Patent ID: 8677973

Claim:
An internal combustion engine, including: an engine block defining at least one row of cylinders, the row extending from a first end toward a second end; a front housing attached to the first end; an idler gear assembly having an idler gear rotatably mounted on a stub shaft, the idler gear assembly having a first attachment to the engine block and a second attachment to the front housing; a thrust plate positioned between the front housing and the idler gear assembly and including an annular thrust surface, a pair of sealed fastener device openings, and an unsealed lubrication opening; and a pair of threaded fastener devices entering through the opposing faces of the thrust plate and positioned through the sealed fastener device openings, wherein a first threaded fastener device is threaded into the engine block and a second threaded fastener device is threaded into the stub shaft, wherein a first face of opposing faces of the thrust plate includes the annular thrust surface, and, during operation of the internal combustion engine, the idler gear contacts the annular thrust surface, wherein each of the sealed fastener device openings includes a sealing member attached within a plate opening and including a pair of face seals separated by a distance greater than a uniform thickness of the thrust plate, and wherein the front housing is a relatively soft material and the thrust plate is a relatively hard material.