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By SurfMerc - 15 Years Ago
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My 56 Monterey wagon has the original 312 with no recent rebulit that I can see. I want to install a external oiler which I have to prolong its original condition. Has anyone ever installed an external oiler? I am not sure which rocker arm caps to install the oiler caps. The caps that have the overflow tube seems to me to be the ones because there is a hole that goes into the rocker arm tube unlike the other caps. Any suggestions? Thanks AR
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By PF Arcand - 15 Years Ago
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You don't say, are you experiencing a lack of oiling up top on both sides, when running with the covers off?
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By SurfMerc - 15 Years Ago
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No oil coming out of the overflow tubes. Very little oil at the rocker arms. Since I already have an external oiler kit I thought to get oil into the rocker arm tubes fast cannot be a bad thing. This would be more of a quick fix until I can spend more time chasing the problem. Thanks AR
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By mctim64 - 15 Years Ago
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Try to diagnose the problem and see if there is a real problem and a better way to fix it. First see if you are getting oil to the top, as suggested by Paul, if no oil dripping out of the rockers then take the rocker shafts off and run the oil pump with a drill motor to see if oil is atleast coming to the head. If you have a cross drilled cam you may need to turn the engine over slowly while running the pump to line up the holes in the cam. If there is still no oil try to clear the passage to the head with a pipe cleaner or blowing air back through, then run the pump again. If you do get oil to the top after the rockers have been removed, disassemble the rocker assemblies and clean them and the shafts out. Check for wear, you may need to replace the shafts or maybe a rocker or two. External oilers are not the best way to fix the problem, try to avoid them.
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By mctim64 - 15 Years Ago
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You posted while I was typing.  If you are getting some oil up there but none out the overflow the shafts are more than likely clogged. It will take no more time to disassemble them and clean them out than it would to install the external oilers. Also if the shafts are clogged the external oilers wouldn't help anyway.
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By SurfMerc - 15 Years Ago
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Good point! I will take your advice and run with it! Thanks again AR
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By oldcarmark - 15 Years Ago
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I agree.If you take it apart you will likely find the shafts plugged up with 50 years worth of crud.Each rocker arm has a small oil squirt hole at front AND back.Use a paper clip to clean out the small holes when you have it apart.To remove the end cap drill a small hole and screw in a sheet metal screw.Pull out with vise grips.Do the same at other end or use a rod to punch it out from the opposite end.Replacement caps available from auto supply or one of the speciality dealers who sell repro parts.Mark each arm(I used hacksaw to make 1 2 3 4 slots) on each arm.They should go back on in same order removed.The external oiler kits are a last resort if you cant fix it this way.
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By SurfMerc - 15 Years Ago
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Thanks for all your input! This was my first time on the forum and I am impressed with the support that I found so quickly. Thank you - AR
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By mctim64 - 15 Years Ago
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Welcome to the forum by the way! 
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By Nick Brann - 15 Years Ago
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Hi SurfMerc, Welcome to the forum. To elaborate a little about the external oilers, they tend to take oil away from the main bearings and thus the cam bearings also. Not a good situation. It's best to clean out the shafts and the individual rocker arm holes as the guys recommended. Be sure when re-installing the rocker shafts that the oiling holes (one aluminum rocker stand on each bank) are aligned with the proper hole in the rocker shaft, so that oil can flow to the shafts and rockers. Hope this makes sense, have fun! Nick Brann - K.C., MO
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By awhtx - 15 Years Ago
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I had the same problem with my 292. I removed the rocker assemblies, cleaned the passage through the head and block and ran the oil pump with a drill. I was able to get a fair amount of oil to the left head but very little to the right head. My rocker shafts and arms were severely galled so I bought some good used ones from the Classifieds. I cleaned, lubed and installed the rockers, started it up and no oil to the right side. What little oil I was able to get up through the right head did not have enough pressure to make it through the rocker shafts. I removed the assemblies and installed plugs in the bottom of the 2 stands that mate with the oil holes in the heads to block any oil that tried to make it up to the rockers.
I found a NOS external oil kit on Fleabay and installed it. The tube connects to a hollow stud that replaces the AFT rocker cover stud on the left and the FORWARD rocker cover stud on the right. The kit included a needle valve to regulate the amount of oil supplied through the tubes. I found that I just barely need to open the valve to get plenty of oil to the rockers. My rockers are now delighted with their oil bath.
