69 340 having oiing issues

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paulz340dart

paulz340dart

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What up out there? I was hoping that someone could give me an easy answer for my 340 Dart, a few weeks ago she start a lifter tap, this engine had been sitting since 1988 before I brought it home to start fixing it up about a year and a half ago, first thing I did was pull intake manifold, valve covers, oil pan, timing cover. All looked real good, cleaned everything up, replaced badly caroded timing cover, re-gasketed everything,put gas in and started, sounded good ran pretty good around block, moved round body shop all last summer, but a month or so ago I started driving it a lot more and it started tapping so pulled valve covers to adjust and at least 2 pushrods [273 adj. rockers and cupped push rods] had been beaten to death on the cupped end. Now these have been on this engine since the middle 80s with never any problems[at first I thought it wiped a lobe]. So ordered new Mopar purple cam and lifters, new adjustment bolts, and new 7.237 inch long pushrods. Installed cam, lifters, push rods, and the new adjusting bolts, ran everything with high zinc break in oil and cam break in lube poured on cam. After running for 20 minutes or so I shut it down, there was no smoke, as in very little oil to rocker arm shafts if any? So pulled dizzy out and pulled off rocker shafts and got out my pre-lube tool,spun oil pump, had 45 psi at gauge no oil coming up pedestals? WTF? how could that happen? The next night after reading everything I could find. Went back out and started trying to rod out oil passage with .030 mig wire, was the only thing I could find to go beyond the head section of oil passage, a little while later after removing plugs and cranking over a bit some oil started coming up through both pedestals. Ran engine again still not much oil to shafts and rocker any thoughts or advise ?
 
Just remember, the oil to the rockers is timed by the cam. Rotate the engine slowly while spinning the oil pump primer tool.
 
Yeah I'd say the cam bearings are not installed correctly or something isn't right with those adjustable rockers . I'd do like furyus2 said and prime the oil pump and turn motor by hand . Try doing it with the rocker arm loose and if oil doesn't flow out all over the place at 45 psi it's the cam bearings.
 
pull the rocker shaft assy off of the offending side & the oiling passage (cam journal oil holes) lines up at 90 deg before TDC #1 compression on the pass side and 20 deg ATDC #6 compression for the drivers side. cut a strip of paper 5.694" to use as a ruler for 90 deg if your dampener ain't got the OE partial timing slits (3 of em) in addition to the full TDC timing slit and use the timing tab as a ruler to get the extra 5 deg to get to 20 deg ATDC. drill prime it & cover the appropriate pedestal with a white styrofoam cup so you dont get sprayed if it ain't plugged up! EDIT 2nd pedestal back from the front on DR side/4th pedestal back from the front on the pass side
 
Oil to the rocker arms is not constant. You need to have the crank in the proper position for the oil feed holes to line up to get the oil to the rockers. You have to get the crank properly clocked for each side oil to show up in the heads...
 
Deleted my post. Did not read every thing. Sounds like you spun a cam bearing
 
Thank you all very much, just when you think you know it all someone comes along and educates you. I did not know that the oil was not a constant flow? I thought that when you pre-lubed the oil should come out constant, but it didn't come out at all yet when cranked over without plugs it pulsed out, which I couldn't understand. Yet even so the shafts don't seem to get enough oil. Maybe cam bearing spun partially enough to restrict amount of oil. And I believe the shafts are in correctly notch to rear of engine on passenger side facing down, the drivers side is opposite notch down and to front of engine. Already cleaned out both shafts with solvent and air pressure. Neither looked dirty. I expect oil to be flying all over when running engine w/o valve covers but almost nothing coming out anywhere. Just wanted to know what to take apart first. When I cleaned rocker shafts also cleaned each rocker and made sure all oil holes in them were open. I have read in here somewhere about rocker shafts with an oil groove in them, would these type shafts help? I am getting tired of buying gaskets lol.
 
The 'flying about' may an expectation issue. I couldn't find a video for you. Perhaps you could take one and post it for comment against others' observations?

Are you getting oil on all the pushrod cups now? How is the oil flow work with the RPM's up?
 
I have read in here somewhere about rocker shafts with an oil groove in them, would these type shafts help?
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Not for this problem, first we gotta find the blockage/issue. dig in & post what you find
 
Sleepy, that is the second time someone has mentioned oil plug by dist. Where exactly is this plug? I have had dist. out numerous times and even looked for plug, but have not seen it yet, can you better explain the location? Please
 
nm, This evening I will take some video of engine running with valve covers off, as it is no problem, just hope I can upload and make it work
 
Rapid Robert, I have determined that the passages are not blocked as I did not know that the oiling is timed to the camshaft rotating it comes out when turning motor with plugs out, kind of looks like it is being pumped with a piston pump instead of constant flow like I thought you would see, but just not good pressure.
 
It will come through in spurts as the holes in the block line up with the passage in the cam journal. Like Rapid Robert says try the drill prime deal and maybe move the crank by hand while doing it in case the passage is not quite to spec. Could be a cam bearing issue or just some crap in the passages.
 
paulz340dart said:
Sleepy, that is the second time someone has mentioned oil plug by dist. Where exactly is this plug? I have had dist. out numerous times and even looked for plug, but have not seen it yet, can you better explain the location? Please
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The plug is just below the Distributor hole. Two inches down facing toward the front of the engine. Use a flashlight and mirror if the engine is still in the car.
The plug is left out by non-Mopar engine builders. Left out and you will have little to no oil pressure.
Like these guys said. Unhook battery. Pull spark plugs. Pull valve covers. Pull Distributor.
Get yourself an oil prime tool that you can buy for $5.00 and connect it an electric drill. Drop the tool into the oil pump(that's what the Distributor connects to at the bottom of the engine).
Have a friend rotate the engine at the crank bolt at the front of the engine with a big breaker bar and 1-1/5" socket counter clockwise while you start the drill. You should see oil coming out of the rocker arm assembly.
 
Just curious, is there a "dreaded diamond" stamped on the top of the block with the numbers? Maybe someone didn't put in oversize lifters.
 
Ok all first things first, thank you guys so much for your brainpower.!!!!! Right now it is 3\20 pm and 115 degrees, another 3 or 4 hours I will take me and computer out to garage and work on all of these things, just cant take the heat like I used to. Most thankful for your patience. I will let you all know what I find
 
like airwoofer said, rare-but some blocks came from factory with oversize diameter lifters, and front of block driver side near top was stamped with a symbol. I saw 1, a 1963 413 with 8 oversize lifters. but if this was the case, or if the plug at the rear of the driver side galley was out, oil pressure would be very low. and since u are getting oil up thru the 2 pedestals, I think cam bearings are okay. and oil flow up top will be more when oil is hot. in and out of a body shop all summer killed it, common problem
 
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