i took my heads off and i am getting them gone threw ,out of my 292 y block out of a 1957 t-bird. i had a lot of noise comming from the p*** side top end. im getting the heads rebuilt wilth all new parts. i got a new cam and new pushrods . so it should fix the problem. now i need to fig out why i was having a oiling problem. i have been on the internet and found out alot about the problems with the y blocks. everything i am hearing is pointing to the oil problem not getting to the rockers. i have read about an external oil line that can be ran from the oil pump to the rockers. i have no clue on how to do this or how is done. if i could find something like a pic or DIY instructions. can anyone help me or point me in the right direction. thanks
make sure that you bolt the rocker arm ***embley on the correct way. you can install them backwards , thus restricting the oil from getting to them.
Since you have the cam out , make sure the oil supply to the rockers is clear. the rockers are fed from the central cam bushing..the bushings have been known to turn, blocking flow. New bushings are in order if you're that far into it anyway. check the y-blocksforever site if you have not already. Forget the add on oiler deal, that was a band-aid fix, thats history.
There are three different cam bearing sets for Y's. The wrong one will cause top end oiling problems. The holes in the bearings are not compatible with the holes in the block. When the new bearings are installed, look down the holes in the deck to see if the holes are lined up. I have been known to run a long drill bit down there and hog out the holes. The trick of running a line to the rockers did work, but is not really a good fix if your engine is all apart anyway, more for a high-mileage runner that you don't want to tear down.
X2 What everyone else has said. The top oilers aren't worth the h***le. Other than the chatter, are there any other signs of oiling problems? If there isn't its probably just the heads or the p***ages.
Anyone playing with Y blocks should buy a subscription to the Y Block Magazine. There is all the correct information in the world in those few pages. The guys racing them share information. email yblockmag@yahoo.com There is an article in the latest issue about rocker arm oiling. Be sure to use the correct motor oil when starting this fresh motor.
i found this the other day. it's about running full pressure oil to the rocker shafts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTdmD0sQbx4
"Y " blocks are not that hard to understand and any old motor manual will show you the correct way to rebuild one. The center cam bearing is and was a culprit in the beginning but later was corrected with a groove cut in the center cam bearing to prevent loss of oil to the rockers. Just about any machine shop worth his salt can install a new set of cam bearings properly and it should be done on any rebuild and includes hot tanking the block to get it spotless. One bit of information that's over looked a lot is the front and rear head bolts under the valve cover are 3 threads longer than all the rest and need to be put in the proper holes other wise look for a blown head gasket soon after a rebuild. Done right your Y block will give thousands of trouble free miles.
Good info above. In addition, check the oil p***age in the bottom of the head. The hole in the block and head do not line up, but there is an offset and a cast channel to direct the oil. I have seen a couple of cases where the heads had been milled and the channel was almost gone. Causes a restriction and a place for crud buildup to block totally. Easy to grind a little deeper if needed, just be careful, this is the head's sealing deck after all.
If the rocker arm ***embly was put on backwards this could have stopped oil flow to the heads. Also a blocked p***age (gunk) from the center cam bearing to the heads could do this as the oil p***age in the head makes two sharp turns. These did gunk up with the lousy oil back then. With the heads redone this shouldn't be a problem. The third thing is gunked up rocker arm shafts that stopped the flow to the rocker and then to the top of the pushrods. There is some controversy about pressurizing the rocker shaft - some of the YBlock gurus don't believe it it. Some say that the excess oil that flows through the drain tubes lubricate the distributor gear in the rear and the fuel pump eccentric in the front. Cutting off the flow my cause problems in these two areas.