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By SurfMerc - 15 Years Ago
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Thanks for your comments! I will disassemble, clean and reassemble and see what happens! AR
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By PF Arcand - 15 Years Ago
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One last note, I stand to be corrected, but I believe the replacement rocker shaft plugs are the same as those used on F.E. engines (352-390 etc)
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By green-beret - 12 Years Ago
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I might have posted on the wrong subject but the problem remains the same. My older brother spend a small forune rehabing a 1957 T-Bird. Great paint upholstery and everything but the engine. I know I need to get an external oliler ut have been unsuccessful finding one up to this point. Does anyone have a few photos of what it looks like. I have access to a lot of machine shops. I just need to get himmrunning enough to get it another 200 miles to put on a bardge to Hawaii. He is dumber than a post. He drove it all the way from Idaho with no oil going to the right bank of rocker arms. When we pulled the vavle covers the fron two pushrids were down in the hole and the rocker arms were destroyed. I don'y know what else. He just lef tit here and asked me to help. I've got chemtool soaking the oil tube and hope to make one of those tools with a grease zert and try to push the crud out but it would save me a lot of time if I just had an external oiler. If anyone has one for sale that would be cool too. Any help?
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By Ted - 12 Years Ago
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In the latest issue of Y-Block Magazine (Issue #116), Jerry Christenson outlines a different method of‘external oiling’ for the Y rocker arms which eliminates using the valve cover stud as the entry for the new oil supply. . I’ll add that the right side (passenger side here in the U.S.) oiling is the side that quits first when there is a cam bearing ‘wear’ issue and when using the grooved journal camshafts.
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By Fairlane Mike - 12 Years Ago
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In response to Mr. Green-Beret, I'm assuming that the engine had been overhauled, if that's the case, someone probably didn't install the center cam bearing correctly. They didn't check all the passages for alignment in other words. I got involved in one of these situations several years ago, a friend restored a '57 'Bird and had a local scrub engine builder over haul the 312. He hired me to help him get it running. On firing the engine up, one bank, no oil! I explained to fix it right, the engine would have to be torn down. He was disappointed, but we went ahead. I told him about external oilers, but he wanted it right. Besides the cam bearing problem, the engine had obviously been worked on by someone who didn't give a sh--!! Rod bushings; worn out, huge amount of junk in the cooling jackets, knurled valve guides, pistons too tight, on and on. I pretty much "re-over-hauled" it for him. Y-blocks aren't "tricky", you just have to pay attention to the details. (Which really applies to ALL engines.)
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By slick56 - 12 Years Ago
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I seem to have the opposite problem! Removed the l/h valve cover to check clearances and oil went everywhere - have not removed the right one yet...
What is the cause of that??
ps. have just picked up two truck 292's, both have oiling mods to the right rocker shafts, one with the hollow stud,
the other has a hole drilled in the head for a fitting and a pipe from the l/h oil gallery to the rocker shaft. My Dad did
this mod to a 272 we had in a speedboat about 1968.
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By oldcarmark - 12 Years Ago
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If you are getting TOO much oil flow you can tap the passage in the bottom of the rocker stand and install a small pipe plug with a hole drilled in it to cut down the oil flow.There is a post somewhere on the site explaining the pipe plug size and the size of the hole drilled in it.Anyone know where that post is?Another point not mentioned yet on this post.The oil groove in stock cams and replacement ones also is too shallow in most cases..019-.021.It should be machined deeper to about .032-.034.When I did mine I had the groove cut deeper.Then I had too much flow and installed the restrictors and now the oil flow is about perfect.I can run it with covers off and oil does not overflow the head and drains at the correct rate.Its easier to restrict too much flow than it is to fix not enough oil flow.
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By Ted - 12 Years Ago
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slick56 (7/14/2013)
I seem to have the opposite problem! Removed the l/h valve cover to check clearances and oil went everywhere - have not removed the right one yet...
What is the cause of that?? .....Could be caused by stopped up oil returns at the ends of the heads. Is there sludge present? If so, then simply clear the oil drain/return holes and then start changing the oil much more frequently.
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