It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Bill McKnight, but he digs deep in these trio of videos on behalf of MAHLE Aftermarket. Bill has been cranking out a TON of videos, highlighting various components from rotating assemblies to piston rings and everything in between.
Over the Summer and into early Autumn, Bill had made a three-part series covering bearings as a whole; from understanding coatings, polishing and why bearings fail in the first place. While he lends a rather comical and somewhat relaxed approach to providing the information, it’s certainly valuable information and 100% genuine. Bill’s knowledge stretching across decades of vast experience and he certainly knows his stuff!
So what we’ve done, is uploaded all three videos for you to enjoy and gather useful insight. In the first video, titled, “Understanding Why Bearings Fail” hosted above, Bill elaborates on the hows and whys engine failures happen. He also delves into bearing distress, and the difference between the two.
Bill returns in the second video, digging heavily into the various types of coatings; such as PTFE, essentially a trade name for Teflon and the benefits of them. He digs out a couple of used, damaged bearings, and explains the ins and outs as to why they have failed.
The third and final video concludes the series by Bill answering a question that the MAHLE staff had received on their Facebook page. In doing so, he provides a more efficient way of reaching out them. The question is from a customer called, Frank, and his concern was that he was interested in using an abrasive Scotch Brite pad to remove the black coating from the Clevite bearings that MAHLE manufactures.
Unfortunately, the Scotch Brite pads are simply too abrasive for the bearings, due to the materials used. He recommends to dimly wash them, but if you insist on polishing them, use a newspaper and rub it five or six times and will polish it accordingly.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
