6308-2RS-NSK bearing: complete specifications & equivalents

The 6308-2RS-NSK is a ISO 15 radial bearing sized 40 x 90 x 23 mm (bore x OD x width) with 2RS sealing. Verify dimensions against the official catalog before ordering.

Bearing dimension schematic Front view shows outer diameter D and bore d; side section shows width B. D = 90 mm d = 40 B = 23 mm side section front view
Principal dimensions: bore d 40 mm, outer diameter D 90 mm, width B 23 mm. Schematic, not to scale.

Specification table

ParameterValue
Brand NSK
Bore diameter d 40 mm
Outer diameter D 90 mm
Width B 23 mm
Material GCr15
Seal / shield 2RS
Internal clearance CN
Tolerance class P0
Cage steel, stamped ribbon (J-type)
Basic dynamic load rating C 45 kN
Basic static load rating C0 24 kN
Operating temperature -40 to +150 °C
Mass 636 g
Manufacturer designation NSK 6308DDU
Standard ISO 15
Catalog version NSK Rolling Bearings E1103 Part C
Last verified 2026-09-24

Source: catalog reference (NSK Rolling Bearings E1103 Part C) · extracted 2026-09-24

Dimensions in inches & 6300-series range

Bore d1.575 in
Outer diameter D3.543 in
Width B0.906 in
ISO bore code08
Radial section height (D−d)/225 mm
Smallest bore in 6300-series2 mm
Largest outer diameter in 6300-series500 mm
Width range across 6300-series3–95 mm
Bore position in 6300-series (smallest first)15 of 40
Bore above smallest 6300-series size38 mm

Mounting, lubrication & life for 6308-2RS-NSK

Recommended fits & mounting

  • Rotating inner ring on a 40 mm shaft: k5; housing bore H7 for normal stationary-load outer rings. Reverse the logic if the outer ring rotates.
  • Fit by induction heating (max 120 °C) where practical — never drive the ring home through the rolling elements.
  • Keep shaft and housing fillet radii below the bearing chamfer so the 23 mm-wide ring seats square on its shoulder.

Lubrication strategy

Contact-sealed execution: greased and sealed for life, no relubrication path. Grease life — not steel fatigue — usually sets the replacement interval; rising running temperature or noise near the end of service is the practical trigger.

Worked L10 life example (illustrative duty)

For ball bearings, L10h = (C/P)3 · 106 / (60·n). Taking an example radial equivalent load P = 3 kN at n = 1,500 r/min (a small belted motor duty — substitute the real equivalent load from the application calculation):

C = 45.0 kN → L10h ≈ 37,500 hours

Choosing a section at the same 40 mm bore

SeriesOpen executionOD × widthC (kN)Limiting speed (r/min)
60xx6008-FAG68 × 1517.814,600
62xx6208-FAG80 × 1831.513,600
63xx6308-FAG90 × 2347.011,800
64xx6408-FAG110 × 2768.09,500
618xx61808-FAG52 × 74.919,300
619xx61908-FAG62 × 1214.515,800
160xx1600868 × 912.615,200

A larger section is not a drop-in swap — OD and width change — and same-envelope seal variants are compared on the 40×90×23 envelope page. Match meaning, not the size chart alone: see what the cross-reference levels mean.

Cross references & equivalents

Equivalent modelBrandMatch levelNote
6308-FAG FAG partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-2RS-FAG FAG full
Dimensions and internal design equivalent — standard interchange.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-ZZ-FAG FAG partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-NTN NTN partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-2RS-NTN NTN full
Dimensions and internal design equivalent — standard interchange.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-RSR-NTN NTN partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-ZZ-NTN NTN partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308 SKF partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-ZZ SKF partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-2RS SKF full
Dimensions and internal design equivalent — standard interchange.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
6308-RSR SKF partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
308 SKF partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.
308-ZZ SKF partial
Main dimensions match; tolerances, seals or internal clearance differ.
Same 40×90×23 mm envelope per ISO 15; seal variant and load ratings may differ — confirm sealing and rating before substituting.

Interchange levels: full standard interchange · partial verify parameters · verify manual confirmation required. Links resolve to the equivalent model's specification page where available.

How the 6308-2RS-NSK model number is decoded

6308-2RS is closed by two contacting elastomer lips over a lifetime grease fill; the lips add friction, so the speed ceiling sits below the open execution. Within the medium 63xx section (diameter series 3 of ISO 15), multiplying bore code 08 by five gives the 40 mm bore; the 90 mm outside diameter and 23 mm width follow the same boundary-dimension plan. For a rotating inner ring on a 40 mm shaft under normal load, catalogue practice seats it on a k5 shaft fit with an H7 housing bore — confirm against the actual load direction and magnitude before committing. NSK's contact-seal catalogue number is 6308DDU (suffix DDU), mapped here from the industry-neutral -2RS spelling; it is greased for life and the contacting lip lowers the speed ceiling versus the open bearing.

