Hybrid bearing assemblies for downhole motors

A downhole motor for directional drilling, comprising:

• a driveshaft housing;
• a driveshaft rotatably disposed in the driveshaft housing;
• a bearing mandrel coupled to the driveshaft;
• a bend adjustment assembly including a first position that provides a first deflection angle between a longitudinal axis of the driveshaft housing and a longitudinal axis of the bearing mandrel, and a second position that provides a second deflection angle between the longitudinal axis of the driveshaft housing and the longitudinal axis of the bearing mandrel that is different from the first deflection angle;
• an actuator assembly configured to shift the bend adjustment assembly between the first position and the second position in response to a change in at least one of flowrate of a drilling fluid supplied to the downhole motor, pressure of the drilling fluid supplied to the downhole motor, and relative rotation between the driveshaft housing and the bearing mandrel;
• and
• a locking assembly comprising a locked configuration configured to lock the bend adjustment assembly in at least one of the first position and the second position and an unlocked configuration configured to permit the actuator assembly to shift the bend adjustment assembly between the first position and the second position.

A downhole motor for directional drilling, comprising:

• a driveshaft housing;
• a driveshaft rotatably disposed in the driveshaft housing;
• a bearing mandrel coupled to the driveshaft;
• a bend adjustment assembly including a first position that provides a first deflection angle between a longitudinal axis of the driveshaft housing and a longitudinal axis of the bearing mandrel;
• wherein the bend adjustment assembly includes a second position that provides a second deflection angle between the longitudinal axis of the driveshaft housing and the longitudinal axis of the bearing mandrel that is different from the first deflection angle;
• an actuator assembly configured to shift the bend adjustment assembly between the first position and the second position;
• a locking piston comprising a locked position configured to prevent the actuator assembly from shifting the bend adjustment assembly between the first and second positions, and an unlocked position configured to permit the actuator assembly to shift the bend adjustment assembly between the first position and the second position;
• a fluid metering assembly configured to restrict fluid flow to delay the actuation of the locking piston from the locked position to the unlocked position.