No warning or short-warning failures are the worst kind. Think of a tire. It can wear out slowly over thousands of driving miles or rupture suddenly, at full highway speed, from a random piece of road debris. You can monitor tread loss over time and conveniently schedule a tire change. Conversely, who could predict the sudden appearance of a sharp piece of iron?
What’s life like inside a rolling element bearing? Let’s say you are a dollop of grease and you’ve just been pushed by a grease gun into the dark recesses of a bearing cavity. You are now in a combat zone. What are your orders? Maybe you are on a suicide mission. Your bearing has been screaming for reinforcements and you are it – the new recruit – all gooey and slimy.
I’ve learned that many people are skittish about flushing practices and even periodic oil changes. This fear seems to be driven, in some cases, by an unsavory past experience or alarming anecdotes passed on by others. The story usually begins with a seemingly healthy machine. As a preventive maintenance measure, the machine is scheduled for an oil change or flush. Immediately afterward, the machine fails. The quick conclusion reached is: Flushes and oil changes cause sudden-death mechanical failure.
Moisture, when it contaminates hydraulic and lubricating oils, has a degrading effect to both the lubricant and the machine. Some additives adsorb to the water and are removed when the water separates from the oil.
