Need some help and advice regarding my new rebuilt 68 350 engine.

The engine has a milodon oil pan and an oil cooler, with filter approximately 6 quarts of oil. Eberything is new inside the engine and a machine shop did all machine work and put the short block together. The engine is in the car now.

This week I´v tried to prime the engine (counterclock wise). I get good oil pressure right away with the drill, around 45 psi. After a minute or two the drill starts smoking and I have stop and let it cool down. Been doing like this a couple of times and get no oil up to the rockers. Today after priming I saw some oil in the head on the driver side and was happy about it. Kept prime again but no more oil came up.

After this I decided to oil all the rockers and try to start the engine up. Started the engine 2 times for approximately 60 seconds both times. Engine run like a champ and sounded great, no strange noises at all. Kept it around 2000 rpm but still no oil from the rockers. After this I didn´t want to start it anymore.

So my questions are:

1. How long does it take to prime an olds engine with a drill? Is it common that the drill get overheated after a while?

2. If the machine shop has missed the oil galley plugs would I still have good oil pressure in the engine?

Really appreciate if someone have some advice regarding this. Tomorrow I´m gonna pull out the distributor again and try to prime it with a drill once more.

/Jon

 

Could it be that the rear cam bearing isn't lined up to the oil galley hole?

 

It took me a good 20 min with a. Drill of course cold thick oil was a culprit

 

Oil flow to the rockers requires time. The rest of the engine has oil long before the rockers. Highly viscous oil requires more time. Oil flow is controlled by a disc and the bottom of the push rod seat in the lifter. If you want more flow this has to be modified after disassembling the lifter. Smoke from the drill motor indicates an overload condition. Use a stronger drill motor or you will burn the winding.

 

When I was younger I owned Chevys. They pump up really fast. Like immediately. Oil to the rockers, NOW. I have found that Olds motors are not like this at all. There is a long amount of time before you see oil coming down the rocker. IMO, don't worry about it unless it starts making noise. No noise, no problems. I had Chevys shooting oil onto the fenderwell. My Olds hardly puts out enough to oil the rockers. And that's at 2000 rpm. They just aren't great oil pumps. Anyone disagree?

 

I don't disagree about the amount of flow, only the reason. The metering at the lifter controls the flow up the pushrod to the rocker. The pump will move more oil if the restriction is reduced. I have made modifications to the lifters to do this. But there is a question as to the advisability of moving a great amount of oil into the heads. Generally, there remains, in the pivot pocket of the rocker, some oil from the previous run. So it is not like running dry. But I do think that the flow should be greater than the stock situation especially if operating with a more viscous oil. To me, it should be somewhere between the stock Olds condition and the Chevy condition you described.

 

What weight oil are you using?, I'm inferring you are in a Scandanavian climate?. 5W30 will get round the engine quicker than say a 15W40. If it's cold then you need a thin oil.
Mechanical action from the lifters should help get oil to the rockers quicker than winding the oil pump with a drill. In normal driving you might not start the engine for a week, yet you don't have the valvetrain clattering for minutes before oil gets up there when you do.

Roger.

 

Thanks for all replies. Solved everything with a new 1050 W drill and some patience, took almost 30 minutes before I got oil in all rockers.

 

Great News!! Good for you.

 

yes a 1/2 inch drill is the way to go.
A 3/8 inch drill is not strong enough, will burn up pretty quick.

Gene

 

What kind of oil pressure are you getting now that the engine is running? The machine shop could have missed the galley plug at the back of the engine, next to the distributor, behind the freeze plug on the back of the engine. Ask me how I know. There is supposed to be a plug there with a small hole in it to oil the gears on the distributor and cam shaft.

If you pull out the lifter at the back right of the engine and hit that drill, it will shoot about 15 feet high, immediately. Put that one back, and pull out the back left lifter (last one on driver's side). My bet is that it will barely dribble out.

 

pulling lifters on an assembled engine is no small task

your engine is fine

I have never done more than a few seconds of priming, enough to chase the air out.

If you want to be extra sure, look in the dist'r hole while priming

1mm jet of oil on the drive rod= perfect
0 jet of oil = idiots put no-hole plug in
10mm jet= no plug at all, and probably no pressure either

 

Boiling or abrading a block is not good enough, one must remove the oil galley plugs at each end of a block on both sides, brush them out and blast them clean at a car wash. that is the only reliable way to clean them. If this procedure is not followed, then a situation such as you relate may occur.