top end oiling

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Jul 31, 2006 | 09:24 PM

sivart

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From: west michigan

top end oiling

Well I finally fired up my '72 windsor in my Bronco today. Engine was built over 10 years ago and never was started. (They put the wrong cam in it) The block was bored and dipped by a reputable machine shop. I pulled it apart and cleaned everything, installed new rings and cam, took apart all the lifters and cleaned them as well (they were brand new just 10 years old) I had it running but the rocker arms were clattering pretty bad. I used the oil pressure sending unit from the Cleveland I pulled out of the truck so I know it works. The Cleveland had pressure about 3/4 of the way up the gauge when it was cold and would drop a little under 1/2 when it warmed up. The new engine holds a little under 1/2 when started. I pulled one of the rocker covers and started the engine. No oil squirting out.

What do you guys think? I'm about at my end with this thing. Thanks

Aug 1, 2006 | 01:22 PM

hunter1897

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From: Da UP, eh!

Did you prime the engine with oil before you started it? What I like to use is an old dizzy shaft mounted in my battery gun, and I prime it through the dizzy hole in the block. If your oil pump is good, you should feel it go from very easy to turn to a lot of resistance once it primes up with oil. Then you'll also be able to watch for oil under both rocker covers. Did you check under both covers or just one? You might not be getting oil to one side but you might on the other. Also the sender might not be as good as you think, so you might want to get an oil pressure gauge like I have from Autometer and replace the sender. Good luck!

Aug 1, 2006 | 04:16 PM

sivart

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From: west michigan

Yeah both sides are dry. Right now I'm in the process of pulling the intake and front cover. I think I read somewhere recently about some galley plugs that might be missing. Hopefully someone can confirm this and offer a little more info about where these plugs are located. A friend also told me that it was possible that a cam bearing might have spun. How would I check for that?

Aug 2, 2006 | 06:55 AM

cujo8

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From: Williamson, NY

The plugs are located behind the timing cover on the front of the engine and they are also on the rear of the engine behind the flex plate. I would not think new cam bearings would have spun, but it is possible they were not installed correctly. With the cam removed you would need to look to see that the holes in the bearings line up with the holes in the cam journals.

Aug 5, 2006 | 12:36 PM

mvoeller2

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There is also a oil plug under the intake manifold at the back of the motor.

Aug 5, 2006 | 02:45 PM

sivart

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From: west michigan

Alright, she's a runner now. I finally got it back together last night and all is well. What I found was the plug under the intake was missing as well as the plug behind the front cover (the one behind the distributor; the other 2 had been installed). I was afraid that I had roasted the cam bearings but it's holding great oil pressure. I can't believe that the machine shop would put in only 2 of the oil plugs and leave the others out. I guess it's time to find another engine shop. Its a shame because this place is fairly close and the guy that owns it is a really cool guy but I can't afford this kind of crap. Thanks for all the input. After I had initially posted, I tried a search and found out about these plugs. I thought it might be kind of cool if you had a sticky about this kind of stuff. It sounds like a few other guys have had the same problem.

Aug 6, 2006 | 05:06 PM

petes79f150

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From: Kiefer, Northeastern Okla

When I picked up my block from the machine shop, my machinist handed me all the small press-in plugs, and told me he leaves them out so that you can do a more thorough final cleaning before assembly. Makes sense to me. Anyway, he also talked me into tapping these holes and using screw-in plugs to avoid having the same problems you referred to in a previous thread. Easy enough to do, and one less thing to worry about.