'72 Block, '69 Heads, '72 Rockers and shafts. I tapped and plugged the oil passage in the block with an allen-head plug w/ lock-tite. Oil pressure is 15-20 psi at the back of the driver's side oil gallery (rear-mounted gauge) at hot idle, TA pressure regulator currently set for 50 psi max. Oil is coming out of each pushrod, running down to the rocker arm, then off the end onto the spring, just like I'd expect. What I didn't expect to see is a steady stream of oil coming out of both ends of the rocker arm shafts. uzzled: WTH is up with that, and where is it coming from? Do I need to plug the passages in the head as well, or should I plug the shaft ends as well? I'm scratching my head on this one...
There should only be two holes in the block, both at the front as that is the only place oil can come up. The 69 heads will have holes at both ends, but only oil from the front holes come up. If the front holes are plugged, there should be no oil coming up to the rocker shaft. Somehow, the allen plugs may not have sealed the holes completely. Maybe they have small holes in the center of them? o No: Here is what I would suggest. Remove one rocker assembly so the holes in the head are clear of the shaft. Take the distributor out and turn the oil pump shaft by hand. A large screwdriver or pump priming tool should work. If there is oil coming up from the front hole in the head, you will know it right away as it will shoot out and all over everything. It will then be clear it is coming from there. The front holes in the head can be plugged if needed without removing the heads. I recently did this by taking some steel brake tubing (3/16" I think as 1/4" may be too big) and slightly flaring one end. The other end was welded closed with a mig welder. Filling the tubing with JB weld will work as well if you don't have a welder. A spare head can be used to test the size. You can put the tubing in an EZ out to test on the car, but you don't want it to fall in the hole if it is too small. Enlarge the flaring as needed to get a tight fit in the head. Once the fit is tight in the hole, take the tubing back out. Clean everything with brake clean or laquer thinner and let it dry. Then uses some JB weld (quick stuff) to coat the tubing and fill in the hole above the tubing once it is put into the head. Before totally dry, you can use a razor blade to clean any excess off. It should be flush with the head. Let it dry completely (overnight maybe) and then install the rocker shaft. Hope this gives you some options, Scott
I can't imagine it's coming from the allen head plug, it was a solid one put into the hole maked in the pic below. I tapped and sank it about 3/8 inch below the deck surface. I used Felpro .040 head gaskets, and I'm not sure, but don't think they have a hole for the oil passage either. As you can see, there's only a hole in the block at the front. I looked at a pic of the other side and confirmed there's not one there. The heads do have holes coming up in the shaft mounting bosses, they intersect the bolt holes. So it looks like I'll be pulling the driver's side valve cover and rocker shaft, and spinning up the oil pump like you suggested. That seems to be the only way I can think of to confirm where it's coming from. Thanks for the idea on plugging the holes in the head, that's a good one! :TU:
James!!! Wait a minute. Are sure all the nylon plugs in the rocker shaft are tight? Maybe the oil is coming up the pushrod spilling onto the top of the rocker and just pouring into the shaft through those nylon plugs. :TU:
I'll doublecheck before pulling the dizzy, but I didn't think there was enough oil up there...maybe there are holes in the bottom of the shafts, and it's coming from there? o No: Things that make me go "hmmm....." uzzled:
The only way to find out for sure is to pull one of the rocker shafts off and turn the motor over for about 15 seconds and see if oil comes up through the head. Make sure you pull out all the pushrods so none fall in if you are going to do that instead of pulling the dist. and spinning the pump.
Below is the pic I forgot above, the yellow arrow shows the oil hole I plugged. I removed the valve cover and started the engine, and oil started coming out of the shaft ends before all the pushrods started oiling. I put my fingers in the shaft ends, and sure enough the oil is under pressure - I can see why Buick oiled the rockers that way, they get a LOT of oil coming up around the retainer buttons when I did that. So I removed the rockers/shaft, confirmed that there aren't holes on the shaft bottom, and then pulled the pushrods out. After cranking the engine for 15-20 seconds, oil started coming up out of the head's front oil hole. :af: Ao apparently oil is getting around that plug in the block (I have NO idea how, especially given the volume). Unbelievable. :eek2: ou: SO...I took the above idea, and stuck a metal plug in the head front oil-hole with some quick-set JB Weld. It should be cured enough to button up in about another hour, and then I'll see how it goes.
just wondering... why did you pull the cover in the first place? doesnt sound like you had an oil pressure problem.and my stupid question of the week,would it hurt anything?dammit you made me paranoid James!!! :rant:
I pulled the valve cover in the first place to re-adjust the pushrods, that's when I noticed the oil flow. uzzled: Sorry for the paranoia, in my case it apparently was justified - when I started it up this morning there was NO oil coming out of the rocker shaft, and the oil pressure has nearly doubled! I had run the TA adjustable oil regulator in to get 45 psi cold pressure, and now it has 80 psi at cold idle, 35-40 at hot idle (which is more like I really hoped for / expected with the tight clearances I've got in this engine.). I have NO idea how, but oil is/was apparently getting by the threaded plug in the block, enough to keep the max pressure at 45. o No: At least I still had good pressure. :bglasses:
Glad you got it fixed. It was really the only place the oil could be coming from. Still, you need to check things out. The metal/JB weld trick is sure better than having to pull the heads. :shock: At least I haven't lost my touch. :Brow: Scott.
Thanks for the idea! :TU: :beer I don't EVEN want to think about taking the heads back off, and it would NOT go over well with my wife, who has already given me this look :af: when seeing some of the receipts...
