the firing of the fuel, the piston is nearly at TDC
position and the piston rod, connecting rod and the
connecting rod bearings are nearly in the same vertical
plane because of which full load of firing is transmitted to
the crankshaft. When the load is transmitted to the
crankshaft, the crankshaft is supported by the main
bearings. Thus the load is transmitted to the main bearings
and ultimately to the bed plate and transverse girder.

39
MCA 39
Q.37 What is the function of the main thrust bearing?
Ans. 37. Transmitting propeller thrust to the hull.In
case of thrust bearing, there is a thrust collar and a pad.
Due to the power produced by the engine, axial thrust is
produced because the power is transmitted to the propeller
shaft and the load is taken by the propeller blades. This
loading of the propeller blades will try to push the propeller
inwards and along with that the thrust will be transmitted
in the form of axial thrust to the propeller shaft and then to
the crankshaft. This thrust will be transmitted to the ship
side through the collar which is an integrated part of the
propeller shaft or the crankshaft and the pads which are
fitted on the forward side during the forward running and
to the aft side during the astern running. The thrust is
transmitted to the ship’s hull as this is useful which helps
in moving the ship in the desired direction.
40
MCA 40
Q.38 In modern diesel engines which of the following is
used as a support for main bearings?
Ans. 38. Bed plate.
In most of the modern engines, in case of conventional
crankshaft, the crankshaft rests on the bottom half of the
main bearing. The bottom half of the main bearing is
resting over the saddle created in the bedplate. Thus the
complete load of the engine will be transmitted via the main
bearings to the bedplate and from there to the ship
structure. But in case of under shrunk crankshafts, the
crankshaft will not be resting over the bedplate but it is
overhung or under shrunk from the bedplate. This is
useful for the easy removal of the main bearing for
inspection and replacement.
41
MCA 41