No! They're behind the flywheel. If you pull the trans out about 3/4" [sliding on the bolts] you can shine a flashlight of inspection light down there and see if they are grub screws or anodized bolts [or bolt heads] The Factory used grub screws.
I built a 327 once and had a similar problem. Turns out I forgot to put the 2 little plugs in behind the timing gear.
I am really glad i asked! Thanks for the info everyone!.. I think i will check the plugs behind the timing chain cover. Then the ones on the back of the engine.
As far as i know this engine is 100% stock.. But i was told it hasnt ran in years. Maybe someone forgot some plugs? Or set some too deep?
Doesn’t that thing need a early distributor? If the distributor doesn’t seal in the block correctly no oil to the top of the engine??? I think
I'm not sure.. I've read that, but looking at it. It doesnt seem to make sense. The only hole around the dizzy sleeve in the block is on the passenger side lifter galley... It looks like that would have to fill & Then! Go around dizzy... But maybe I'm wrong.
We had a SBC years ago, 35?ish, that was machined and partially assembled by local community college class. The rear most cam bearing shell was too far in, or too far out, and had no oil to the lifters. Can't remember everything-35-ish years. Had to pull engine, and rear cam expansion plug, to properly locate the bearing shell. All good after that.
Actually pre-1966, or as Ryan put it, Rule No. 4: "We cover traditional '65 and older American cars only. All other threads will be deleted. We don't cover rat rods, muscle cars, mustangs, or VWs."
You are correct -as others- the only thing i was thinking was that if a rear cam bearing has spun it may have blocked the two lifter galley holes with debris. And I saw where you have primed with the lifters removed & still no oil, so the plug missing in front the engine is not your problem. I'm pretty sure as are others that you will find your problem at the rear of the block. You can see that plug area by looking straight up between the flywheel & the rear of the block. If anything unusual it should be obvious! Good Luck!
This really only applies to 55-56 265 Chevy's! They had pulse oiling to the lifter gallerys [1957 went to constant flow] Here is a 265 block showing the main feed and the 2 lifter gallery feeds in the groove. [Compare this to the 327 block I showed earlier] The rear cam bearings have 2 holes, 1 hole is over the main oil feed and the other hole aligns with the groove. There is a notch in the rear cam journal that allows oil to go in 1 hole and out the other. The rotation of the cam makes the oil flow in pulses. It is very easy to convert a 265 block to constant flow and use late cam bearings [or earlier as well] and any post 1957 camshaft. That doesn't matter [The early dizzy is only on 55-56 265 Chevy's with pulse oiling] You can put a 57 and newer dizzy into a 265 because they are splash oiling. But if you put a 265 pressure feed dizzy into a 57 or newer engine [with constant feed] you will end up with oil in the dist cap The 265 dizzy needs to be clocked to allow for the drain back, if you get it 180 deg out you dont get oil pressure to the RH lifter gallery. This is the bottom of a 265 Dizzy. The hole is the pressure fed from the RH lifter gallery and the groove only goes slightly over 180 deg around the housing [enough for timing the engine] This is the drain-back side [with the oil drain hole above] The flat side must not go on the lifter gallery side or the RH gallery will have oil pressure issues This is a 57 or newer dizzy. The groove goes 360 deg around the base , there is no oil feed holes. The shaft and bushings are splash oiling. [reliable enough for 65 years]
Well i pulled the trans. I need to pick up a square head tool to turn those plugs out out. They look like they have been tampered with in the past but they dont look to far in, or maybe they are idk.. Maybe i can poke around & figure it out back here ... If not I'll pull the front apart & remove the cam, knock out that big center plug & check the bearing..... I guess.
I've seen the rear cam bearing not driven in far enough (driven from the front) and it left the oil groove 1/2 exposed. Massive internal leak that didn't oil the lifters, just sent oil out of that groove to behind the end of the cam, up against the rear cam plug, then out through the two relief holes drilled in the last cam journal and right back to the oil pan. The bearing was driven in flush to the front edge of the main bulkhead (like the #1-4 bearings are), leaving the rear of the bearing not covering the oil groove. Drove it back another 1/4" and everything was then fine. It's not going to be anything at the front of the cam/timing set area....because missing plugs there just lower the pressure, since they are missing right at the very end of the oil system.....everything else gets oil first before it gets to the front plugs. Leave those plugs out and everything still gets oil....just no or low pressure exists. Volume, but no pressure.
Just think of the great education on SBC's you're getting! Those gallery plugs do not look like they are screwed too far in. Also, I would go ahead and swap those freeze plugs while you have the engine out, save yourslef a headache later on. Use brass plugs and they won't rust out.
They look OK and also look Factory installed. Personally, I would take the "skool of redneck engineering approach" @Beng87 has already primed and established there's oil pressure in the main gallery. Take the rocker covers off , and pour oil down all the pushrods, and some oil on top of the rocker balls and rotate the engine a few times [this allows some oil to drip into the lifter bores] Then start the engine with the rocker covers still off and see if the lifters pump up. [observe if the oil is pumping up the pushrods/ rockers] This shouldn't do any harm because most of the valve train is lubed by splash anyway and dripping oil has gone down the lifter bores. Chevy's are one of the worst engines for lifters bleeding down after being parked up for a while.
Well i know the engine sat for years without running. I've pulled the engine & got it on the stand. I am going to do a complete teardown & replace anything that needs it, rings, bearings, ect.. I feel like at this point it's the rite thing to do. Plus i will learn a ton! Thanks for all the great info everyone!
I've seen something similar on 421 Pontiac engine years ago, it was a fresh rebuild and blew the cup plugs out of the lifter galleys in the front of the block behind the timing gear. Had decent oil pressure due to a high volume pump but the lifters never pumped up and no oil out of the push rods.
Simply cannot remember what happened with the 327 in my Austin Healey 3000, much too long ago but I do recall the new GM lifters were incorrect and pumped no oil to the top. Switched them out and it worked fine. Good luck.
If you actually READ the OP's first post you will see he references his 1969 327 in his 1969 C10. He is clearly new and was not familiar with the forum rules. I just mentioned it so that he wouldn't be temped to post anything about his off topic truck and then have his post deleted. Had nothing to do with what year his engine is. Let's get back to helping this guy out.
That's a good plan. You will see exactly what you have, find the problem, learn a lot, and when it's all back together you'll be glad you did. You might find sludge, trash in the bearings, clogged lifters, and who knows what else in there, maybe even a piece of red shop rag. Good luck and keep us posted.
Well she's all taken apart ( minus oil galley & freeze plugs and the cam bearings) this is my first engine build so any advice is appreciated. I'll post a few more pics & some issues i found.
So 7 pistons had messed up oil rings... Two of the rings just came out in pieces in my hand. One piston was cracked... That would explain the excessive smoke when i had it running i guess. I think the cam looks ok but I could be very wrong. I will post pics of the rear cam once i get that plug out. Assuming thats where i had the oiling issue. So I've got a ton of research to do to figure out what to replace. I'm going to have to write out a game plan
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