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Wheel end bearing is one of the critical components of the vehicle as it shares the loads & support wheel rotation simultaneously. In wheel end, taper roller bearings are used. It helps to withstand both vertical & lateral loads imparted during cornering. Taper roller bearings are used in pair of two so that overall impact of lateral forces during straight running would be nullified. In wheel end bearing systems bearings are kept at distance w.r.t to each other based on position of load line, sharing the total portion of load accordingly. Life of bearings is dependent on whether the bearings are operating in play or preload. This paper focuses on various aspects of bearings life & how it varies with respect to Play & Preload. Also a methodology is developed to measure the overall preload of bearing system. In second stage a methodology is developed which gives an indirect method to measure the bearing preload in terms of wheel end torque to rotate.

Wheel end bearing is one of the critical components of the vehicle as it directly faces the road loads for harsh operating environment. Bearing being a precisely manufactured component and rotating at high speed, utmost care is required while assembling as well as during operation. In operating condition wheel end is directly exposed to outside environment making it prone to entry of contamination. This contamination if not prevented from entering into wheel end through proper sealing it would cause lubricant contamination and consequently bearing failure. Bearing replacement and overall wheel end service is time consuming activity reducing the turn out time of the vehicle. In wheel ends, one side is sealed with the help of seal while the other side is protected by cap and gasket. This cap-gasket interface is very critical from sealing perspective and utmost importance needs to be taken while designing the same.

Ever-increasing operational cost, reducing profit margins & increase in competition, it is of upmost significance for fleet owners & drivers to opt for a vehicle having maximum uptime. OEM's are under immense pressure to design & develop vehicles/subsystems which are reliable enough to minimize downtime & withstand heavy overloading plus extreme operating conditions especially tippers. Vehicle systems like Wheel end (hub, bearing, and grease) which are designed & packaged according to a very stringent envelop & operate as a closed system facing all the extremities of operating conditions. This undoubtly make them prone to no. of failure modes which are resulting in vehicle unplanned stoppages, so any failure mode related to the same must be taken care with utmost importance. In commercial vehicles the bearing outer cup is in interference fit with the hub. These bearings of wheel hub have to be maintained at the wheel end play of few microns.