No oil in valve covers duing prime...What gives?

Just got ready to fire my hemi after a winter long rebuild. While priming the oil system, I get good pressure at the gauge, which is mounted at the back of the manifold, but no oil flowing at the top of the heads. I pulled the rocker assembly on the #1 side and pressured it up again expecting to see oil flow around the second-to-last center stud, but nothing there. Before I pull the heads I thought I'd ask you guys what to look for. Any ideas?

-Brian

 

Did you put in new cam bearings?

 

New crank, rods, valvesprings. Same cam, cam bearings, head gaskets, etc... Bill Naves sent me a PM and said it might just be that the cam holes arent lined up. I'm gonna roll the engine over as I'm priming it to see if I get oil when the cam lines up. Otherwise, it just about has to be head gaskets plugging the hole. During rebuild stuck a probe from the top of the deck and it came out in the cam journal with no obstruction, both sides, so I know from the cam to the deck is good (or should be).

-Brian

 

Take the heads back off and prime. If you have oil pressure to the deck, then put the heads on with just the inner and outer studs, but not the rocker rack and re-prime. If you don't have oil pressure coming out around the head studs where the oil pressure holes, sometimes the stud is bent up, and covering the hole. Next, put the rack on, and do it again, but leave the pushrods out, and move the rockers over and see if they are oiling out the hole for the rocker oiling. I've seen heads that needed a trench ground up to the rack for the oil. I've seen the intake shaft oil, but not the exaust, and the other way around. Keep following the oil path up one step at a time until you see what you need.

And remember, operators are STANDING BY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Another potential explanation? I turned the engine over slowly while I was priming. At one point, the oil started to well our of the second-to-last stud. Didn't shoot, didn't spray, didn't move alot of oil, it just welled up and flowed like it was bleeding. I got wondering, could it be that this nitro70 doesn't like the 54 degree temp in my shop? Do you think if I warm the pan it would thin it up and work like it's supposed to? Gauge shows 120ish pounds during prime.

-Brian

 

Hey Brian,

I'm not sure what kind of head's and stuff you're running, but with our BAE fathead deal we ALWAYS put a new camshaft in the lathe and open up the oil groove a bit (not deeper, just wider) due to lack of oil to the top. Going from memory, I believe we open them up to around 80 or 90 thou and it makes a noticeable difference. I know you said it's the same cam as before, but maybe there wasn't much going up there before?

Also like you found out, it won't make it up top if the cam is in the wrong spot. Usually you can just give the turnover bar a couple tugs and try to prime again and it should come up, no need to keep turning while priming.

 

warm the oil up are you tring to prime it with a drill with 70wt at 54 degrees thats hard to do it was still cold here several weeks ago i was tring to get oil pressure to the spinning it with starter after several times and running the batterys down still no oil pressure i warmed the oil pump and oil pan for about 20 miniutes with a electric heat gun spun it over oil preassure came right up with no problems

 

I think temperature was it. I called Robert (operators were indeed standing by), and he suggested putting a salamander heater pointing at it until it got warm. I did, and the oil seemed to flow a little better. I just did a 1 min running warm up on it and then pulled the valve cover. I have oil puddled in all the recesses, and on the tops of the stands, as well as oil splatter on the inside of the valve cover. Not alot of oil splatter on the bottom side of the valve cover, but enough to tell it was flipping it around. Does this sound right for idle, or should I have a shitload of oil in the cover?

-Brian

 

sounds like its oiling to me with 70wt its a good idea to warm the pump and pan up if its real cold are go to 50wt me personally i would warm up the oil and use the 70wt just my opion good luck

 

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the input. Robert Reehl's suggestion of the salamander to do the initial warm of the block worked pretty well. It warmed the block, oil, and heads to 85 degress in about 20 min. I'll just do that before the first fire of the day. That 70wt is like honey when it's cold.

Nathan, I saw your groove trick in another post. I will be changing cams next winter and will definitely set it up in the lathe and cut it before it goes in the engine. I think I'll entertain a small broach cut in the head to make it easier for the oil to come up next to the head stud too.

Thanks again guys.

-Brian