Originally Posted by Micahmcmeen
It was just noisy and had some play.
Fair enough, that's a textbook indicator of a bearing that's dimensionally worn
(if you ever wonder why no bearing manufacturer will give you the exact definition of a "bad bearing"- in terms of tolerance, this is why. These are fixed so any additional tolerance is out of spec and they cant be adjusted in the field)
Read a few bearing failure analysis publications out there (I recommend both the SKF and Timken manuals) to follow what I'm saying.
Assuming a properly built assembly......... there are only 2 root cause main categories of the condition you are describing
The lubrication film (boundary in this case) was lost for whatever reason ( lack of lube, improper lube for the application, improper level) and this changed the surface finishes which then led to grinding which let to loss of mass in either the rolling media or races opening it up to get the clearance.
( probably the most common^^^^^^)
The load ( axial, radial, thrust or any machining offset and/or shaft deflection) has forced the bearing assembly off of center axis rotation and changed the running geometry. ( misalignment in simple terms but to varying degrees combined with loading) Depending on the severity of this condition, no lubrication or method ( even oil mist) will compensate or overcome- the best you can hope for is to buy time.
The cause and cure for your condition is in one of those 2 headers