Oil flow in the heads

M

MCL

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
109
Hi

I replaced my old cracked engine with a complete 4.3 longblock,has a balancer shaft.Dont know if its a problem but the oil flow seems very slow in the heads.I have only run the engine on muffs,but there is no splashing or significant flow from the rocker arms at idle.When the engine is warmed up you can se a constant slow flow from the rockers.You could easily take the valve covers off when running at idle with no mess.

Im used to DOHC engines which simply baths in oil,im just wondering if this is normal.Engine has only been started 1 time,so I want to avoid any problems.Im using mineral 10-40w oil,and the oil pressure is normal according to mercruiser specs.
 
J

joewithaboat

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
1,172
Re: Oil flow in the heads

Maybe give us a little more history... new, rebuilt, if it has some miles on it they wont always have a ton of oil at idle up top.
 
M

MCL

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
109
Re: Oil flow in the heads

Its a completely new remanufactured engine,hasnt been broke in yet.I have only started it once on muffs to let it idle when adjusting idle speed and ignition advance.I noticed a increase in flow as the engine got warm.It has good oil pressure from the start.

I read somewhere that the oil flow was restricted to the heads on later chevy engines,but this seems extreme.The valve train is silent so the lifters obviously works.
 
achris

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Oil flow in the heads

Sounds normal to me... Remember that the only things up there that need oil are the rocker balls and the valve stems, and not a lot of oil at that. Too much oil and the stem seals get overwhelmed and start leaking... If you have an even flow from all pushrods, button it up and enjoy it... A lot of people expect to see oil squirting from the pushrods... If that's happening (at idle) it means the lifters are faulty.
 
Monterey10

Monterey10

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
194
Re: Oil flow in the heads

The only time I had a problem with oil not getting to the heads was when I was using (incorrectly) a thin multivis oil on an old V-8. The Valves were really clattering at idle. Once at speed, the oil pump caught up and the valve were quiet.
 
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