Tapered roller thrust bearings are designed to to carry axial loads with no radial load carrying capacity. They comprise of a shaft washer, a housing washer, and a roller and cage assembly and are separable. These bearings have raceways on the face the washers.Tapered roller thrust bearings are designed to accommodate heavy axial loads and peak loads. The bearings are very stiff and require little axial space.

Thrust bearings utilize crowned tapered rolling elements. These are separated by a machined brass roller riding retainer (cage) which are contained within precision ground shaft and housing plates. The self-centering action of the rollers helps counteract the gravitational effect of the roller assembly. This reduces the possibility of the roller assembly contacting the shaft. These attributes counteract the natural gravitational forces on the roller assembly when subjected to horizontal applications.