I have 2 Y block and I wouldn't do the the rocker oiling kit ! Just take the rocker tube apart and clean out very well ! No big deal there . Remember that is a solid lifter cam and that might have been the noise you heard . A simple valve adjustment might have been all it needed . If you have the engine that far apart , finish it the right way with a bottom end rebuild also . Could be all clogged up with the older oils that were used . Have the block tanked and have them clean out the oil p***ages too ! Have the machinist install new cam bearings for you . Make sure you show them the cam you will be using ! All cams are not using the same bearings ! You will need the crank turned more than likely too . Also remember to set the timing chain the correct way !!! They are not set " DOT to DOT" ! There is no big secret on a Y block . It's a great engine and will serve you well IF you do the rebuild the right way ! Go to --fordy-blocks.com--John Mummert is the owner and his site will answer all the questions you will come across . He also have any parts you will need and you will receive quality parts , NOT CHEAP JUNK ! If you need any help just shoot me a PM .
Dont be "that guy" with the hokie external oil lines on your y-block. I think running full pressure to your rockers is fine on a y-block because the drain holes in y-blocks are big and have no problem moving oil back to the bottom.
Get with Tim (mctim64) on here. He is very sharp with y-blocks. And I thought I had a handle on them..
This is great info. I'm new to Y blocks myself, so this is awesome for me. Any oil weight recommendations?
Like retro jim said. Make sure you match the cam design to the cam bearing set. If you mis-match the cam and the bearings the oil won't make it to the rockers !! >>>>.
Good advice. Back in the 60's, I had a '56 Customline with a 292 ... went through a couple of motors. While searching for replacements, I found a number of Y-blocks with the oiler kits in junk yards... conventional wisdom even then was to avoid them. They were a dime store fix to the problem described above. Lack of maintenance and primitive oil technology would result in plugged oil p***ages and poor circulation to the heads. I learned too late that a thorough block cleaning and a quality rebuild would correct the problem.
1.Clean out all the oil p***ages 2. Make sure the oiling holes line up with whats gotta be oiled 3. Prime the engine and run it in on a stand before bolting her in........making sure you got good pressure Then all should be right with the world...............
We sold the kits in the 60's for folks who could not afford for us to pull the engine, clean it properly and rebuild it with the cam bearing p***ages lined up and clear. They work fine. It is a simple fix that uses a T fitting under the oil pressure sending unit, then a copper tube that runs to the top of each valve cover and entered the rocker shaft through a replacement valve cover stud that was hollow and had an opening that aligned with the center of the hollow rocker arm shaft. A simple & effective fix of the dry rocker problem for people on a limited budget.
Back in the early 70's I followed a Popular Hot Rodding build on a Y Block and what they did was just drill out the oil feed hole in the heads one drill size larger and polish that channel in the bottom of the heads. It worked for me. Never had an oiling problem.
my 272 had the external lines, i pulled my rocker shafts, located the oil hole and tried blowing air down, plugged, i took a wire and some combustion chamber cleaner and kept working away till i could blow air down the p***age, put the shaft back on and it had lots of oil, did this on both sides and never put the external lines back on.
With good maintance and modern oil this should not be a problem unless you've milled the heads alot to raise compression. Then the transfur slot can be reduced to almost nothing.
Your already tore down so this fix doesn't really apply but in case any one else is havin troubles Ill tell this story When I was a kid i was driving a 63 ford pickup with a 292 The rockers were junk and i was getting little to no oil to the top end. I got the advice of the local ford expert who happened to own the only gas station in town ,he advised me to remove the rocker ***ys tap the oil supply p***ages for grease zerks then use regular grease in a standard grease gun and just pump all the sludge out right past the cam brgs then replace the rockers .when the engine warms up the clean grease melts out and your good to go. he was a ford shop foreman in the early 60's and said he had did this many times and it usually works . I have used this trick several times it has always worked for me and its fast and cheap.
The problem is not just cam bearing alignment. The replacement cams have a too shallow groove in the center journal which allows oil to migrate from the gallery to the head p***age. John Mummert's grinds fix this. Your rocker shafts likely are scored and need replacement anyway, and Mummert has those readily available.
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