How to tell if pressurized crank?

[huddy]

I was having a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with the son of my Coupe's previous owner. He said he thought that his Dad had the crank drilled and set up to be pressurized. I remembered the drilled part but not the pressurized part.

My question is: is there a relatively easy way to determine this, particularly that doesn't involve disassembly of the engine? If it had a pressurized system, I would consider adding an oil filter, otherwise I won't bother and just do as many others and run detergent oil and change it frequently.

The reason I don't want to disassemble the engine is that it's a relatively new rebuild, probably has less than 5,000 miles on it.

Thanks,
Ed

[Crazydaddyo]

Take the valve side cover off. The plumbing is hiden in there sometimes.

?

[colin1928]

As crazy said the plumbing will be hidden under the side cover or inside the sump

[Kahuna]

You will actually need to look further than the lifter area, as any Model A could have pressure to the mains and not the rods. You would need to remove the pan to be sure, as the rod dippers would be removed or sealed up.
Jim

[huddy]

A related question: does it really make any difference to me, functionally? I'm not about to embark on a 1,000 mile tour or anything. The only thing I can tell is that it would justify the installation of an oil filter, where I probably wouldn't bother otherwise.

[Tom Wesenberg]

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Would it be possible to remove the oil fill pipe and insert a small inspection camera to look for added oil pipes?

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by huddy

A related question: does it really make any difference to me, functionally? I'm not about to embark on a 1,000 mile tour or anything. The only thing I can tell is that it would justify the installation of an oil filter, where I probably wouldn't bother otherwise.

I'm sure they drove Model A's in the day more than 1000 miles.

[V4F]

check oil pressure . mine is pressurized with a modified v8 oil pump . pressure is about 20# all the time ...... stock is like 2-7#

[pat in Santa Cruz]

I would look in the crankcase after removing the filler tube. If the crankshaft has counterweights, it could well be drilled, although not for certain. If its not counterweighted, odds are its not drilled. Both are just indicators, not proof, but I would be really happy to see counterweights, so that alone is worth the peek. A dentists mirror carefully placed could show if the dipper in #2 rod is open or plugged. Often a fully pressurized engine has the dipper tray drilled to drain the troughs. But again, every machinist has a different technique, so a tray with oil in it is only another indicator. A drilled tray would be a certain sign the engine is pressurized, or close to catastrophic failure :-). The next step would be an oil pressure test, using a gauge installed in the oil hole located below the manifold, center of the block directly above the pan flange. A stock A has about 6 psi at speed or cold, 1 at idle hot; a pressurized engine would have from 20-40, depending on the pump, rpm, temperature, etc. There is also a technique that pressurizes the center main only to stock pressure, which would be confirmed only by removing the pan and looking for an oil line from the pump to the ctr main cap. Any external oil lines or lines inside the valve galley would confirm a pressure set up was at least tried once.

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by huddy

A related question: does it really make any difference to me, functionally? I'm not about to embark on a 1,000 mile tour or anything. The only thing I can tell is that it would justify the installation of an oil filter, where I probably wouldn't bother otherwise.

Hey Ed,
You did not say in your first post as to whether the engine in your A is an A or B engine ? Some of the advice / guesses seem to be based on it being an A engine. Let us know as it makes a difference,eh. For instance....look for counterweights. Well if A engine counterweights can be added whether pressurized or not. Dippers can and are left in place , at times, pressured or not. If B engine may or may not have counterweights..pressure to mains is there from ford,etc....
As Steve has said, check oil pressure and if real high, compared to stock engine...well that is pretty good evidence something more than stock oiling system. Absence of dippers and plugged rod holes is further evidence of pressurized.

[huddy]

Originally Posted by hardtimes

Hey Ed,
You did not say in your first post as to whether the engine in your A is an A or B engine ? Some of the advice / guesses seem to be based on it being an A engine. Let us know as it makes a difference,eh. For instance....look for counterweights. Well if A engine counterweights can be added whether pressurized or not. Dippers can and are left in place , at times, pressured or not. If B engine may or may not have counterweights..pressure to mains is there from ford,etc....
As Steve has said, check oil pressure and if real high, compared to stock engine...well that is pretty good evidence something more than stock oiling system. Absence of dippers and plugged rod holes is further evidence of pressurized.

It's an A engine. What I do know & can remember my friend saying is that the crank was drilled & counterbalanced. The flywheel was also cut down, and the stock clutch was replaced by a V8 Mustang clutch. I'm now thinking that the mains are likely pressurized, otherwise what's the point of drilling the crank?

I should've listened more carefully but at the time never expected I would eventually own the coupe. Now I have a bit of detective work ahead of me!

I sure appreciate all the help you guys provide. Thanks again.

Ed

[Logan]

My opinion, the oil filter isn't much needed. People don't realize that the oil system is set up to pretty much filter itself in the oil passages. And you dont, or shouldn't, run oil in these motors long enough for them to get dirty enough to need a filter. With inserted bearing, I change the oil every 1000 miles, and with babbit it's between 500-1000 miles unless I'm on a trip. Then I just change it when it's convenient, but not much more than 1000 miles. Pressurized oiling isn't needed on an A, but people still do it. As long as you're not turning stupid amounts of rpm then a drilled crank will stand up for a long time. But I know people running 5500 rpm on the stock oiling system with inserts, not havin a problem. That being said, do whatever you feel is necessary as far as the oil filter is concerned, it never hurts to have one. But If it were me, I wouldn't go any further than pulling off the valve cover to see if there's any evidence of the block being pressurized. The filter kits that go on the valve cover seem to work a lot more efficiently than the ones that go on the back side of the timing cover.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

if you have insert bearings, a full flow filter is a darn good idea. Babbitt has embedability, which gives it tolerance for contaminants. But if you get a dirt speck on a thinly babbitted steel insert, you can score the crank journal. The full flow filter that is integral to a valve cover is an easy way to install one.