valvetrain oiling

[Instro84]

ok fired up my fresh engine yesterday, stated right up but there wash some ticking from the valvetrain. oil pressure is at @60 psi cold, on the drivers side i have oil on about half the rockers and on the passenger side its dry except assembly lube. engine was primed before startup and i'm using comp roller lifters. where should i look first? TIA

 

[BlackBandit]

Unless I'm all screwed up I think the oil feeds the passenger side first. That would mean your problem is odd. Who put the engine together? What were the clearances? Normally what happens is someone installs the front cam bearing wrong (or the wrong one period) and the drivers side doesn't get oil. But for the passenger side to not get oil and the drivers side to get oil I'd think something is very wrong inside the engine. You could verify your pushrods aren't plugged but I doubt that's it. I would check the oil pump clearances but other than that I'd suspect something internal. Sorry, maybe someone smarter than I has a better idea.

Edit: I'm assuming you have a Buick V6. (or mostly any older Buick.)

 

[Instro84]

yea its a v6. i'm beginning to suspect cam bearings or one of the plugs in the block also. i bought the fully machined engine from a friend and all the bearirng clearaces and ring gaps were checked. i'll have to yank it ouy and tear into it this weekend.

 

[gossamer]

Sounds like a cam bearing problem to me. When you pull the engine, take out the cam and knock out the rear cam plug. Check the position of the rear cam bearing and make sure the oil feed hole is completely covered by the bearing. I had the pleasure of figuring that one out on my last engine. It had 70lbs of oil pressure when cold, but went to 0 when warm. Good luck :smile:

 

[Instro84]

that what i'm leaning towards also. gonna try and get it out this weekend. thanks

 

[counterman]

What rocker arms are you using? I just went through this with my 3.8. I had T&D roller rockers and used my stock pushrods. I had no total blockages, but excessive pushrod length will potentially cause the adjusters to be far enough up the rocker body to block the oiling passage in the rocker. If the adjustment nuts are at the extreme top or bottom of their travel, it is possible to obstruct the oiling passages, thus dead ending the oil in the pushrods--nothing gets into the rocker or beyond. I switched from the stock 8.693 rods to 8.550's, and this centered the adjuster in the rocker body, and I do clearly have more oil flow to the rocker tips and valve retainers. Of course, I have a flat tappet cam, but you get the idea. Good luck, Counterman.

 

[Instro84]

i'm using the stockers.

 

[counterman]

Oh oh. Not good. You should have plenty of oil regardless of pushrod length. Good luck. Counterman.

 

[Instro84]

ok got the engine out and torn down yesterday front cam and bearings are not grooved. also the oil hole on the bearings are clcked @ 10 and 2. also before i pulled it i removed the intake and spun oil pump with priming tool, cyl 1 and 3 are the only ones with good oil flow thru the lifters/pushrods.

 

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