The distributor is in different positions on the two, so the cams are different.

 

Ditto on improperly installed cam bearing. My BIL went through the same thing with his 53

 

Thanks everyone for the online engine diagnosis!

I stopped by the machine shop today and the owner was apologetic and really relieved that I hadn't started the motor. He said most owners would have seen oil pressure and not even been worried until they heard damage. He agreed to make it right. I offered for him to come run any tests to rule out the cam bearing but he too felt it was the most likely explanation.

How should I interpret the pic from CBeav? That the bearings are symmetric and aren't a 1 way fit? That seems contrary to several people's experience here with the 215 bearings.

I did make sure to clean the hole in the distributor to allow oil to flow there.

I'll be sure to post a follow up when I have more info.

John

 

The cam bearings are all the same and can be installed in any hole. One hole in the bearing aligns with its corresponding hole in the block. The other hole in the bearing aligns with the feed to the rockers - on one bearing only as there is only one bearing hole in the block that passes oil on to the rockers. In order for that one bearing to pass oil there needs to be a groove in that cam journal for the oil to make its way to the rocker feed port (since the bearings don't have the groove the cam must - a better plan as knocking a grooved bearing into place could cause distortion.) Here's the kicker - the wrong hole in a bearing could be placed over the oil coming to the cam bearing, allowing the cam itself to be lubricated, but the other hole could be on the wrong side of the bearing bore, which would block the rocker feed port (unless the picture is somehow displaying the holes incorrectly and they are, in fact, 180° opposite each other.) I've seen it occur on other engines with offset holes in the bearings. An honest, but sloppy, mistake.

 

I wanted to follow up and thank all the kind replies to my issue. I'm happy to report that the machine shop that did the short block replaced the #3 cam bearing and we now have a properly lubricated engine!

It was great having your input before I went to talk to them. Seriously, saying all the guys on the ford forum have seen this problem before really helped me avoid potentially having to go through any back and forth on why it's not working. This way, the machine shop owner was slightly embarrassed and eager to fix the problem. He came and picked up the engine and dropped it at my place.

I'm hoping to get the accessories back on and crank it up sometime next week. I'll post the next updates on my build thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...t-day-0-a.html

Many thanks again!

John

 

Thanks for posting the resolve. May the engine run well and long.

 

Great news! It's refreshing to hear of a small business going out of there way like that to make sure the problem was resolved and you were happy. We'll be anxiously awaiting the video of the first fire-up!!