rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Surely someone here has had oiling problems with these engines. I never had a Y block that didn't have oiling problems. The cam bearing would turn in the block, blocking the oil hole, someone didn't change the oil often enough, or whatever might have caused the problem. There were line kits available at parts houses that sort of solved the problem. Am I all alone on this one? I currently have a 1956 Fairlane Town Sedan with issues. Pull the engine and completely rebuild it might solve the problem . Put an outside oil kit with hollow valve cover retaining bolts used to work till the car sold. What did you do when faced with the oiling issue? ajohn

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

If you have the type with the groove in the cam, you can have that groove machined a little deeper and wider.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The FYB had oiling issues throughout it's production life. There are many ways to correct the factory design defects.

Are you just not getting pressure/volume to the valve-train?

Shown Below Is A True-Fire Remedy -

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

they didnt spin cam bearings.as was said there are ways to fix the problem during a rebuild.in all the old y blocks i had only one quit oiling.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

You have a distinct advantage as to your HOME-20, TYLER, TX.

Here is where you will find almost everything you will need-

https://www.eatonbalancing.com/

LORENA, TX.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

In the late 50's, early 60's my late father-in-law raced a 1939 Ford coupe with a
Y-block 312 c.i. engine. He corrected the spun cam bearing by machining a grove
in the cam bearing back in that time before it was realized a problem.

BTW: His driver was future NASCAR star Lee Roy Yarborough.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Is that a kit you ordered from somewhere? I thought the issue was the rocker arms? I guess you have to remove the motor to install that setup, due to the shavings when you drill?

How effective is frequent oil changes in lieu of this?

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

That is fabrication Gene for extreme use, although if I were to build a nice street engine, it would have it.

It by-passes all the Mickey Mouse engineering on oil supply to the heads found on the Y-BLOCK. It can also be done the old fashioned way.

A high detergent oil is needed on one of these if no PCV SYSTEM is installed especially (IMO).

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Better multi-viscosity detergent motor oils and preventive maintenance seems to go a long way. The lubrication system feed with a single bearing wasn't the best design, and in those days people were using these cars and trucks as daily drivers. Frequent short trips will "load up" with sludge and condensation. Once there is a restriction or pressure drop it's all over, the damage to typical Y-Block rocker arm bores/rocker shafts has to be seen to be believed. Engines are tough and will put up with all kinds of different abuse, but "no oil" is not one of them.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

I also agree with this. I mention it because I've seen a school of thought out there (in prominent places) that recommends using non-detergent oil (which I think some single viscosity oils are) in old running engines that haven't been opened up in decades...or maybe never. Their thinking is that detergents will dislodge sludge or semi-hardened oil particles which will then go to places in the engine they shouldn't. I suppose that is a risk, but I've found that using modern detergent oil will work if you change the oil every 100-200 miles for the first five oil changes. Oil could be filthy and filled with clumps in that first 100 mile oil change. Maybe the second one, too, but gradually the used oil will look better in subsequent oil changes. I personally have little confidence in using non-detergent oil...in fact I was kind of surprised to hear it's still available, but it was about 15 years ago that I'd heard of this so maybe things have changed since then.


My 54 y block has no rocker oiling issues. I don't believe it ever had any.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

I seldom put 500 miles ay ear on my 57. And I change the oil and filter at least 1 x per yr. I use Lucas Hot Rod Oil, and usually use a Motorcraft filter.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The only car I have that has a modified oiling system is my Model-A. The center bearing has a very small oil feed tube piped into it. I can hardly believe that Ford built them with nothing other than splash on that center bearing.

I have also heard that the Packard straight 8s had an oiling system that was "iffy" if you didn't keep the oil changed.

I had a 1956 Chevy with a I-6 when I was a kid. No oil filter period. I guess an oil filter was an option in 1956, and the original owner opted to skip it.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

On the bottom side of each head there is a shallow groove with two 90 degree turns in the oil passage up to the rocker arms.

This small area is very likely to have sludge buildup, which eventually blocks oil flow to the rocker arms. Especially back-in-the-day when non-detergent motor oil was commonly used.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Yep, I have heard if you have your heads milled that needs adressed again.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

It probably doesn't help that the (oil soaked) material of the head gasket tends to expand into the groove.
.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The FYB had a very poor crank-case ventilation system design and when combined with the oil quality of that period would cause sludge and waxing in the engine. Modern oils will eat at that and the main problem is it's coming loose and blocking the oil pump pickup and resultant no pressure.

If you have an old one that was not serviced properly, it is best to monitor oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. If no oil to the valve-train, there is a blockage and there are cures for that before major engine damage.

Or having the block decked.

TED EATON has a multitude of TECH ARTICLES covering all of this.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Interesting. My '50' Plymouth flathead six had no oil filter either, but I know the filter option was available in '50. In fact...filter/no filter were the only engine choices available '50 for Plymouth!:D In terms of economy of features, I think Plymouth was even more of a budget car than either Chevy or Ford. It wasn't in Crosley or Henry J territory, but I think it was the lowest price full sized American car of the early '50's. With that in mind, it doesn't surprise me that Plymouth offered an engine without a filter.
I am surprised that you could still get a Chevy inline six without a filter six years later, though. I wonder how much money a person would save by forgoing the filter option? Eight dollars? Ten dollars? Hardly seems worth it...in either the Chevy OR the Plymouth. I.E., I'd rather have the extra protection for the engine than the 10 dollars.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The picture above showing the lines is overkill.


