512 B Underway

The only way the thrust gets pressurized oil is to drill that hole. Otherwise the thrust gets fed by the leak from the main bearing.

So what you are doing is the most simple, easy way to get pressurized oil to the thrust. I can’t see how that small hole would cause a block failure.

The old way I described , works.---Tom Hoovers idea !
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How much clearance is between the back of the main bearing and the saddle ?