Piston Oil squirters anyone?

[Pablo]

I was over at the machine shop today and my machinist was showing me some import engines he was working on (I believe they were DSM 4 bangers).
Their piston oil squirters caught my eye. Talked to the machinist about doing it on a 109 and he had a really interesting idea on how we could add that.

It involved cutting a small channel outward from the main bearing bore oil holes and then angle drilling a hole aimed at the backside of each piston. He then talked about adding squirters with check valves so they would not bleed off oil pressure below whatever the check valve spring was set at (to maintain idle and light cruise pressure) but when the pressure came up they would open up and shoot the piston backsides.

I thought this was a really good idea but the only potential problem is that the main webs may or may not be weakened by such an operation. Also, not sure if the oil system would be up to the task of delivering the volume, and last but not least, potential hp losses due to increased windage.

Has anyone dabbled in any kind of piston oiling setup?

 

[DailyDrifter]

you might be the first for the R&D of this. I'm pretty sure the main reason is to help cool the pistons and also for lubricating the walls

 

[Pablo]

Yeah the main reason I would do it is to increase detonation resistance. Actually I would think that I would want to avoid getting too much on the walls since it would be harder to control going past the rings. Maybe that's not an issue.

 

[chris mccord]

The new STSV has piston squiters. Saw a build up in High Tech or Hot Rod.

 

[turbofabricator]

Easiest way to make piston squirters is to drill a small hole in the connecting rod and have it aimed right under the piston. You will also have to modify the rod bearing, too.
If you really want to get trick, buy Honda VTEC squirters and drill into the main oil gallery and bolt them on. They are aimable, just tweak them to do the job.
BUT........are they really going to help? Not sure if it's worth doing. It won't hurt. I think that drilling ANYWHERE on a stock block is a bad idea, though. The 109 block is just too weak to attempt that. There are many ways to accomplish oil squirters, though. Easiest way is to drill the top of the big end of the rod, and bearing.

 

[turbofish38]

That's nothing. My 82 Suzuki MC has piston oil jets. IMO overkill on a Buick. Do we have the same problems as a high strung 4 banger that we need this gimmick?

 

[87GN_70GS]

My older V8 buicks had oil squirt holes built into the rods/caps (at the parting line).

 

[Pablo]

piston oil squirters are no gimmick, plenty of high perf. forced induction engines have them. iirc the LS9 utilizes the hole in the rod method.

The chamber has water flowing around it taking heat away, the piston does not, and the heat in the piston has to travel down through the rod, through the bearing, journal, down the crank and out through the main webs.

I had forgotten about the hole in the rod method, I have seen that on high performance LSx builds. That would probably be easier to do. Hmm.