Typical equipment & failure modes

Common applications

  • electric motors
  • centrifugal pumps
  • small gearboxes
  • conveyors and drives

Known failure patterns

  • seal-lip hardening and loss of pre-grease in sustained high-temperature service
  • grease-life expiry in the sealed-for-life cavity (no relubrication path)
  • false brinelling from vibration while the shaft is stationary
  • fretting corrosion on a loose shaft seat

Selection pitfalls — read before you substitute

  • A 40 mm shaft for 6308 should be finished to Ra ≤ 1.6 µm with square seating faces; at this bore a scored or oval journal shows up directly as running noise and early raceway damage.
  • The 63xx medium series gains rating at 40 mm bore through a 90 mm OD and 23 mm width; the heavier rolling elements also trade away some speed versus a 6208.
  • Contact seals add drag and heat: 6308-2RS-NSK runs slower and cooler-limited than the open 6308; rubber lips are generally limited to roughly 80–110 °C continuous depending on grease, and C3 clearance is the common hot-duty choice.
  • Never wash a sealed 6308-2RS-NSK in solvent or press it home via the outer ring; solvent destroys the grease thickener and mounting force through the seal deforms the lip.
  • Deep-groove ball bearings tolerate only minutes of misalignment; if the 90 mm housing cannot be aligned, switch to a self-aligning type rather than shimming 6308-2RS-NSK.
  • The housing bore for the 90 mm OD should be round within IT7; an oval bore pinches the outer ring of 6308-2RS-NSK and shows up later as two-point loaded raceway wear.
  • NSK catalogues the contact-sealed version as 6308DDU (suffix DDU), mapped here from the industry-neutral -2RS spelling; it is greased for life and the contacting lip lowers the speed ceiling versus the open bearing. NSK's DDU lip design is single-lip contact, so grease life is longer than VV but drag torque is higher.
  • The 40 mm bore puts 6308 in NSK's general-purpose industrial range; the standard pressed-steel cage and CN clearance cover most electric-motor and pump duty. NSK's VV non-contact seal is the high-speed choice here — DDU contact seal costs roughly 30–40% of the open-bearing speed ceiling.
  • NSK rates 6308 at 45 kN dynamic (C) and 24 kN static (C0); this upper-medium rating covers conveyor and gearbox drives, but at these loads the pressed-steel cage can be the limiting factor under shock — consider the machined brass cage (suffix M) for impact duty.
  • At 636 g, 6308 requires a soft-jaw vise or arbor press for mounting — never hammer it onto the shaft, and support the opposite ring to avoid brinelling the raceways.
  • The 40×90×23 mm envelope of 6308 gives a D/d ratio of 2.25 and 25.0 mm radial section height — a heavy NSK section built for high-load, lower-speed duty; specifying it in a high-rpm motor generates excess heat and shortens grease life, so prefer a 62/63-series there.
  • The 45/24 kN load ratings, mass 636 g here are NSK Rolling Bearings E1103 Part C catalogue figures for 6308DDU on the 40×90×23 mm ISO 15 envelope; internal geometry and ratings legitimately differ between brands, so re-verify before substituting another manufacturer's 6308 in a rated drive. NSK does not tabulate reference or limiting speeds in the E1103 Part C dimension tables used for this page — consult NSK's separate speed-rating tables before high-speed service.
  • Standard P0 runout from NSK is adequate up to the catalogue limiting speed on ground shaft seats; spindle or instrument positions should specify P6/P5 accuracy explicitly — it is a different order code, not a sorting of standard stock.
  • NSK does not recommend washing new shielded or sealed bearings; the rust-preventive film on open units is compatible with standard lithium greases and needs no removal unless the application demands a special fill.

Frequently asked questions

What are the dimensions of a 6308-2RS-NSK bearing?

A 6308-2RS-NSK deep-groove ball bearing has a 40 mm bore, 90 mm outer diameter and 23 mm width (1.575 × 3.543 × 0.906 in), per ISO 15 boundary dimensions. It is fitted with two contact rubber seals and is normally pre-greased.

What lubrication does 6308-2RS-NSK need?

6308-2RS-NSK is supplied pre-greased for life and is not designed to be opened for relubrication; where a relubrication path is required, specify the open 6308 with a housing grease fitting instead.

How does the 6308 bore code work?

The last two digits of 6308 are bore code 08, giving 08 × 5 = 40 mm bore. The 90 mm outside diameter and 23 mm width follow the ISO 15 diameter series, not the bore code alone.

What is the NSK suffix for a sealed 6308?

NSK uses suffix DDU for the contact rubber seal (catalogue number 6308DDU), VV for the non-contact rubber seal, and ZZ for steel shields. The industry-neutral spellings on this page (-2RS / -RSR / -ZZ) map to those NSK suffixes while keeping the 40×90×23 mm ISO 15 envelope.

Does NSK offer 6308 with C3 clearance?

NSK lists C3 (and C4) internal-clearance options for most deep-groove sizes under the same base designation; the clearance is fixed at manufacture, so specify it at order time rather than planning to adjust later.

Reviewed & verified by the MPN Base engineering desk against source catalog NSK Rolling Bearings E1103 Part C on 2026-09-24. Read our editorial & correction policy.