how does the oil get to the rocker shafts on my y-block

after searching rocker shaft oiling on here i'm still at a loss as to how the oil gets from the center cam bearing to the rocker shafts, on the drivers side of my engine i see oil on the p***engers side i see none, my engine did have the external oil system which i would like to remove. what can i do to get the oil flowing again without tearing the engine down?

 

the oil channel is in the rocker shaft stand

It sounds like you need to learn more before blindly tearing stuff up

go to John Mumfords website

 

Y blocks were very bad at oiling the top end, which is why most people have to add an external oiling system. I have read unless you do a complete tear down and a good block and head cleaning, you will always have top end oiling problems.

 

Not true if you plug the ends of the rocker shafts

 

They get oil up thru one of the hold downs that have the bolts going thru them, thats why you can sometimes put a "flat" on the bolt & it allows more oil up.
If you have the rocker ***y off you'll notice that one of the bolts holes seems too big for the bolt.
Jimv

 

i havent removed anything yet, i just found this pic which i can see the oils path.

 

You mean John Mummert?

Which is here:
http://www.ford-y-block.com/

Tech:
http://www.ford-y-block.com/technical.htm



Malcolm

 

i remember a post about tapping the oil hole for a greese fitting and pumping oil in to clean out the oil p***age, someone else told of making a plate with a fitting?

 

Don't the oil p***ages from the cam to the rocker shaft actually have a dog leg in them? They get sludge in them and plug up. I always heard you actually need to pull the heads to clean the p***ages, the outside oilers are a bandaid and take oil away from the bottm end.
Right or wrong?
Larry T

 

In the old days we use to run two quarts of kerosene and 3 quarts of bulk oil for 30 min. in an engine to get rid of sludge then drain and add fresh oil. Today you could add a quart of Rislone and run the engine for a few hundred miles to see if it cleans the p***ages enough to get oil up to the rockershafts. It was pretty common to see overhead oil lines on the Y-blocks with the old oils used back then.

 

i was thinking of running 1/2 deisel oil for a short time, i would like to see a litttle oil on the p***engers side first, i think i'll try just blowing air down the oil holes.

 

The oil to the rockers comes up from the cam bushing to the block surface, it does make a "dogleg" turn at a cast-in slot in the head and come up thru the CENTER of a rocker stand to the shaft. as said, you might force OIL down to clear the p***age. The outside oiler deal was a band-aid fix that should not be needed. With this problem you need to be sure the oil return holes at the end of each head are clear as they can be plugged with deposits from crummy old oil & poor filtration.

 

Is there still a problem with modern oil? I would think that after the sludge was cleaned out the p***ages shouldn't plug up again.
Larry T

 

If all p***ages are clear, there should be no problems with good oil and filter. It might be good to drop the pan & clean it and the strainer out too.

 

if you're using the original style canister filter, take the backer plate off and clean really well behind it, too. for all it's problems, the Y lasted a good long time in production and just has quirks to get used to.

 

well its oiling now, i pulled the shaft off and cleaned it good with brake cleaner, then i made a block off plate to cover where the oil comes up into the rocker stand off, i sprayed a bunch of brake cleaner in there and blew air in afterwards, i also had the engine rolling over when i put air into it. so heres a pic of my block off plate and one showing the oil coming out of the rocker arms and running onto the valve spring, there is also oil running down onto the pushrods, the brake cleaner made it easy to see any oil.

 

Now you need to run a quart of reslone a couple of days and then drain and install new oil and filter. You problem to begin with was due to negelect. I have driven Y blocks a million miles and never had any oiling problem on the top side but have had many motors that has burnt up rockers due to no oil getting to them.

 

i think i'll set the valves at 17, the rockers are worn some where they hit the valves so i cant get a real good reading.

 

I agree with the .017. Always worked for me.

 

is that .017 hot or cold? Reason I ask is I'm in the process of finishing up my y-block build and need to know where to start.
Thanks
jeff

 

You can also pm mctim64 on here. He is pretty sharp with Y-blocks...

 

Yes he is! I was searching around last night and found some great how-to videos by Mctim64 on Youtube ----
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=mctim64&view=videos



..as well as an example of how well he can make a Y-block run!

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The book calls for .019 or .018 .017 wont hurt a thing. When you get some oil up there, do the Rislone thing, then this little mod. Remove the little tube from the right side of the shaft and cut it off close to the end to make the end square, then tap it 10/24. Buy a short screw and drill a hole in it just under 1/8 This will put more presure in the rocker shaft, and still oil what needs oiling down in the valley. Use motor oil meant for a modern diesel, I use Rotella in mine.

 

I've seen this problem occur when a cam bearing spun, blocking the oil flow. I have seen the old time mechanics remove rocker stands, drill down through the cam bearing into the cam, and you have oil again. Strange, but true.

 

my car is running fine, quiet, maybe to quiet, i think i'm set the valves at 18.

 

Wrong - the oil comes up through a hole in the block, makes a turn in a indentation in the head and then goes up the a p***ageway in the head, through a hole (not one of the bolt holes) in the hold down and through a hole in the rocker shaft. Every thing must be lined up correctly otherwise no oil to the rockers.

Plugging the return tubes is usually not recommended although this has been done.

 

You can't do this as the p***ageway in the head is not straight down into the cam bearing. It is offset between the head and block about 3/4 of an inch. You can do this if the head is off.

 

Most people didn't have to do it. While the oil p***ages were not the best of design, clogging was mostly due to the lousy oil and poor maintenance. It probably happened to mostly cars that made mostly short trips and didn't get the oil hot.

With todays oils, there shouldn't be a problem. Rotella is a good choice, as well as any 20-50 oil.

 

The picture doesn't show the turn the oil must made when it meets the head.

 

right