babbitted journal bearings and oil grooves Yes/ or No?

I am repairing a rod in my truck with new babbitt and have seen a number of posts on bearings.

My questions is this, on a non pressurized system that uses dippers to lube the rod bearings should there be grooves in the bearing cap radiating from the oil hole to distribute the oil or not. I have read some and there are two different thought camps.

Also if there are grooves, should it be a "V" or "X" from the oil hole?

I can see both sides of with or without, but I was wondering if there is a durability issue that would make one design better than the other.

Thanks for your thoughts from your experience.

what is the year, make of the truck you are doing ...

i have a 1929 Chevrolet and it was done with grooves, Piston Pict 1 Piston Pict 2 as this allows the oil a flow path or feed path depending on HOW you look at it.

they are of the "X" variety and the "X" crosses there is a hole. the Bottom half or cap the hole is from the feed of the dipper, and on the top half or Rod is a hole as well. makes sense that the oil travels the grooves and lubes the babbitt and mating surface of cam more evenly.

Also noticed that my main bearings are grooved as well, but a single groove. Main Bearing Pict

So for me I would say Yes... Makes Sense and seems Practical & Applicable...

I can only add that when we built our T modified to race at hill climbs we only opened up the feed hole on the inside of the rod.

we have flogged it for 10 years with no problems yet.

Larry

What did they originally have, when you took the engine apart?

I have seen dipper lubricated rods with a single groove around the bearing aligned with the hole and the x style like BearsFan315 is talking about.

What year and make truck are you taking about.

The rod is for my '15 truck. It does not have the original babbitt in the rods. When I took it apart this time, it did not have the grooves, but I have see/& heard of a lot of people that do groove them.

That is why I am trying to see if there was a consensus.

Another minor feature that I have always seen on splash-oiled conrod bearings is a bevel on the cap joint faces on both rod and cap. This stops short of the sides, so there is oil entrapped that extends almost across the revolving crankpin.

I always thought the purpose of the grooves, whether around the radius of the rod bearing or the x type, was to distribute the oil around the entire bearing surface.

You may want to post this question in the Pre War Buick section of this forum or in the Buick Club of America Pre War forum to see if you can get a response from other early Buick owners. They are the experts on your 1915 Buick.

Yes, put in X grooves, on the cap with the hole as the center of the X, and on the rod bearing surface mirror image so that the ends of the X's meet. This helps distribute the oil from the dipper. There was a mechanical tool that was used to make this groove, but a lot of people just do it by hand now.

I would not run Babbitt bearings without it....

Contact Pioneer Bearing company - they rebabbit Kingston-style bearings and perhaps can give you some ideas on the proper patterning.

Thanks to everyone for their comments on their experiences. I think I will probably put in some grooves.

If your rods are a dipper system, X grooves are the best. They should x center at the center of the cap or rod, and the out side, or end of the groove should stay about ..200 thousandths.

You need not put in oil wells in a splash rod.

A circle groove is made only if you have oil pressure, as with out the pressure, it just goes for a ride around the shaft.

Narrow rods, need NO grooves at all, with pressure.

Herm.

Herm,

Thanks a lot for the advice.

Larry