Here is some new info on a bearing I saw with outer race defects present from startup. The bearing is an SKF pillow block with a 22222 inside. I had them remove the cap to inpspect the bearing. This is an overhung fan (easy 5' dia, fairly heavy). We rotated the shaft. The rollers on the fan side rolled by as expected. The rollers on the motor side did not roll by. They passed by. No rolling or rotating, call it sliding or whatever. Now how does this sound to those of you more familiar with bearing installation and operation? It does not sound right to me. By the way, levels are still low and exceptable (with the exception of the OR frequencies).

I have seen these bearings mounted on plates that are distorted. Then the load is carried by one set of rollers. I will normally check machined surfaces of pillow block with a straight edge. You will also see this when inserting feeler gauge to set clearance. One set of rollers will be correct and the other will be loose. You will also see excess heat on startup. I have seen this several times.

They did mention the plates may be warped and that one of the bearings was already shimed. This must be the reason. Thanks.

One of my sites had a great example of this, too. The bearing foot sprung around 0.090" I think. The bearing temp was also hotter compared to similar units.

Spherical rollers do a real good job handling "static" misalignment of non-parallel or non-coplanar bearing pedestals.

Can you look at the other bearing?
If the floating bearing is not centered axially then it may not be able to float, and the axial force would cause the outer row or inner row of both bearings to do all the work.