Good idea. There is also an oil return passage near there. I've thought about trying to splash some of that oil in the gear's direction, but that would require block drilling.
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Good idea. There is also an oil return passage near there. I've thought about trying to splash some of that oil in the gear's direction, but that would require block drilling.
I wounder how many grams your able to bore out
Good idea Warren.
I have 4 shafts here at work that I've been meaning to lathe down to cut the weight down on them. I may do your mods to one of them to see how it works out.
Let us know how it goes for you!
Koffel's Place used to gun drill the shafts but determined they were too weak for pro-longed racing (info from Hot Rod Magazine Complete 2.2 Review).
Plus, if you gun drill the entire shaft and then do Warren's mod, you'd be replacing all the metal you drilled out with oil. I don't know what the weight difference is there.
Ive always turned the shaft down on these things but never gun drilled clear thru. The weight savings would be nill.
on my high RPM block I'm planning, I'm going to use Torrington needle brgs. both ends. Have the bearings picked out and everything figured out. Will have to do some tricky block machining but it will work.
I'll let you know if there is any problem with this 'fix' although I can't see a down side with directly oiling the gears.
Yes I do think the increased wear was due to lack of oil splash, and the increase in timing belt harmonics because of the big cam lobes and heavy pressure springs. I have the fix for that also and will post when I get that on the engine soon.
I'm thinking the oil filled gear mesh will absorb some of the gear to gear shock.
Awesome build, keep the pictures coming!
Yeah! More pics! More pics!
Nice whip...maybe the nicest I've seen on the forums.
Seems like it could benefit from some sort of harmonic balancer, though that would add weight. :)
Once again, Warren tops Himself.... Just wow.... :clap:
How the heck am I NOT subscribed to this thread!? I've viewed it enough times that should have been automatic!! LOL
GREAT work Warren! :thumb: I have shown the pictures to some of my friends and they all have the same reaction...HOLY SH*T!! LOL
In looking at your intermediate shaft, is it modified any other way besides the holes? It sure looks like it, but maybe I'm just seeing things. (NM...the answer was in an above post you made...just didn't see it)
I'll bet drilling that hole in the root of that gear was tough without breaking the bit! How bad was it getting through the hardening, or was there any? I know that it is trivial on this part, but do you think there is any bennefit to rifle drill the intermediate shaft other than doing what you did? I'm also curious about doing this to the cam and crank if it can be done. I like the idea of making the moving parts as light as they can be without sacrificing their structural ability to do their job.
If/when you go to needle bearings, how are you going to tackle this issue since the way you are getting the oil will be gone? Or am I missing/forgetting something?
Thanks again Warren. I'm consistently amazed by your work. Not only the quality and thoughtfulness of it, but the volume too. Very impressive.
I think drilling the whole length of the shaft would be of no benefit. A moment of inertia thing, removing such a small amount from the center of mass would be wasting your time. I do always turn down and remove the bumps from the shaft, (to about .750 diam) and then shot blast it.
These shaft are not all that hard, they are made of some powdered or sintered iron, good for rubbing wear resistance but not shock loads. The teeth chip very easy.
I started drilling the .031 holes with tiny solid carbide bits but discovered I could drill them just as good with a new sharp Silver and Demming type regular bit. When you drill it the metal doesnt come off in curls but in powder..........Sorry to say, They are really cheep junk!
You can get Torrington needle brgs. with oil holes in the outer shell.
Here is a pic of the whole shaft.........
When is someone gonna make a billett one? I mean ALL our engines use one........
I'd take one. Little bothering that everything else on the bottom end will be new and/or refreshed but still having to roll with that potential time bomb...