There are better and easier ways to provide a good oil flow to the rockers:


There are special bearings that have a groove in the backside so no matter where the bearing is you get oil


Another way is to groove the block behind the bearing so no matter where the bearing is you get oil. This method is used by a well known YBlock engine builder


As was stated above, poor maintenance and terrible oil conrtibuted to most of the oiling problems Y's had.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

But, it's also true that other engine designs of the time had the same poor maintenance practice (with the same terrible oil) and they didn't have the upper valvetrain problems. Definitely a weak spot on these Y-Blocks, the rocker & shaft assembly is otherwise pretty stout.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Of course, the above statements are IN YOUR OPINION ONLY, correct?

The photo I showed was being facetious. Still, it is a better method than ENGINEERING came up with back then.

How are things in NORTH JERSEY these days? Seems to be a lot of malcontent.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The method shown supplies oil directly to the valve-train from the pump (after filtering) with no (little) chance of blockage or (loss of flow volume). It supplies oil directly to the oil passages in the cylinder head, the center cam bearing requiring no groove and will provide better camshaft support.

You would perform it with the engine torn down for the reason you mentioned.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Regarding oil filters, Y blocks had a full flow system, just like today's engines. The oil came from the pump into the filter and then on to the bearings.

The older "optional" filter systems were used on various engines, such as a flathead Mopars, flathead Fords and 216-235 as well as the first 265 Chevrolets. This system basically pumped oil into the filter from an available pressure port and returned it directly to the oil pan. Better than nothing, but in all reality it just dropped the oil pressure. In that time period the oil was terrible as compared to todays oil and the engines had very poor crankcase ventilation. If I were to have been buying a new car back then, I probably would have opted out of the filter and just changed oil more often and tried to stay away from paraffin based oils

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Back in the day I have installed many outside lines to the rocker arms through a hollow bolt in the valve covers. it's not pretty but back then on high mileage engines it worked. I think there was a kit but I made up my own.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Some doofus downgraded to one of those bypass style oil filter setups (aftermarket Frantz brand) on the '57 312 in my garage. It had a fender mounted canister with a roll of toilet paper as the filter. :eek:
Bought a nice spin-on adapter to replace it.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The toilet paper filter was actually pretty good at its job, it would filter out finer particles than a regular filter and much cheaper. It was a common JC Whitney item back in the day.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

I took it off mostly because they filter only a smaller amount of oil at a time, unlike the stock style full-flow filters that all the oil goes thru all the time

The oil pressure on the engine was too low and I also preferred to go back to more original style hardware. Esp. given the picky folks that will eventually be looking under the hood.

Someone can have this old filter setup for the cost of packing & shipping. ;)

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Oil pressure - believe it or not, I took the tripple gage cluster out of my ElCamino because I converted the dash over from idiot lights to gages a couple years ago. Now I have the gages hooked up temp, tach, and I have a tube kit (copper) to hook up the oil. What should it be with a fair engine, ad at what RPM? I always heard as long as the light is not coming on it is fine, because Y-blocks are not high pressure engines.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

My 292 runs at about 40 PSI warm regardless of RPM. It starts cold at 50 PSI and drops to 40 as it warms up. I use a mechanical gauge.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Now that was good ... :D

Better Than JOHN WAYNE TOILET TISSUE-

ROUGH, TUFF AND DON'T SH!AT OFF NOBODY!

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The spin on - aluminum? Where did you get it - haven't seen them for sale in quite awhile

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Not only mine and I agree that the engineering was not the best.

Malcontent in North Jersey ????

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

I bought it in July of '19 on ebay. From a fellow who I believe was machining them but quit making them shortly afterward. Here's a link to his ebay store.

It uses a large captive O-ring on the back side to seal against the block.
I got one from him a few years earlier for the 292 in my '55.

https://www.ebay.com/str/mpcustommachine

.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

The shop manual says 35-55 psi HOT at 2000 RPM

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

To verify that, I'd say that pretty much approximates my '54 Y block's pressure readings. At a 500+ rpm idle (hot) the needle is about halfway between 0 and 25 psi...so maybe 12 or 13? At a higher idle (closer to 700) it's more like 18. Using 15w40 oil.



I'm still amazed by the claims that toilet paper filters work decent, though I don't doubt it's true. TP is so easily deteriorated in water so it's weird that oil and oil pressure don't flood the system with lots of fibrous paper particles. I wonder if the high quality premium paper on today's market would be better or worse for an engine than the TP of the 1950's?

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

Thank you gentlemen

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

It's an interesting question, I drove around for years without worrying too much about it. If the OIL light isn't illuminated, must be OK, right? And that's true so far as that goes, but an otherwise good engine can be turned into more or less scrap with loss of oil pressure in just a few seconds.

The pressure specs in the manual are listed for recommended oil viscosities I expect. And from what I've gleaned from reading the material is that a high oil pressure is not necessarily "good" simply for high oil pressure sake. For example if someone were to run 20w-50 and saw 70 psi HOT at idle, that isn't really what we want. The bearing clearances are kind of what's important here, and excessively high oil pressures means the oil pump can go into bypass.

If the engine is in good condition, it should achieve the specified pressure with the factory 10w-30, one of the most important functions of motor oil (other than actual lubrication) is carrying away excess engine heat away from internal engine components that aren't very well served by the engine cooling system. For that, the engine needs good oil flow, and plenty of it. I think sometimes when it comes to motor oil a lot of us try to out think the engineers.

Re: rocker arm oiling problems on Y block
 

That and believing what is written in a 50's OWNERS MANUAL and outdated tech.

DIESEL rated oil come to mind here ... :D