Rocker Shaft Oil Feed

[carguy808]

Just joined the forum and I have a question allready. I am rebuilding a 383 B block and I need to know if the No. 4 Cam bearing should be grooved to help feed oil to the rocker arm shafts. the bearing that came with the rebuild kit is not grooved and the old bearings are long gone.

Thanks for Helping me Out, Steve

[71chally416]

I just chuck my cams in the Lathe and groove them instead. 

[Chryco Psycho]

they are normally not grooved & just pluse feed the rocker shafts

[Kapteenikosmos]

The pulsing feed without the grooves is probably enough oil for most of the street engine builds, right?

[Chryco Psycho]

there is a balance here , you need enough oil to feed the rockers which is very little & enoung to cool the valve springs , you do not want the opposite problem of pumping all the oil under the valve covers & draining the oil pan which is the #1 reason why I dislike the Indy heads with the external oil lines

[71chally416]

With normal rocker gear grooving the cam is not needed at all. You'll get enough oil up there without it. I only groove the cam if I'm using roller rockers. If the heads have drain back issues (some aluminum heads do) they should have drain back lines installed.

[moper]

There is plenty of oil to feed the top end using the factory setup. Make sure the holes in the block and bearings are properly aligned. I usually taper the back side of the bearing (think like a countersunk hole) because it's rare the holes line up 100% perfect. Also, a fully grooved cam take oil away from teh crank and bearings. If you're not into enlarging those feeds, dont run a full grooved crank. The Indy heads... you tap the fitting and use a Holley carb jet to restrict the top end oil if there is a big issue.

[71chally416]

Like anything, if it ain't broke don't fix it. But if you have issues gauling your aftermarket rocker arms where they ride on the shafts you might need more oil up there. Remember the stock oiling system was designed for stock rockers. Some cams even come with the groove when they're new.

 

[moparniac]

There is plenty of oil to feed the top end using the factory setup. Make sure the holes in the block and bearings are properly aligned. I usually taper the back side of the bearing (think like a countersunk hole) because it's rare the holes line up 100% perfect. Also, a fully grooved cam take oil away from teh crank and bearings. If you're not into enlarging those feeds, dont run a full grooved crank. The Indy heads... you tap the fitting and use a Holley carb jet to restrict the top end oil if there is a big issue.

My Indy's are a custom set from jeff at MCH... they oil internally but here is a pic moper suggested

[moper]

Yup... Indy should have done that on thier own. It's mainly high rpm engines, but there is a LOT of oil that goes up top like that. Especially if the rockers are a little loose on the shaft.

[carguy808]

Thanks for all the replies. since it's a mostly stock valve train I'll leave it as how it came from the factory.

Thanks, Steve