Bearings & seals
Bearing Number Lookup & Replacement Guide
A bearing number is useful only when the complete designation is preserved. Start with the manufacturer and every prefix or suffix, then verify the dimensions and operating requirements before treating another bearing as a replacement.
Copy every character from the bearing and packaging, including prefixes, suffixes, slashes, spaces, and clearance or seal codes.
Designation conventions are not perfectly interchangeable across brands, so keep the original manufacturer attached to the number.
Measure bore, outside diameter, and width when the original catalog record cannot be recovered.
Confirm whether the unit is deep-groove ball, angular-contact, cylindrical roller, tapered roller, spherical roller, needle, insert, or another design.
Record whether the bearing is open, shielded, or sealed and whether the suffix indicates a specific seal construction.
Preserve internal-clearance, tolerance, precision, preload, or special heat-treatment designations.
Record speed, radial and axial load, temperature, lubrication, contamination, shaft fit, and housing fit.
Bore, outside diameter, width, shoulders, chamfers, and fits must work with the shaft and housing.
The replacement must support the actual radial, axial, shock, and combined loading of the application.
Speed rating, lubricant, grease fill, and temperature limits must suit the duty.
Clearance, cage, contact angle, row configuration, seals, and shields can change performance even when dimensions match.
Water, dust, chemicals, washdown, electrical current, and temperature can require a different bearing variant.
SKF documents that suffixes identify design variants. Removing them can erase sealing, clearance, cage, or other important configuration information.
Two bearings can share boundary dimensions while differing in internal design, load capability, speed, clearance, or sealing.
Insert, needle, tapered, customized, and other bearing families can use designation systems that differ from the common basic system.
The physical size may match while lubrication and contamination protection no longer suit the application.
Often, but use the full manufacturer-specific designation. Prefixes and suffixes can materially change the bearing configuration.
No. Boundary dimensions are only one part of the replacement check; type, load, speed, clearance, sealing, lubrication, and environment can still differ.
Manufacturers use suffixes to identify variants that differ from the basic design, including features such as seals, clearance, cage, or other special construction.