52204 bearing: complete specifications & equivalents

Specification table

Source: catalog reference (SKF PUB BU/P1 17000/1 EN (Oct 2018)) · extracted 2026-09-28

Parameters extracted from the official SKF Rolling Bearings catalogue (SKF PUB BU/P1 17000/1 EN (Oct 2018)); SKF® and SKF Explorer® are trademarks of AB SKF, used here for identification only — mpnbase is not an authorized SKF distributor. Boundary dimensions are ISO 15 interchangeable; current production values may differ, verify at skf.com.

Cross references & equivalents

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 52204 model number is decoded

52204 is SKF's 15 mm-bore double-direction thrust ball bearing in the 52200 series to the ISO 104 dimension plan, with a flat housing seating surface, measuring 15×40×26 mm. The unit stacks one central shaft washer (ground bore, tight on the shaft), two outward-facing housing washers and two ball-cage assemblies, reacting axial force in both directions. double-direction 52/54 numbering does NOT decode the bore by the usual single-direction ×5 code — read the 15 mm bore from the dimension table; codes recur across the 522/523/524 sections and systematically trail the 51/53 code values. with no cage suffix this is the standard execution with a stamped sheet-steel ball-cage assembly (pressed cage) — the light, quiet and economical cage for small and medium thrust-ball sizes. Envelope 15×40×26 mm (0.591×1.575×1.024 in), 12.5 mm radial section, C 21.2 kN, C0 37.5 kN, Pu 1.4 kN. reference speed 4,300 r/min (thermal) and limiting speed 6,000 r/min (mechanical), catalogue mass 150 g. Stack/annulus proportions: the 26 mm axial stack over the 1,080 mm² washer annulus gives 24.07 mm of height per annular square millimetre ×10⁻³, and at 150 g the bearing holds about 250.0 kN of C0 per kilogram. Washer-annulus check: the π/4·(D²−d²) contact annulus of 52204 covers about 1,080 mm², distributing C0 37.5 kN over a mean track circle of π·dm ≈ 86 mm. Minimum-load arithmetic: with dm ≈ 27.5 mm and factor A 0.0085, Fam ≈ A·(n·dm/1000)² at the 4,300 r/min reference speed is about 119 N for 52204; below that preload the balls skid and smear the tracks. Section proportions: the 12.5 mm radial section compares with 15 mm of bore (section/bore ≈ 0.83) and the 26 mm height is 2.08× that section — the proportions that identify the 52200 envelope at a glance. Speed band width for this size is 1,700 r/min between reference and limiting (1.40× ratio); lubrication, preload and heat removal decide where inside that band 52204 can actually run. Double-direction order-number note: the unit is built around one central shaft washer with a ground bore and tracks on both faces, flanked by two housing washers and two independent ball-cage assemblies; observe the assembly orientation (the two housing washers face outwards) and note that a 52-series unit replaces a mirrored pair of 51-series bearings only after the stack height and seat drawings are re-checked. Life accounting for 52204 is done separately per direction: if duty applies 21.2 kN C predominantly one way, the idle side's skid risk — not the loaded side's L10 — usually sets the relubrication and preload interval.

Typical equipment & failure modes

Selection pitfalls — read before you substitute

• Where shaft and housing cannot be kept square, the sphered 54-series execution of the same bore with two U seat washers is the self-aligning counterpart; the flat 52200 unit has no alignment capacity.
• Do not replace a 52204 with two single-direction 51-series bearings without re-checking the arrangement: envelope heights, seat details and catalogue ratings differ, even at the same 15×40 mm bore and OD.
• Torque the cover to leave the catalogue axial freedom, never solid: a clamped double-direction stack cannot float to its thermal position, and at 6,000 r/min even a small thermal thrust preload smears the hottest track.
• The double-direction 52204 is one central shaft washer with tracks on both faces, two housing washers and two ball-cage assemblies — a single unit locating the 15 mm shaft axially in both directions instead of a mirrored pair.
• The 21.2/37.5 kN figures belong to 52204 specifically (the double flat pressed steel execution of 52204); suffixed, sphered and counterpart-series order numbers are separate articles, so write the complete designation on the order and the maintenance record.