VFilms
Well-Known Member
You’re welcome. And thanks to you. I learn a lot from your posts. That’s why I’m here. So much knowledge.
318 POLY No Oil to Rockers While Priming
- Thread starter VFilms
- Start date
R413
Well-Known Member
The 1/4 turn at a time is a failure. It doesn’t work. I’m not surprised to hear you don’t have oil at rockers doing it this way. There is a small window of rotation that the oil holes are lined up to feed the rockers. And what diameter are the oil holes in the cam bearing and the cam itself? They are 7/32”. If you run the drill with out the crank moving then turn 1/4 and run drill again you will never see any oil at rockers.
So get a helper, one person on the drill constantly running clockwise, and one person turning the crankshaft slowly. Take out all plugs so it turns easier. You need to go two revolutions of the crank to make sure you have gotten both oil holes lined up to oil.
If you do this with valve covers off then cover the top of the rockers with a rag so the oil doesn’t squirt freely and make a huge mess. Leave the rag off below the rockers so you,can see the oil when it gets there.
On a new engine I do it this way, on a used engine you can crank it over with the starter.
So get a helper, one person on the drill constantly running clockwise, and one person turning the crankshaft slowly. Take out all plugs so it turns easier. You need to go two revolutions of the crank to make sure you have gotten both oil holes lined up to oil.
If you do this with valve covers off then cover the top of the rockers with a rag so the oil doesn’t squirt freely and make a huge mess. Leave the rag off below the rockers so you,can see the oil when it gets there.
On a new engine I do it this way, on a used engine you can crank it over with the starter.
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Lefty71
Well-Known Member
I think the advice you are getting from R413 is dead on. 
Here's something i want everyone to know tho....cuz this may be the same for the poly engine.... On a big block, if you rebuild an engine and the heads end up swapped side for side in the process, you had better pay very close attention to the oil ports in the heads after the cleaning process. The oiling is done from the #4 cam bearing, as opposed to the center bearing, so the ports are located towards the back of the engine, which is why they are located in two places on each head. One port on each head will be clogged badly with gunk, and the oil pump will never overcome this sludge..... so you must make sure to clean the oil ports in the heads with a pipe cleaner or similar from the head gasket mating surface up to ensure flow at startup. If poly's are the same, this very well may be your issue as well.
HTH, Lefty71
Here's something i want everyone to know tho....cuz this may be the same for the poly engine.... On a big block, if you rebuild an engine and the heads end up swapped side for side in the process, you had better pay very close attention to the oil ports in the heads after the cleaning process. The oiling is done from the #4 cam bearing, as opposed to the center bearing, so the ports are located towards the back of the engine, which is why they are located in two places on each head. One port on each head will be clogged badly with gunk, and the oil pump will never overcome this sludge..... so you must make sure to clean the oil ports in the heads with a pipe cleaner or similar from the head gasket mating surface up to ensure flow at startup. If poly's are the same, this very well may be your issue as well.
HTH, Lefty71
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If anyone is going to rebuild any engine a set of oil galley brushes is a must, along with a good hand scrubbing using a good soapy detergent. Clean like a surgeon before stitching you shut!
Mike
Mike
VFilms
Well-Known Member
That may be my next move.
VFilms
Well-Known Member
After running through all the suggestions here - thank you all so much - and priming the pump while slowly rotating the crank I now have oil to the top. Only 30 lbs of pressure as the drill had limited RPMs but there is oil. Again, I greatly appreciate all the help provided.
VFilms
Well-Known Member
Kudos to you and 493 Mike for thinking about this oil galley plug. I wasn’t even aware of it until a Poly friend mentioned it in a recent conversation. Always learning.
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