ok i decided i should put restricters in the heads. i bought a pair of holley #90 jets i assume i place them in the oil port on the side and not down in the treads where the bolt goes. correct?

 

Correct.

G.

 

cool. just making sure

 

If the heads are still off tap the port (45 degree) under the rocker stand and install a grub allen screw that has been annealed and drilled with the restriction you feel comfortable with. I have .058" restrictions as the rockers are bushed and tight on the rocker shafts and a mild (dead) cam. The restrictions are easy to change out in the future. Working for over 249,000 miles.
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nope heads are on. so i could use smaller than a holley 90?

 

Number 90 holley jet, if you ask 10 different people you'll get 10 different answers. BTW #90 Holley jet is .104" drill size. I'm running .058" screw in restrictors, may seem small but I have roller rockers that have drilled passages to the roller tip with plenty of oil flow. The rockers run on 1" wide oillite bushings that I made with .0015" shaft clearance. With the mild cam and low lift the valve springs have not overheated with the restricted oil cooling. The long finger deflectors also help direct oil out of the heads. I recall .080" to .090" is a good range for restrictors.
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i am just running stock adjustable rockers . so i should just use the #90's to be safe

 

ok i installed the 90's and there is still a lot of oil up there. at idle it takes about 10 seconds to spill over with the valve covers off. i see oil just gushing out the rocker shafts. it looks like a garden hose of oil. should i go smaller? the 90's are better than nothing.

 

Wait a minute, you do have plugs in the ends of the rocker shafts, right? Just checking. I'm sure you do.

Could it be a wear issue between the rockers and rocker shaft that you need to take care of?

Edit: I think the point of the restrictors is so all the oil doesn't get pumped up into the heads at 5000rpm, and to have more oil to the rods and mains where it's needed, not really so much to do anything at idle.

 

At one time with the roller rockers that I still run, each rocker had a 7/16" (.437") wide brass bushing pressed in with a 1/8" center oil gap. They were worn between .011" to .017" on the bushings and the shafts looked like new. This allowed the rocker covers to fill until the PVC valve pulled solid oil when running at 4,500 rpm's, thing detonated and looked like a blown stock car motor. I must of had 10 qts oil in in the rocker covers, good thing I run a FT pan with 13 1/2 qts oil. Rebushed and added restrictors, no problems the last 160,000 miles and a HV pump. The roller tip rockers came off an old build before this motor, they have a total of 670,000+ miles on 'em and the 1" wide oillite bushings are still tight like when I made them. Back to subject, if you have any shaft or rocker bore wear they bleed alot of oil and lower your idle oil pressure when hot as well flood the top end. If it were my motor I would restrict from .075" to .080" range. All figures, sizes and dimensions work for me, should you have a later failure please don't blame me, hell i'm running .058" with a HV pump and stock pressure release spring ground down .125" shorter. Complete oil mods as well crank chamfer forward and backward.
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Wait a minute, you do have plugs in the ends of the rocker shafts, right? Just checking. I'm sure you do


what????????? what plugs i'll i have is a cotter pin and a washer on the ends holding the springs and the rockers. is there supposed ot be plugs? my other 2 sets are the same. i have never seen plugs. this is a scary question.

 

In the end of the rocker shafts themselves there should be a press in plug (on stock shafts) in each end. The good aftermarket shafts have a screw in plug in the shaft ends and use C clips to replace the cotter pins. Could be you rocker arms and or shafts are worn beyond spec? Check the OD of the shafts and ID of the rocker arms sounds like they are maybe worn.

G.

 

oh crap.the rockers are fine very minimal wear. so you mean the hole shaft is supposed to be under pressure? right now the oil just flows out of each end of the shaft. after all these years i have never seen the plugs or used them on any FE engine. do you have a picture at all??? i always thought it was odd just to let the oil drain out of the ends of the shafts and barely any goes to the rockers thru those tiny drill holes.

 

Yea sounds like that your problem. You must have pretty good oil pressure to bleed of the ends and still have some oil to the rockers themselves...good thing. Sorry no pics but I can take some and send them to you later on today if ya need em. What happens is some guys will take the plugs out to clean the inside of the shafts if they are all gunked up....and forget to re install them. I'll see if I can find the right size plug and let you know. At least you know the problem now! BRB......G.

 

oh man i feel soooooooooooo dumb. yes i have 75 psi cold start up and 15 to 20 psi hot idle. i always wondered how these stupid rockers got oiled. i figured it was from the oil flowing thru the shafts , i guess it should be going thru those tiny holes in the shaft.