53211 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 53211 model number is decoded

53211 is SKF's 55 mm-bore single-direction thrust ball bearing in the 53200 series to the ISO 104 dimension plan, with a sphered housing washer paired to a U seat washer, measuring 55×90×27.3 mm U 211 seat washer companion included in the mounted H1 dimension. The separable set comprises a shaft washer (ground bore, tight fit on the shaft), a loose-bore housing washer and one ball-cage assembly, reacting axial force in one direction and carrying no radial load. in the 53xxx designation the 3 marks a single-direction bearing whose housing washer has a sphered (convex) seating surface, intended to run against the matching U seat washer; the third digit 2–4 grades the section. the final two digits 11 encode the bore as 55 mm (code 11 × 5), the standard SKF bore-code rule shared with radial bearings. 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 55×90×27.3 mm (2.165×3.543×1.075 in), 17.5 mm radial section, C 58.5 kN, C0 134 kN, Pu 4.9 kN. Mounted height H1 30 mm includes the U 211 seat washer; the bearing alone is 27.3 mm high. reference speed 2,800 r/min (thermal) and limiting speed 3,800 r/min (mechanical), catalogue mass 750 g. Speed band width for this size is 1,000 r/min between reference and limiting (1.36× ratio); lubrication, preload and heat removal decide where inside that band 53211 can actually run. Static-first selection data: 134 kN C0 spread across the 27.3 mm stack gives 4.9 kN of static rating per height millimetre, and the 750 g mass/C0 ratio is about 6 g per static kN — crane-hook and screw positions are normally sized on these two figures. Rating split for documentation: dynamic 58.5 kN (L10 life), static 134 kN (safety factor s0), fatigue limit 4.9 kN (adjusted life) — three different uses of three different numbers for 53211, none interchangeable with another. Minimum-load arithmetic: with dm ≈ 72.5 mm and factor A 0.11, Fam ≈ A·(n·dm/1000)² at the 2,800 r/min reference speed is about 4.5 kN for 53211; below that preload the balls skid and smear the tracks. Envelope economics: the 27.3 mm axial height over a 17.5 mm radial section yields 2.1 kN of dynamic capacity per height millimetre, and the bearing weighs 750 g for 58.5 kN C — about 13 g per rated kN. Sphered-seating order-number note: the convex back face of the housing washer is finish-ground spherical and is delivered to mate with the separately ordered U seat washer, which presents a flat face to the housing and a concave face to the washer; together they accommodate initial static misalignment, but the pair must be kept clean, greased at the spherical interface and never replaced by a washer-on-flat-steel makeshift. The aligning angle is set by how far the sphered back of the 90 mm washer can tilt inside the U 211 seat; check the actual tilt allowance in the mounting drawing, since the 2.7 mm washer thickness step does not by itself quantify it.

Typical equipment & failure modes

Selection pitfalls — read before you substitute

• Dimension the housing to the 30 mm mounted height H1 (bearing plus U 211), not the 27.3 mm bearing height H — confusing the two is a recurring drawing error for the 53-series.
• The sphered housing washer of 53211 MUST run against the U 211 seat washer, a separate order number; mounted bare on a flat register, the convex back makes point contact that gouges the housing under load.
• The shaft washer remains the tight, ground-bore component on the 55 mm shaft; the sphered part is the HOUSING washer, and the U seat washer is the loose flat-backed part — the fitting order is shaft washer and cage set first, then housing washer and U 211 into the register.
• The self-aligning feature is checked at commissioning by hand: with the shaft under no load the assembly must swivel and settle; a stiff spherical seat means dirt, a mismatched U washer, or a register bored off-axis.
• Ordering discipline for 53211: the catalogue page quotes 53211 plus U 211 and its 58.5/134 kN ratings as one exact article; bare-number substitutions from another series or brand need a fresh dimension and rating check, not a like-for-like assumption.