The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1940 pushrod problem

I am restoring a 1940 Chevy Truck. I have found several bent pushrods that I recently replaced. I just noticed that the copper oil feed line that passes thru the engine block and up the side panel has been cut by the friction on the push rods. How is this repaired ? Do I have to replace the copper line thru the block ? Is their a reason it passes thru the block ? An ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
David M.

David, I'm just about to replace my copper tube that I cut in half when I dismantled the engine.
This line feeds oil to the rocker arms. I guess the only way to get it there was to pass thru the water jacket. Maybe there was some intent to cool the oil by doing this... don't know for sure.
I bought new 3/16" copper line to replace it thru the block. I will be using the old fittings and I bought some new compression fittings.

What we need here is to have Barry Weeks pop in here... he knows everything!

David, This is really an easy fix. Starting on the driver's side of the block, the end of the tubing connects to the oil distributor. It bends around and passes through a compression fitting into the block.

It goes through the block, exiting the other side, (under the side cover) through another pressure fitting, or originally a sweated fitting.

At the fitting on the passenger side, it's bent up through a hole in the head and connects to the rocker shaft, to oil the rockers.

You can buy a kit with everything you need through Jim Carter, and others. They go for around $20.00 but include more than enough tubing, and all of the other fittings you need. The kit from Carter's has a sweated fitting on the passenger side.

Or, you can probably get everything you need to make it up yourself at a good hardware or auto parts store. I opted for the kit, as I figured I'd spend the $20 or more chasing parts.

The tubing is one solid piece, probably about 2 ft. long or so, and will need to be replaced as single unit. You want to make sure you don't make any bends until you've anchored down both sides at the block. The rest is really easy. I would suggest that once you've completed the plumbing, that you run the motor w/out the valve cover, to ensure you're getting the oil where it needs to be.

When I replaced mine, it took about 15 minutes total time. However, I didn't have the manifold in place at the time. I also found it was alot easier to work without the distributor cap in place.

As far as why it goes through the water jacket, I think Kevin was right on target. I was also told it was to help cool the oil.

I don't think I've missed anything, but if you do a search on this topic, you'll find it covered a couple of other times.

Good Luck, and let me know if I can provide you with any other information.

Just wanted to add , that , because the oil line goes thru the water jacket , you need to check that there are no water leaks at the block , BEFORE you fit the pushrod cover .

Any need to discuss why David has the bent push rods? Seems to be pretty common problem. Do we all agree that lack of oil to the rockers is the cause, or could it be stuck valves? Why do valves stick anyway?? Just thinking out loud. I had some bent push rods on my 55-1st 235 years ago. It was actually a later motor with hydraulic lifters and the lifters were "pumping" up. I replaced the lifters and straightened the push rods and never had any more trouble. How deep are you going on this motor?

Hey Eric, thanks for the tips!
I will be doing mine this weekend.

this bent push rod thing came up on the oldgmc site as I recall bad gas(varnish sticks valves) was one cause. Had motor sat long?

Same thing was talked about on the VCCA site not too long ago. Gummed up valve stems causing the valves to stick and pushrods to bend after prolonged storage.

Kevin, you're welcome, and good luck. It should be an easy process. If you want, e-mail me. I've got a PDF file (picture) of how the thing is put together.

I had 5 bent intake pushrods due to bad gas that had varnished up. Have had no problems since replacing them and freeing up the valves. I'm not sure how many RPMs I'm doing but she chugs along on the highway pretty well at around 55.. I'm guessing as my speedometer doesn't work yet.