The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop cam gear -crank gear oiler plugged

HI ,can any one tell me will the oiler pipe between the gears on the front of the 235 engine ( the one that sprays oil on to the crank gear & cam gear ) pull out ? is it pressed in or let it be & run some fine wire through it to clean it out or is there some other way to clean it out . GEARS have been running dry & the cam gear lost teeth and i am putting in a new set of gears. I only want to do this once and with out oil the new gears will also be toast. THANK for any REPLIES BJF

Mine was threaded into the front plate on '59 261

There is a milled slot in the back of the plate that the fitting screws in to. If that slot is plugged up, nothing will come out of the nozzle.

Try using the "straw" attachment on a can of carburetor cleaner to squirt solvent into the hole in the oiler pipe, followed by air pressure from a blow gun. You might get it unplugged without having to do a bunch of disassembly.
Jerry

THANK YOU , can i get at that slot cause i have the pan down and i am going to tap the plate so i can put the 2 screws on the outside of the plate. I will try the carb cleaner thing first. thanks to all BJF

Is it possible that that area could become clogged if too much gasket sealer is applied to that area on the front plate gasket?

There were two different ways that the oiler was attached to the timing plate. Some were press fit, some were threaded. The threaded ones are 1/8"NPT.

I have made replacements before with a short 1/8"NPT brass nipple with a cap on the end. Drill a 1/16" hole into the side of the nipple so that it will be centered on the gears when installed. Aim the oil hole at the intersection of the two gears. Use Loctite red to keep the nipple from moving. Make sure the end facing the block does not protrude and block the oil channel milled into the block side of the timing plate. If it does, remove the fitting and grind the amount that protrudes off the end.

The manual states that the ones with the press fittings can not be repaired and that the timing plate should be replaced if the oiler is damaged. Probably true when timing plates were available and cheap at the dealers...not so now! You can carefully drill out the old fitting and tap the hole for 1/8" NPT threads and proceed as above.

Posting because you asked how they were attached...let's hope you can get yours cleared by HRL's tip and not have to worry how it is attached!

If you decide to pull the timing plate, here's a tip you might find helpful. You'll probably find the three slotted flat head screws used to secure the middle of the timing plate to the block can be a bear to loosen. I've struggled with (and mangled) too many of these until I finally took the time to figure out there had to be an easier way to do it. Try using a hand impact driver (the type that you whack with a hammer) with a screwdriver attachment large enough to fit the slots on the screws. Works like a charm. Not only can you loosen them easily this way, you save the screws and don't have to chase down replacements. Reverse the hand impact driver to tighten.

I made a screwdriver attachment by grinding down the shaft of a 3/8" hex bolt to make it fit exactly into the screw slot. I use a 9/16" socket on my impact driver, stick the ground-down bolt into the socket, and voila.

Good luck,

Matt

So here is my suggestion. I would try the straw/spray tin of brake cleaner or contact cleaner into the nozzle. Then I would rig up a container of oil to immerse the oil sump. I would then run the oil pump with a drill and see if oil comes out the nozzle. I think this may be possible. To get at the back of the plate you would probably have to remove the crank timing gear. The three flathead screws will have been staked in place with a punch. You should dress those first. Then use an impact/hammer drive to break them loose.

This should be a Tech Tip- I buggered up my front plate screws and never thought to remove them that way...