Possible oiling concerns

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SpriceyStuff

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Hey guys. I had sent a video of my slant six running with no valve cover to a cars channel. One of the guys in that channel is a mechanic from New Zealand and pointed out that there was no oil spraying anywhere, which I didn’t think anything of. But it’s got me thinking… the slant six oils the cam through the holes the push rods come up through, yes? So I don’t see any oil running down the head to those holes, so is it not getting oil, or is this normal? I haven’t heard any concerning noises out of it, but if it’s having trouble getting oil I don’t want to keep running it. Please share your experience with me on this matter
 
Take the rocker arms off and run a Oxi-acetylene tip cleaner through all the orifices. Also take the expansion plugs out of the shaft and clean the shaft and install new plugs. Common problem on a slant.
 
Slant six motors with hydraulic lifters get oil to the hydraulic lifters through the push rods.
On both mechanical and hydraulic lifter slants even at idle there should be some oil leaking out around the rockers and shaft as well as some oil spraying from the rocker arm tip on to the top end of the valve - valve spring.
That oil then flows across the top of the cylinder head to the top of the lifter chamber and to the cam shaft. The cam shift lobes are also lubricated by the oil that gushes out if the cam bearings.

as mentioned previously, post a link to the video.
 
Well....the slant 6 oils "backwards" from anything else that has pressure fed lifters, since they do not have pressure fed lifters. So, the oil comes through the block, into the head, into the rocker shaft, through the rockers to the pushrods. If it is a hydraulic lifter engine, then the oil goes through the pushrods and finally pumps up the lifters. The mechanical cam engines just get splash lube from the crankcase and "whatever" happens to drool down the pushrods. This is why, IMO, the hydraulic lifter slant sixes never ran quite as well as their mechanical cam counterparts. There were problems with ticking lifters and lifters that didn't pump up correctly. Had they made the engines so they had pressure fed lifters from the rip, the hydraulic lifter engines would have been better. In either type though, you're not going to see oil "spray" in the top side of the slant 6. They oil adequately, they just don't oil "a lot" to the top.
 
That is not a good view to make a definitive call on whether the top end of that slant is oiling sufficient. Although from what is shown it appears that it is not getting much if any oil up top.
Can you make a second video? This time from the rocker arm side of the engine.
 
That is not a good view to make a definitive call on whether the top end of that slant is oiling sufficient. Although from what is shown it appears that it is not getting much if any oil up top.
Can you make a second video? This time from the rocker arm side of the engine.
Yes give me a little bit and I’ll try to get you one
 
Well....the slant 6 oils "backwards" from anything else that has pressure fed lifters, since they do not have pressure fed lifters. So, the oil comes through the block, into the head, into the rocker shaft, through the rockers to the pushrods. If it is a hydraulic lifter engine, then the oil goes through the pushrods and finally pumps up the lifters. The mechanical cam engines just get splash lube from the crankcase and "whatever" happens to drool down the pushrods. This is why, IMO, the hydraulic lifter slant sixes never ran quite as well as their mechanical cam counterparts. There were problems with ticking lifters and lifters that didn't pump up correctly. Had they made the engines so they had pressure fed lifters from the rip, the hydraulic lifter engines would have been better. In either type though, you're not going to see oil "spray" in the top side of the slant 6. They oil adequately, they just don't oil "a lot" to the top.
What I said was
"some oil leaking out around the rockers and shaft as well as some oil spraying from the rocker arm tip on to the top end of the valve - valve spring."

I did not say the top end of a slant sprays oil everywhere, what I said is there is an oil passage in the rocker arm that leads to the valve tip and some oil should be spraying from that rocker arm passage to the tip of the valve. That oil lubes the sliding action of the rocker arm over the valve tip and that oil also helps to cool the valve springs.
 
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In this photo you can see that the passenger side of the valve cover shows sign of oil… comforting. Video coming shortly

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What I said was
"some oil leaking out around the rockers and shaft as well as some oil spraying from the rocker arm tip on to the top end of the valve - valve spring."

I did not say the top end of a slant sprays oil everywhere, what I said is there is an oil passage in the rocker arm that leads to the valve tip and some oil should be spraying from that rocker arm passage to the tip of the valve. That oil lubes the sliding action of the rocker arm over the valve tip and that oil also helps to cool the valve springs.
I know. I was adding to not arguing.
 
