i always put a light down by the cam bearings and sight down the oil holes and see if i see light.yes you can install the bearing wrong and one side will still get oil.if you pull the head crank the engine over with the head of if you dont get oil thats it.be careful of fuel if your pump is still hooked up.
Left rocker arm oiling problem
- Thread starter cjc56
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Ole Don
Well-known member
You asked about head bolt torque specs. I like a 50/50 mixture of STP and 30 wt motor oil for assembly lube. Run a line of oil down the threads, and a couple drops under the bolt head. Short bolts on the bottom, medium bolts on top in the muddle, two longest bolts on top on the ends. Tighten the top center as number one, bottom center as number two, then outwards like a clock. First 55, then 65, then 75, then 75 again.
O well, so much for my inspection!!!!! After pulling the engine apart it was clear that the middle cam bearing was install one hole off. So the last hole in the cam bearing was lined up with the main bearing channel the next hole was lined up with the right channel to the right head and the next hole was lined with the solid side of the block. Therefore the the solid part of the cam bearing was blocking the channel to the left head. Since I only ran the engine 15 min there is little chance that the bearing spun therefore I must assume it was installed wrong. BACK TO THE SHOP. Thanks to everyone!!!
never trust anyone with a y cam bearing.always double check.friends from a car club wanted me to rebuild a 272 they had it bored and i told them to have the cam bearings installes as i didnt have the tool.the guy told them he knew all about y blocks when i checked it was installed the same as yours.
TedEaton
Senior Member
If the engine is going to be pulled all the way down, then this is a good time to consider grooving the center cam hole so that there is a positive oil flow to the topend without having to rely on the grooved cam journal. Another option is to use a center cam bearing that's grooved on its outer O.D.. Verne Schumann sells these.
On a similar topic, there's a movement to make a number of Y cam blanks without the center groove simply to improve the bearing loading on that center journal. On these blanks, it will be necessary to either groove the block or use the outer grooved cam bearing.
On a similar topic, there's a movement to make a number of Y cam blanks without the center groove simply to improve the bearing loading on that center journal. On these blanks, it will be necessary to either groove the block or use the outer grooved cam bearing.
Glad to see this topic! My 312 was rebuilt before I bought it and doesn't get oil to the right side rockers. After reading the info in this thread, I checked for the square corner of the head gasket.... it is in the rear instead of the front. Maybe that is my problem- the gasket was put on wrong and is blocking the oil feed hole. Might make sense as the previous owner installed an electric fan in front of the radiator. He said he had problems with it overheating. If the gasket was put on wrong, does that also block some cooling passages? As far as replacing the gasket, do you have to use any additional sealer on the gasket or do you install them dry? Thanks for any info!
streetdreams
Well-known member
Installed wrong, yes it does. Composites dry.
dmsfrr
Well-known member
The head gaskets are made with mirror image oil holes just above the top center head bolt, so the gasket position shouldn't affect the oil passage. (1st photo below) Something else is causing your oil blockage. You can investigate oiling problems further while the head is off to replace the gasket. Verify that oil comes up thru the block from the center cam bearing - check that the offset groove in the bottom of the head & the oil hole up thru the head aren't clogged - confirm that the inlet hole in the rocker arm shaft lines lines up with the oil supply hole in the bottom of the 2nd from right rocker arm stand - and that the insides of the rocker arm shafts are clean.
Incorrect head gasket position will affect the cooling since it blocks some of the water passages.
http://ford-y-block.com/assemblyerrors.htm
"Head gaskets. The 2 head gaskets used on a Y-Block are identical. It might seem that the same face of the gasket would go against the block and the opposite face would go against the head on each side. This is not the case. What is critical is that the open coolant holes are at the back of the head and the blocked portion of the gasket is at the front. Look for the word FRONT on the gasket and place it at the front even if it looks wrong. This places 1 of the gaskets face up and one face down. Notice that there is a square corner at one end of the gasket, this must be at the front of the engine. This can be checked without removing the heads. If you are having overheating problems check for these square corners at the top front corner of the head near the intake gasket."
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Thanks for the replies. At least I'll probably help the cooling by replacing the gasket and getting it on properly. I'm sure it is probably the cam bearing. I'm not that lucky to have it be something simple. Like I said, the motor is supposed to have been rebuilt. I have already checked everything on the top of the head. I'll check for oil coming out of the block hole when I pull the head.
dmsfrr
Well-known member
This isn't the exact aftermarket rocker-arm oiling setup I remember. The one I was thinking of used a hollow valve cover bolt to get the oil inside, but this one is similar.
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dmsfrr
Well-known member
Won't the shop that put the cam bearing in wrong put one in correctly this time? There wouldn't be an oiling problem if the bearing had been installed with the holes lined up.
I do like this idea in case whoever is installing the bearing doesn't do it correctly. But what else aren't they doing correctly?
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TedEaton
Senior Member
There are a rash of topend oiling failures on fresh Y rebuilds happening right now and part of that has to do with a softer than stock cam bearing. These softer cam bearings simply allow the cam bearing babbit to conform to the groove in the center cam journal thus shutting off the oil supply. For whatever reason, the right bank oiling shuts off first in these cases. I've seen these soft bearings fail in as little as 200-250 miles.
Making the groove in the camshaft's center journal deeper is one of the fixes for this. 0.060" should prove to be more than adequate. Other fixes would include grooving the cam hole behind the cam bearing or putting the groove on the O.D. of the center bearing.
Making the groove in the camshaft's center journal deeper is one of the fixes for this. 0.060" should prove to be more than adequate. Other fixes would include grooving the cam hole behind the cam bearing or putting the groove on the O.D. of the center bearing.
streetdreams
Well-known member
Watching that groove in aftermarket camshafts shrink for the last 10 or so years. Don't know why. It's an as cast surface, so maybe the cores haven't been maintained. Been chucking them into the lathe and cutting the #3 journal deeper as stated by Mr. Eaton for about the same amount of years.
Just to update everyone. The shop has admitted that they installed the cam bearing wrong. I have used this shop many times for 1960 and 70 engine machining and never had a problem. It is hard to find a shop in my area that is up on Yblocks so I will let them pass on this one. But I have learn a lot. Thanks to everyone. And I will deepen the groove in the cam by .06 before I reinstall it.
streetdreams
Well-known member
Ted, these cam bearings aren't Dura-Bond, are they ?
TedEaton
Senior Member
I would say it’s a very noticeable difference.I have a collection of center cam bearings here that show much more wear than the remaining bearings.The problem with the center cam bearing loading starts with the groove in the center cam journal.That groove relieves the oil pressure that would normally make the ‘oil wave’ that the journal would ride upon.Because there is no wave and the oil free flows around the journal within the groove, the center cam bearing simply wears faster and especially with modern valve spring pressures being applied.