durabond cam bearing spit holes

Good work on the rocker stands tonk!

If you have some type of flat surface (such as the deck of the fresh block?), then hold each stand agaianst it and try and "rock" the stands to check for "flatness". The tool marks I see are a good sign, but in looking at hundreds of these stands over the years, many will not show any machine marks.

Also, using a flat surface (piece of nice plate glass?), line 'em all up and use a precision straight edge across the top. The surface where the washer seats was not a precision surface to begin with. But, ya can get an idea if any of the stands have had the bottoms butched using that method. Then slide 'em all onto the bare rocker shaft and repeat the glass test. If they all eyeball as flat and no air gap between the glass, then you are ok. Carefully inspect each one for cracks in the bolt hole area, I have many that are cracked from previous ham-fisted service operations! If they are cracked, they will allow oil bleed. If the tops are kinda grunged from the washer, then ya can carefully surface each with a belt grinder, they don't have to be perfect, but do need to be parallel with the head surface in order to seal.
 
Craig said:
From my limited experience with these motors, (not like Mike and Jeff ) it's like the oil is getting burnt and then these "crusty" are building up all over making the oil flow problem worst.
Maybe it all starts with lack of coolant maintenance, which causes the motor to run hotter then it should, plus longer oil drain intervals creates even more sludge. :
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That build up evidence is what has driven me to make sure that the cam bearing spit holes did not restrict or create a place for future deposits to gather and lessen the oil flow to the top end.

Cooling maintenance very well May play a factor in this. I haven't focused on that ....yet. Thanks for making me think about it Craig. I planned on using the robertshaw t-stat but I hadn't thought too much about maintenance. (still focuced on getting it back together!!)
 
Oil quality is a big factor; particularly a part called volatiles. Engine block temperature is not homogenous, and cheaper oils will leave deposits in the hotter areas. I believe pennzoil is one of the worst, though not the cheapest per quart. A rebuilder pointed out that some were really bad for valve train deposits, even if regularly changed. A lot of this iron comes to us 3rd & 4th hand, and the po's probably used them in their final days of ownership as old beaters to putz around hunting or odd job'in in; so any 'ol oil 'ill do.
Dick f. Has some good articles going on right now in "oil tech". One of his main focuses is on the base stocks that the better lubes come from; that in turn can be a lube that doesn't crap all over the internals when conditions go a little above "normal".
Those kind of crusties took time to build, and overheating might contribute some, but there's other signs of overheating to go along with that; in the plugs, valves, any warpage, so on.
 
Good info greg. I had scanned over some of the content in that forum before, tonight I think I read most all of it!

I also came across the break-in process in this thread:
http://www.forums.IHPartsAmerica.com/oil-tech/635-official-oil-recomendations.html
Reply #3, and it makes me ask this question......what is the best way to install the lifters---pump them up? Soak in tranny fluid/oil/kerosene etc? I had intended to pump them as the service manual states, but....? Now I ain't too sure.
 
I will soak the lifters overnight in a can with the same oil that I use to break in the engine. While they are emerged in oil I will pump each of them several times until air bubbles stop coming out. At this point they should be ready for installation.
 
Hello everyone!

I've got to thank greg for getting me onto this thread as I had not seen it, thanks too, michael for mentioning some of the things you did.

With regard to the picture of the top-end, the carbonaceous material you see there is really, really old oil which has been subjected to more heat, either due to a mechanical problem, such as cooling system, or the oil was just plain low quality. The yellowish-brown deposits you see on / around the pushrods and rockers indicate that the oil has oxidized, in this case, a pretty bad case of it. Once again, this could have been caused from a mechanical problem, but more than likely owner neglect and / or poor quality oil......

Flash points on engine oil as well as base-stock quality can have an awful lot to do with creating the conditions you see in the photo, another factor is volatility. These qualities were not paid as much attention to at the time this iron was made because engine temperatures did not run as hot as they do now, but the other really important factor is not an oil factor, but a human problem...... Lack of good sense when it comes to maintenance.

It is true, without mentioning names, that many of the engine oils on the market would display signs of varnish and sludge way before other brands would, that would mean that the oil had gone further than it's designed useful life, and the protection went downhill fast. Once oil starts oxidizing and the metal wears develop, the nitration count goes up, which in turn also increases the total acid number.....so it is a domino effect. When you see yellow-brown to dark brown deposit stains on the dipstick, it's a sure warning sign that what's under the valve covers and in the engine is a lot worse!

Once again (and only because some people need to hear it several times), the newest oil specifications, sm/cj-4 are designed for low-emission engines manufactured after 2006, so when choosing an engine oil, always try to get the previous grade, which is sl/ci-4. (see the oil tech section for "variety of oils" for a full explanation)

swepco 306 supreme formula engine oil is my recommendation for pre-2007 engines, it is made with high quality base stocks and a really beefy additive package, include detergents and dispersants as well as a superior anti-wear formulation. The flash point will vary depending on the weight from 405f to 430f, and the pour point from -31f to -20f, once again depending on the weight. This insures easier starting and protection at cold-start-up temperatures and better protection at the higher operating temperatures, after the engine has warmed up. Generally when using an oil which is made with high quality base stocks, you will notice that the oil pressure will be lower at cold-start ups, and will be higher at operating temperatures than other oils are, what this simply means is that the oil is not thickened excessively when cold, nor thinned excessively when hot.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to put my two-cents worth in!

Dick floryanowich
 
Thanks for your info dick, it's good to hear from someone who sees and does this for a living, and understands It.
Nitration? H,mm; guess it's back to the oil library.:)
 
Craig said:
I'll get that Picture later tonight of the half blocked drain hole caused by the stock head gasket.:icon_eek: would be nice to see what the fel_pro guys did, so tonka that will be your job:smilewinkgrin:
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Edit... A little grider action on the block would fix this

lost this thread for a while:( here are the pic on the rear drain back holes. These are good pic's as they came from freshly dismantled engine.

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Trying to keep cam bearing-related information confined to this thread, here's a shot from yesterday.

This is comparing a set of Ford fe (390) cam bearings (oem) with a set of ihc sv (oem) cam bearings. These engines are mounted on stands sitting side-by-side and are in the process of being majored.

Both sets were failing/failed while the engines were in operation here at the shop. Failure modes are very similar, with the babbitt layer disappearing and/or delaminating and wadding up and being spit into the sumps.

These bearings are near identical in actual dimension, shell width varies slightly depending upon position. The cam journals for each engine are in usable condition with no damage or measurable wear. The Ford cam is an isky grind onna new blank, the 345 cam is oem.

For the record regarding the 345, the rocker shaft feed holes on bearings #2 and #4 measure 0.152". The primary feed supply holes to all five bearings measure .235" and none were aligned perfectly in the block.

Once each block returns from the machine shop, we'll install the replacement cam bearings here for each, and then show the methodology for "blending" the oil passages with the feed holes in the bearings at various positions.

I've verified that there is considerable "offset" between the rocker shaft feed hole in each head, and it's mating hole in the block. The obstructions are not created by the head gaskets, there is ample clearance at those points. This offset will be corrected on the 345.

In addition, the drainback passage on each head is grossly misaligned with the block receptacle, so that will be rectified also. But then, so are the fe passages.

The cam bearing tool being used for these operations is an older version of a lisle #18000.
 

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michael mayben said:
In addition, the drainback passage on each head is grossly misaligned with the block receptacle, so that will be rectified also. But then, so are the fe passages.
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That what I was trying to explain, the drain back holes / gasket and block. What is fe?
 
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