I have to run to my brothers house to rip a push rod out of my other slant cause my cyl 6 exhaust valve push rod is jumping as you can briefly see in the video (it’s slightly bent) so I’ll update you guys in a little bit
 
I agree with RRR, that not proper oiling. That groove/slot in the top of the rocker arm, should have oil in it.
That's actually what I was going by. That's why that slot is there, to transfer oil. There's none in them to transfer that I see.
 
I have to run to my brothers house to rip a push rod out of my other slant cause my cyl 6 exhaust valve push rod is jumping as you can briefly see in the video (it’s slightly bent) so I’ll update you guys in a little bit
****. I'd snatch that bad boy out, put it on the anvil flat of a vise and beat it back straight with a hammer. And no, I ain't kiddin.
 
that is really light on oil, looks like there is some as the valve springs have a bit of a shine to them.
what I would do is
1) shut off the engine and remove the rocker shaft and pushrods.
2) without the rocker shaft in place, have someone crank the engine while you watch the #6 end rocker stand, you should get a decent pulse of oil out of the that rocker shaft bolt hole. There is a through hole at the rear cam journal, not a groove like the hydraulic slants, so you will get a pulse of oil with every 180 rotation of the cam and the cam spins at 1/2 crankshaft speed. If you do not get a strong pulse of oil, post back here at FABO with a video of what you do get.
3) remove the rockers from the shaft, soak the rockers in a solvent over night or longer. Can also scrub with Dawn dish soap and hot water.
4) clean the exterior of the rockers and probe the internal oil passages on each rocker with a thin - stiff wire. You can also use aerosol carb cleaner to run a blast of cleaner through each passage, wear safety glasses, do not get that stuff in your eyes.
5) Clean out the inside of the rocker shaft, you will need to remove the pressed in cup plug at each end. Soak in solvent, use hot water and dawn dish soap and a bottle brush. A competent machine shop will have replacement cup plugs as will Summit. Use a ring of red loctite on each when re installing.
6) Re assemble and re install and see if you get more top side oiling.
Note on the re install it is important that the oil holes in the rocker shaft point the correct direction, they should point to the valve spring side. There may also be a small flat on one end of the rocker shaft. That flat needs to be on the front - top side. That will get the oiling holes correct as mentioned above.
 
I don’t have that cleaner
Take the rocker arms off and run a Oxi-acetylene tip cleaner through all the orifices. Also take the expansion plugs out of the shaft and clean the shaft and install new plugs. Common problem on a slant.
thing you’re talking about but I have a wire coat hanger. Will that work?
 
that is really light on oil, looks like there is some as the valve springs have a bit of a shine to them.
what I would do is
1) shut off the engine and remove the rocker shaft and pushrods.
2) without the rocker shaft in place, have someone crank the engine while you watch the #6 end rocker stand, you should get a decent pulse of oil out of the that rocker shaft bolt hole. There is a through hole at the rear cam journal, not a groove like the hydraulic slants, so you will get a pulse of oil with every 180 rotation of the cam and the cam spins at 1/2 crankshaft speed. If you do not get a strong pulse of oil, post back here at FABO with a video of what you do get.
3) remove the rockers from the shaft, soak the rockers in a solvent over night or longer. Can also scrub with Dawn dish soap and hot water.
4) clean the exterior of the rockers and probe the internal oil passages on each rocker with a thin - stiff wire. You can also use aerosol carb cleaner to run a blast of cleaner through each passage, wear safety glasses, do not get that stuff in your eyes.
5) Clean out the inside of the rocker shaft, you will need to remove the pressed in cup plug at each end. Soak in solvent, use hot water and dawn dish soap and a bottle brush. A competent machine shop will have replacement cup plugs as will Summit. Use a ring of red loctite on each when re installing.
6) Re assemble and re install and see if you get more top side oiling.
Note on the re install it is important that the oil holes in the rocker shaft point the correct direction, they should point to the valve spring side. There may also be a small flat on one end of the rocker shaft. That flat needs to be on the front - top side. That will get the oiling holes correct as mentioned above.
I’ll give that a shot as soon as I get home. Thanks! I’ll keep you posted
 
****. I'd snatch that bad boy out, put it on the anvil flat of a vise and beat it back straight with a hammer. And no, I ain't kiddin.
I got a replacement out of my other slant to swap in real quick and I’ll do that soon as I get home. I am running a few errands right now
 
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