Moline29111303DType E 4-Bolt Flange Mount Bearing, 3-3/16 in Bore, Tapered Roller, Twin Locking Collars, Non-Expansion

Product Description

What this part is

A Type E four-bolt flange mount bearing — a square Class 30 cast iron flange housing with four bolt pads, carrying a genuine Timken tapered roller bearing insert with a double-extended inner race. It bolts to a vertical face or a bulkhead so the shaft passes through the mounting structure, which is what you use instead of a pillow block when there is no horizontal pedestal to sit on. The four-bolt flange configuration and the four spot-faced bolt pads are confirmed from the product photographs, as are the ring markings 131-05-307 and NPE42138DE stamped on the locking collar and the Moline Bearing Co / “Type E with Timken” grease-fitting tag on the housing.

What “Type E” actually means

Type E is an industry-standard mounted bearing envelope, not one company’s proprietary design — which is the single most useful thing to know about this part. Moline, Dodge, Link-Belt, Sealmaster, Baldor, PEER and others all build to the same Type E dimensions, so a Type E four-bolt flange from any of them is dimensionally interchangeable in a given bore size. Within Moline’s own range this housing is also dimensionally interchangeable with the Split E1000, ME2000 and ME3000 lines, which matters if you ever want to move from tapered roller to spherical roller without redrilling the machine.

Decoding the designation

The insert is a Timken tapered roller bearing with a double-extended inner race — that is the DE in the collar marking. The inner race runs out past the housing on both sides, and each end carries a drive collar with two headless setscrews that pass through clearance holes in the race to grip the shaft. Two consequences worth understanding. First, locking on both ends distributes the drive load over a long length of shaft rather than concentrating it at one collar, which is why Type E units survive on shafts that would chew up a single-collar unit. Second, the oversized close-fit collars sit right against the seals and act as flingers, throwing off water and dust before it reaches the lip — a real advantage in wash-down, damp or dusty service. Setscrew spacing is 65°.

What these specs mean in practice

Tapered rollers are the reason you pick Type E: they carry heavy radial load and heavy thrust load simultaneously, which neither a ball unit nor a spherical roller unit of the same bore will do. Tapered geometry also runs to higher speed than a spherical roller unit. What you give up is misalignment tolerance. Type E accommodates only about 0.010 in per foot of shaft, so if your application has a flexing frame, a long deflecting shaft or a badly out-of-square mounting face, a spherical roller unit is the correct choice and a Type E will fail early. Choose Type E when the load has a real thrust component and the geometry is good; choose spherical when the geometry is bad.

Shaft-ready — and why that saves money

Moline ships Type E units completely assembled, internally adjusted, sealed and pre-lubricated. You are not setting roller preload on site and you are not exposing the raceways to shop dirt during assembly, which is the usual cause of infant mortality in field-assembled tapered roller units. Slip it on, shim it, lock the collars.

Fitting notes

Clean the shaft, check it is straight and to size, and lubricate the bore lightly to ease assembly. Press only on the inner ring — never strike the housing or the seals. Bolt the unit down using shims that span the full housing face, so the inner ring does not rub the housing bore. Set the final shaft position, then tighten the setscrews alternately in small increments; for the 2-11/16 to 3-1/2 in shaft range the setscrews are 1/2-13 and the torque is 620 in-lb. Re-tighten after 24 hours of running — this is not optional on a Type E, it is how the race fully locks to the shaft. Shaft tolerance for this size band is +0.0000 to -0.0010 in; bore tolerance is +0.001/-0.000 in for 3 in and smaller bores and +0.002/-0.000 in above 3 in. Standard lithium-base No. 2 grease is good to 250 °F; a high-temperature charge to 350 °F is a factory option. Relubricate with small amounts frequently rather than large amounts rarely, and in wet or dusty service keep enough grease in it to show a slight purge at the seals.

Sealing options

The standard V-Guard contact seal is nitrile and is built in at each end at assembly, sealing effectively both on and off the shaft and across the whole self-alignment range. Moline also offers a Teflon contact seal and a balanced metal labyrinth seal for high-speed or high-temperature duty, and a steel seal for extreme dirt and water — worth knowing if you are specifying replacements rather than matching this one.

Interchange guidance

The locking collar is stamped 131-05-307 and the insert NPE42138DE; the catalogue number carried in this listing is 29111303D. Moline’s current published number for a Type E four-bolt flange in the 3-3/16 in bore is 19311303, and that housing casting is common to the 3-3/16 in through 3-1/2 in bore sizes — only the insert bore differs across that group. Measure your shaft and match the bore. Moline Bearing Company is still an independent American manufacturer in Batavia, Illinois, with housings cast in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, so these units remain available new.