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Mercury con-rods with oil holes

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Hi,

I've recently purchased a 1971 Norton Mercury. The original engine has had a lot of work already completed, having new pistons replacement Norvil / Hemmings alloy barrel, replacement crankshaft bearings etc, however the engine has never been run. I've been checking it over and found the connecting rods oil holes were not facing outward each side as shown in the haynes manual, one was and one was not. It appears that whoever put this together marked the flywheel and rods but did not assemble as their marking. Thinking that this was wrong I took the end cap off one of the con-rods and looked at the (new) shells and found there was no oil hole in the upper shell anyway. Now I'm unsure if the shells should have a hole in them or not. Could someone advise what is correct for this engine with or without oilways in shells The oil pump is a 6 start.

Many thanks for help Robert

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In theory the six start system was needed to supply the extra for the rod holes. Possible that blocked off to reduce some overoiling issue, If one was left open I would opt for the drive side. Also a bit of a concern that a rod is now working in the reverse direction to how it did originally. load reversal is not something that I know anything about but it could be a risk.

The engine has not been run since it's rebuild, I believe the con rod should be re-assembled with oil hole pointing outward. and that would relate to the marking that was made on the parts when it was taken apart. It's just if the shells should have an oil hole in or not.

 


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