no oil on rocker's drivers side only? 360 magnum

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IntenseNeon

IntenseNeon

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Well guys the obvious answer is there is a blockage somewhere (or put in brand new lifters) but my problem is on my 360 magnum, there is no oil squirting out of the rocker arms on the drivers side only. I replaced the lifters already (thinking that was the problem.the lifters i put in were used which could be a issue but they are working on the passenger side. Also wouldn't it be strange that all 8 of them would not work on one side?. Is there a oil passage somewhere that oils that side of the block that could be blocked?.there is 60 psi oil cold and about 40 when warmed up. thanks for any help.
 
did you notice this while you were priming the engine? if so rotate the engine whil you are priming the oil pump, I usually do 90* every 30 sec
 
I freaked out when mine did that same thing. As Siuauto pointed out, once it is rotated another 90 degrees the other side starts to pump, and it did.
My oil pressure is exactly the same as yours. However-I have a LA block, not a Magnum.
 
magnum right?

so it oils thru the pushrods....

remove the lifters...run oil pump with drill...see if oil gallery is being fed any oil...

did the gallery plug get installed at the rear of the gallery...one side..dont remember has a plug at the end of gallery inside the lifter valley...while both sides have one at the back of the block...
 
And if you ran the engine, the cam and lifters may be a problem. Once it's run, you cannot swap lifter locations without really risking the lifter or lobe.
 
ok thanks for the replies, no i didn't move the lifters, i replaced them. yes magnum engine. ran the car and seems ok, but obvioulsly there is a oiling issue.
 
green1 said:
You put in used lifters, and then moved them? bad boy.
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Magnum will have roller lifters; you can swap places.

as far as the question; I have one back at the OP; where is the oil hole in the side of the lifter body? They need to face the center of the engine; if they were put in "180* out" the oil hole will be facing "away" and maybe not picking up any oil. are they noisey?
 
Ok, I didnt put together hydraulic roller cam...lol. What was done to the block during the rebuild?
 
yes the oil holes on the lifters are facing the center of the engine. I checked that when I replaced them, the first set about half of them were 180 off... yes the lifters or valvetrain are noisy, and it is coming from the drivers side of the block. I got the engine used and as far as i know there wasn't anything done to the block before. I have 20w50 oil in there, would changing it to a lighter wieghter oil be worth trying to do?. the passenger side is getting oil up top.
 
If this is a fresh rebuild are you sure the galley plug on the drivers side was installed? You can check by pulling the distributor and looking down into the block. The plug on the back of the block is just for acess to the real plug inside.
 
the engine was a running/used engine that he pulled and sold the truck it was in. I pulled the intake and made sure the galley plug was there. I got brand new lifters and the same thing. I put the lifters in with the oil holes facing down(towards the center correct?) When I got the engine I was told that the heads were la's converted to magnum's but after looking at them, they are clearly magnum heads on a magnum block. That being said I know I installed the la head gaskets. Could there be a oil passage that is being blocked by the headgasket. thanks for the help guys.
 
IntenseNeon said:
the engine was a running/used engine that he pulled and sold the truck it was in. I pulled the intake and made sure the galley plug was there. I got brand new lifters and the same thing. I put the lifters in with the oil holes facing down(towards the center correct?) When I got the engine I was told that the heads were la's converted to magnum's but after looking at them, they are clearly magnum heads on a magnum block. That being said I know I installed the la head gaskets. Could there be a oil passage that is being blocked by the headgasket. thanks for the help guys.
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No, the head oils through the pushrod not the head. The left lifter galley is fed from the #1 main bearing. A couple things come to mind, you can check them in any order you see fit. First is maybe a spun #1 main bearing, but that would soon wipe out #1 rod bearing as well. Next would be the soft plug behind the cam retainer plate. It may be non existant or could possibly be pressed in to far blocking the feed hole to the lifter galley. Then of course there is the plug at the back of the left galley inside the valley but you said you already checked that.
 
Guitar Jones said:
No, the head oils through the pushrod not the head. The left lifter galley is fed from the #1 main bearing. A couple things come to mind, you can check them in any order you see fit. First is maybe a spun #1 main bearing, but that would soon wipe out #1 rod bearing as well. Next would be the soft plug behind the cam retainer plate. It may be non existant or could possibly be pressed in to far blocking the feed hole to the lifter galley. Then of course there is the plug at the back of the left galley inside the valley but you said you already checked that.
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thanks guitar i will check those!. how would i check that soft plug with the cam in?. The car has been driven a bit so i would think that if it was the main bearing i would be rebuilding it by now.
 
You'll have to remove the cam gear and the retainer plate, the cam can stay there. The soft plug may be missing from the right side galley as well allowing oil to wash down the front of the motor and lose pressure to the #1 main. Then not having enough to pump up to the left side lifter galley.
 
thanks again guitar, i did pull that and it seems fine, while i was there i took out the cam and checked the bearings, they seemed fine. i didnt pull off the front main but i looked at it and it doesn't appear to be spun from the outside the two bearings are still pressed on where they should be. We blew out every hole possible. Still working on it.

ok i pulled that cam soft plug and it was deffinitally blocking half of the hole, gonna try and get a shorter one and see if that works!
 
yeah man I switched both of them and now there's oil on both rocker arms!. And its nice and quiet.That was a real head scratcher and thanks a ton for all the help!. Gotta get it put back together and get it ready for the first race on saturday!. nothing like a all night thrash to get it going!.
 
well i spoke to soon. the lifters get oil fine when the engine is cold, but once it warms up they stop getting oil!. Only on the drivers side still. I already put new lifters in there. Any Ideas with that. Could i have still blocked that soft plug behind the cam partially or what.
 
When the engine is cold the bearing clearances are tighter and the oil is thicker. This raises the pressure, you'd think that as the oil gets hotter it gets thinner and would flow better than it would when it's cold through a restricted passage. I think you are losing oil pressure somewhere, it may show good at the back of the motor where the gauge port is but it may not be so good up front due to increased bearing clearances in the cam bearings or main bearings. They could be using up all the pressure and volume before it gets up front.
 
These are still good right...lol well i guess the crank itself looks ok, but looks like i will be taking it apart and at least putting bearings in it if not just rebuilding the whole thing. I have another question, I was told that this 360 was internally balanced. How can I tell if that is true?... after this I don't believe a word the guy i got the engine from has told me about the engine. would the wearing of the main journal bearing indicate that?.

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If the balancer is just round with no offset weights on it and the converter and/or flex plate have no weights on them then it's possible it was internally balanced but I doubt it.

By the way that rod bearing is curled and no longer fits the cap indicates it's been pretty hot. I would either measure that crank carefully or send it out and have it checked thourghly.
 
By the looks of the bearings I wouldn't go any further. Pull the engine and overhaul it or find another. Things don't look good. Mike
 
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