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Saw this online and thought someone here might appreciate the story of how oilite bearings evolved:
Spring 1927, Highland Park, Michigan. Chrysler engineering department. Carl Brerier, Chrysler's chief engineer, stared at another failed clutch assembly from the new Chrysler 70 sedan. The problem was maddeningly simple. Oil leaking from the engine was seeping into the clutch mechanism, causing it to slip.
Drivers complained their cars lurched and hesitated. The clutch pilot bearing, a bronze sleeve bushing pressed into the flywheel, was supposed to align the transmission shaft. But its location, buried deep between engine and transmission, made it practically inaccessible. You couldn't grease it from outside. You couldn't service it without disassembling half the drivetrain. Brier had tried everything. Tighter seals, they leaked anyway. Grease packed bearings attracted more oil. graphite bronze bearings wore out quickly. Nothing worked. The problem haunted him through 1927 and into 1928. Then one day, Brier had an idea that seemed absurd.
What if you could make a bearing that held its own oil supply internally? A bearing that was essentially a metal sponge soaked with lubricant. Everyone knew this was impossible. General Motors had tried making bearings from compressed copper and graphite powder in the early 1920s. They'd failed. The bearings crumbled or the oil wouldn't stay in the metal.
The concept was dismissed as impractical. But Carl Brerier was stubborn. He hired two specialists, William Sherwood, a mechanical engineer, and Bill Kulkins, a metallurgist. Their task, make the impossible bearing work. By 1930, they had succeeded. The resulting invention called oilite would revolutionize bearings worldwide.
More importantly for history, when World War II began and American tanks began overheating and seizing from inadequate lubrication in North African deserts, oilite bearings would prove to be the solution that kept armor moving when conventional bearings failed. This is the documented story of how Chrysler engineers turned copper powder and vacuum chambers into self-lubricating metal, creating a technology so effective it's still manufactured today, nearly a century later.
The Chrysler 70, also called the B70, launched in 1924, was Walter Chrysler's first car under his own name. a six-cylinder automobile priced to compete with Ford and GM. It sold well enough to establish Chrysler Corporation as a viable automaker. But by 1927, warranty claims were mounting. The clutch problems weren't catastrophic. Cars didn't break down, but they were embarrassing.
So now you know!
c3
Spring 1927, Highland Park, Michigan. Chrysler engineering department. Carl Brerier, Chrysler's chief engineer, stared at another failed clutch assembly from the new Chrysler 70 sedan. The problem was maddeningly simple. Oil leaking from the engine was seeping into the clutch mechanism, causing it to slip.
Drivers complained their cars lurched and hesitated. The clutch pilot bearing, a bronze sleeve bushing pressed into the flywheel, was supposed to align the transmission shaft. But its location, buried deep between engine and transmission, made it practically inaccessible. You couldn't grease it from outside. You couldn't service it without disassembling half the drivetrain. Brier had tried everything. Tighter seals, they leaked anyway. Grease packed bearings attracted more oil. graphite bronze bearings wore out quickly. Nothing worked. The problem haunted him through 1927 and into 1928. Then one day, Brier had an idea that seemed absurd.
What if you could make a bearing that held its own oil supply internally? A bearing that was essentially a metal sponge soaked with lubricant. Everyone knew this was impossible. General Motors had tried making bearings from compressed copper and graphite powder in the early 1920s. They'd failed. The bearings crumbled or the oil wouldn't stay in the metal.
The concept was dismissed as impractical. But Carl Brerier was stubborn. He hired two specialists, William Sherwood, a mechanical engineer, and Bill Kulkins, a metallurgist. Their task, make the impossible bearing work. By 1930, they had succeeded. The resulting invention called oilite would revolutionize bearings worldwide.
More importantly for history, when World War II began and American tanks began overheating and seizing from inadequate lubrication in North African deserts, oilite bearings would prove to be the solution that kept armor moving when conventional bearings failed. This is the documented story of how Chrysler engineers turned copper powder and vacuum chambers into self-lubricating metal, creating a technology so effective it's still manufactured today, nearly a century later.
The Chrysler 70, also called the B70, launched in 1924, was Walter Chrysler's first car under his own name. a six-cylinder automobile priced to compete with Ford and GM. It sold well enough to establish Chrysler Corporation as a viable automaker. But by 1927, warranty claims were mounting. The clutch problems weren't catastrophic. Cars didn't break down, but they were embarrassing.
So now you know!
c3