Oil to back of engine question

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DartVadar

DartVadar

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So I was going through some threads about oiling and things to check for before you start up a motor (Motor is done but just not in the car) and I came across checking the oil galley plug that is located in the distributor hole. Apparently this plug is supposed to have a tiny hole in it so it sprays oil on the cam gear and distributor gear, so I thought to check it, and because I couldn't check in the engine it I took out the plug to take a look and there was no hole in the plug. I know it's a reaaallly easy fix which is nice. Should I drill a little hole in it? if so how big? and is this little hole even needed?
 
Good question! I asked my builder this same question when he was building mine and he told me it is was not the norm from the factory and it gets oil back there so mine does not have it either. Subscribed.
 
There was no hole, ever, from the factory. This is a mod someone thought up. Not sure it is ever necessary.. I do have one that failed. First one I've seen so It "does" happen, but not knowing the history of this engine, who knows.
 
I read about this in the "SB engine rebuilding got ya! School is Open" thread on the second page near the bottom, its being talked about a bit, but never really in any detail, there is a picture to show what it does as well.

I know my 360 didn't have the hole in the plug when I tore it apart, and the person that did my engine a few months ago put in new oil plugs and didn't put a hole in, so that's why I'm wondering if it's a good thing to do as a modification.
 
I believe this is the pic you are referring to...

DartVadar said:
I read about this in the "SB engine rebuilding got ya! School is Open" thread on the second page near the bottom, its being talked about a bit, but never really in any detail, there is a picture to show what it does as well.

I know my 360 didn't have the hole in the plug when I tore it apart, and the person that did my engine a few months ago put in new oil plugs and didn't put a hole in, so that's why I'm wondering if it's a good thing to do as a modification.
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Are you talking about this??


They recommend .030 or smaller hole. It's hard to drill a hole that small without breaking the drill bit but you could drill a larger hole (but not all the way through) so that you don't have such a thick piece to drill though. The best part about it is that you can mess up a plug trying to drill a hole in it and you haven't lost a million dollars. They are cheap and easy to replace. Keeping your dist gear well lubed is never a bad thing.
PS - You can also use a center drill to drill most of the way through or til you just barely see it breaking through then finish with the .030 or .025 drill bit. If you mess it up it's no big deal!!
treblig
 

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Yup that's it! I can just never get pictures to work. But personally I would think drilling a little hole could only help. I'll just wait and see what other people think about this.
 
Would it affect oil pressure at all? That would be my only concern.

DartVadar said:
Yup that's it! I can just never get pictures to work. But personally I would think drilling a little hole could only help. I'll just wait and see what other people think about this.
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If you made the hole too big....YES!! But under high pressure you'll get a nice steam of oil without getting any significant pressure loss. That's why they recommend .030" or less on the hole. If you can get a .020" hole that would be great because under 30-40 PSI you'll still get a straight stream of oil on the gears/shaft. Or you could not put the hole in the plug???

Treblig

treblig
 
No need for it. That area is full of oil draining back from the heads and getting tossed off the cam that it's fine. That is too large of a pressure leak for me anyway. No way I'd run that.
 
moper said:
No need for it. That area is full of oil draining back from the heads and getting tossed off the cam that it's fine. That is too large of a pressure leak for me anyway. No way I'd run that.
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I was answering the original poster's question??

treblig
 
So I guess it's safe to say that the little hole is not actually needed? I guess I'll just put the plug back in and be happy. If the factory didn't do it, there mustn't be a need for it.
 
on the front oil galleys I had to put very small holes in some 80's 360 for hyd. lifters they would trap air and the #1/2 cyl.would tap when the lifters bleed down ,about a .025 drill bit hole at the top of the core plugs would fix this ,it was a tsb for the rental truck company I worked for but I latter found if I raised idle speed about 150 rpm it would go away.but it did work so I do this on every type of engine I build,( insurance)
 
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