• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Plugging the DS lifter oil galley when using a solid camshaft

beanhead

Straining The Limits Of Machine And Man
FBBO Gold Member
Local time
7:14 AM
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
8,902
Reaction score
18,308
Location
Wackyfornia
How necessary is it? At what power level/expected RPM/application would you do this mod?
Reason I ask is I'm starting to lay the groundwork for my next engine build, a 4.25-stroked 440 and I'm 'off' hydraulics from here on out, on anything but stock or very mild builds. That said, on this project I'm planning on just a solid flat-tappet as I will "only" be looking to get in the 525-550hp range. Shouldn't have to go roller or get too too crazy with 500+ cubes?...It will be a street car that, while I like to play and let 'er rip out in 'select areas', isn't going to be seriously raced. A few trips a year maybe down the strip at Famoso for fun with my buddies, but that's it.
Thanks!
 
Just what do you think you're going to gain from this ?!?!

Lifters still need lubrication - particularly when its steel to steel contact. Sure you're going to get oil flowing down from the heads BUT that's not pressurized oil so there's no guaranty a sufficient amount will get to all parts of the lifter bores.

The fact that its a "street car" just reaffirms that this is a foolish mod to consider. The potential to do damage far outweighs any potential performance gain.
 
We've used oil restrictors for our first 4.25 stroker in the 90's when we used a billet crank that had cross drilled journals and a solid cam. I'd have to look back at what we did...but it solved our problems and got our idle oil pressure up. Shouldn't need them nowdays with the cranks available now.
 
How necessary is it? At what power level/expected RPM/application would you do this mod?
Reason I ask is I'm starting to lay the groundwork for my next engine build, a 4.25-stroked 440 and I'm 'off' hydraulics from here on out, on anything but stock or very mild builds. That said, on this project I'm planning on just a solid flat-tappet as I will "only" be looking to get in the 525-550hp range. Shouldn't have to go roller or get too too crazy with 500+ cubes?...It will be a street car that, while I like to play and let 'er rip out in 'select areas', isn't going to be seriously raced. A few trips a year maybe down the strip at Famoso for fun with my buddies, but that's it.
Thanks!

Can't blame anyone for dumping Hydraulics....
that's an oxymoron if there ever was one being the word "performance" used in the same sentence as a "hydraulic" cam ?

That said,
I guess they have their place in the inexpensive category ... because we usually see close to 500 hp/525 ft/lbs on the Dyno using no more than the Comp Cams XE274H Cam in .030" over 440's(non-stroker), Stealth or E-Streets
and,
with a bit of work in the Heads ? and an XE284H 525-530 or MORE hp and same Torque, same 440's.

Dunno why you need solid or roller ANYTHING in a 500" or better Engine for only 500-525 hp ?
Nor do I understand why any Oiling Mods at all ? WTF ?
 
I put an 1/8" hole in the freeze plug, couldn't leave it just splashed.
 
Can't blame anyone for dumping Hydraulics....
that's an oxymoron if there ever was one being the word "performance" used in the same sentence as a "hydraulic" cam ?

That said,
I guess they have their place in the inexpensive category ... because we usually see close to 500 hp/525 ft/lbs on the Dyno using no more than the Comp Cams XE274H Cam in .030" over 440's(non-stroker), Stealth or E-Streets
and,
with a bit of work in the Heads ? and an XE284H 525-530 or MORE hp and same Torque, same 440's.

Dunno why you need solid or roller ANYTHING in a 500" or better Engine for only 500-525 hp ?
Nor do I understand why any Oiling Mods at all ? WTF ?
Just trying to explore all the options since at this point it's just a greasy chunk of iron on an engine stand:D.
Even at this milder build level I'd rather run a SFT than a regular hydraulic.
The oil mod question was, just to see if some of the well-known little tricks have any benefit for something not making huge power and maybe at what point they become more viable. The other being enlarging the oil feeds through the main saddles. Herb McCandless started doing these and would use at least the feed-enlarging mod even on street 440s less than 500hp.
I'm just kickin' the can at this point. Maybe this thing ends up making a little more power, who knows...survivability is key.
 
So you've done it... Is this on the hemi? How high do you spin it?
Haven't done any serious running it just playing around it's a Hemi. Did the McCandless drill from mains to passenger gallery, sweating bullets whole time. Have .0024 to .0026 clearance M/Rods with high volume pump 60lbs oil pressure at cruise.
 
I've drilled the mains numerous times. used the same bit over and over. Always drilled them "dry" - at least that way the chips fall out of the hole instead of clogging the bit
 
I wouldn't plug the driver side gallery but I would restrict it. Drive a plug into the gallery and drill a 0.062 hole in the plug. That way you'll still be spraying oil on all of the lifters but you won't be sending a ton of oil down there. If you decide to switch over to pushrod oiling down the road you can just drill the hole a little larger and it wills still work.
 
I asked the question a while back about running a solid flat tappet on the street with bushed lifter holes with no feed. As expected, I got plenty ridicule without much useful info.

After looking into it more, I found a couple people that have done it with big block Mopars, also 427 fords had no lifter feed with solids. I think slant 6's might be solid with splash only oiling as well.

My Keith Black block has no lifter oiling, & no provisions to add it, which is why I'm interested in this stuff too.
 
I don't know why anyone would go to the expense of bushed lifters on a street motor - especially with a solid lifter cam. The solid cam choice indicates its not a max horsepower motor (or you'd be running a solid roller) so the performance gain from that mod is pointless. If you're doing it to increase oil pressure, you should address the issue of why oil pressure is a problem.
 
I asked the question a while back about running a solid flat tappet on the street with bushed lifter holes with no feed. As expected, I got plenty ridicule without much useful info.

After looking into it more, I found a couple people that have done it with big block Mopars, also 427 fords had no lifter feed with solids. I think slant 6's might be solid with splash only oiling as well.

My Keith Black block has no lifter oiling, & no provisions to add it, which is why I'm interested in this stuff too.

That is just one of those things where if you're installing bushings to solve a problem then fine. If you're doing it because you read about in a magazine but you don't really know what it does then it is a waste of money. Sure it will work but it is expensive and doesn't provide much of a benefit. If you just want to reduce the oil flow then a restrictor does the same thing for a lot less money.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Looks like I'll skip that one.
It was never something I was dead set on, as I said before I'm in the 'prep before it goes to the shop' stage with this project, just looking for any worthwhile tips besides the normal stuff--checking passages, cleaning up casting slag, chasing threads etc.

smile-its-friday-hockey-meme.jpg
 
Stick with the tried and true mods. Portmatching oil pump,intake and exhaust ports. Be studious with the rocker geometry and the ball & cups!
 
Stick with the tried and true mods. Portmatching oil pump,intake and exhaust ports. Be studious with the rocker geometry and the ball & cups!
Always!:thumbsup:
 
On one of my blocks the 2 corners from oil pump to passengers side oil gallery was off. Had blase a ball grinding to a piece of steel tubing and go up from oil pump to make the corner align better.
 
That is just one of those things where if you're installing bushings to solve a problem then fine. If you're doing it because you read about in a magazine but you don't really know what it does then it is a waste of money. Sure it will work but it is expensive and doesn't provide much of a benefit. If you just want to reduce the oil flow then a restrictor does the same thing for a lot less money.

?Magazine?. My Keith Black block doesn't have lifter oiling and there isn't an easy way to add it. I don't condone blocking lifter oiling, but I did need to know about it for my build.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top