Allis Chalmers B series con rods

Taranaki

New User
Hi. I've got a B series engine that my dad just got second hand. The oil pressure is thru the roof. As in blew the filter to bits.
I pulled her down to have a full look as she was knocking anyway and found that the crankshaft has no drilled oil galleries from the mains to big ends? I first thought it may be a splash lubrication but there is not any dippers on the conrods. The holes are all in place on the conrods and bearings for a forced lubrication system but just not on the crank. Are there two types of systems on these engines?
 
Mains on the crank are lubed via the cam. Rods are splashed lubed via a chamfered hole on the top side. The lube system on these is pretty unique. Service manual shows the oil flow route.
AaronSEIA
 
This is not you regular automotive type lube system. The rods, mains and camshaft bearings are not oiled from pressure. The pressure on the gage is built from the relief spring and ball in the stem and the resistance of oil passing thru the filter. Oil going thru the filter dumps without pressure over the lifters on its way back to the pan. The main volume of oil passes by the relief valve in the pump stem into the center of the camshaft. The plunger in the front of the camshaft serves two purposes, one is to keep the camshaft pushed back away from the timing cover and two to block the flow of oil to keep the hollow camshaft full of oil. This oil in the center of the camshaft is not under presser. All mains, rods and camshaft bearings are oiled by centrifugal force from the spinning of the camshaft thru the holes drilled in the camshaft. Larger holes in the camshaft bearings sends oil to the mains. Smaller holes that line up with the rods spray oil onto the rods and the spinning rods pick up the oil in the little funnel holes and again centrifugal force drives the oil into the rod bearings.

The engine has a very low pressure oiling system. It will run forever on 10 pounds of pressure on the gage. To build pressure in the filter enough to blow it apart would mean the free fall oil exit into the block would have to be blocked somehow. The oil outlet in the pump stem going into the camshaft would also have to be blocked.

To try to show the only oil path I placed a red wire thru the oil passages from the camshaft to the mains.
StuckAllisCEngine-vi.jpg
 
Thanks for going to all that effort! that makes it a lot easier to comprehend. Strange wee system indeed. Thanks again.
 

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