Crankshafts

[ian judd]

Thinking about the well-known problem of broken crankshafts, I wondered if the shaft in the side-valve engines was as prone to breaking as the one in ohc type. Are side-valve cranks stronger ? Has anyone out there broken one ?

[Ian Grace]

Ian,

I think the design of the cranks was basically the same - other than the bearings being switched front to back. I've never had one of either break, but I suspect that we hear more about OHC cranks breaking because they tend to be tuned/raced more than SV engines.