my '56 235 6-cyl has three demands for external oil pressure/flow. One is the remote oil filter canister, two is the feed to the external head connection that lubes the rocker arms, and the third is the oil pressure gauge. they all connect to the same place via a "tee-in-a-tee-farm" at a tapped hole on the driver's side lower rear part of the block. Are all of these connections supposed to be here or is there another port in the oil system somewhere to tap into?
There is supposed to be an internal oil passageway for the cylinder head lubrication, but they were prone to getting clogged up and an add-on kit was available to route a line around the back of the engine and supply oil to a 1/8" pipe thread hole in the center of the head casting. No problem doing it that way, it just adds one more external line. It's OK to tap off the same port with all of them. There's no oil flow through the gauge line- - - -it's a pressure port only. Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 03/28/20116:48 PM.
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
There is supposed to be an internal oil passageway for the cylinder head lubrication, but they were prone to getting clogged up and an add-on kit was available to route a line around the back of the engine and supply oil to a 1/8" pipe thread hole in the center of the head casting.
thanks for the info.. i was not aware that the external line was an after the fact modification.
There's a 1/8" pipe plug in line with one of the head bolt holes about halfway between the side cover and the valve cover. The port bypasses the internal oil passage, and it was pretty common to see a 3/16" copper tube attached there to supply rocker arm lubrication to an engine with a slow-running or clogged internal oil passage back in the 1960's. The tube was usually routed around behind the block and attached to the oil pressure fitting/oil filter port. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I am putting a rebuilt 216 in my truck. It has a new internal oil feeder for the head/rocker. It also has the fitting on the spark plug side of the head for the external oiler. If I don't use this do I just put a pipe plug in the hole instead?
Also does anyone have a picture of the oil lines for the 54 235. There is a great article in the tech tip section but it jumps from 51 to 55 and does not mention the 54
You probably won't get a very accurate reading of oil pressure there. The fitting on the driver's side is upstream of all the pressure drop points like the main, cam, and rod bearings. While the head port will indicate some pressure, you might get an artificially low reading. Jerry
Edit: The 216 sends a reduced pressure to the head and rocker arms by dropping the pressure available to the main bearings through the oil distributor. You would get a very low pressure reading, actually close to zero, at the head port. Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 03/29/20114:34 PM.
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
funny thing the lower port you have labeled from filter outlet was plugged on my engine. I moved that plug to the head port and ran the lines like the manual says.
I set this up just like the photos (and just like my 216) I plugged the hole in the side of the head because the shop replaced the oil tube in the head.
I don;t seem to get much oil on the rockers (looking through the hole in the valve cover. but it runs good and there is not valve or rocker noise.
Should I worry that the oil does not seem to bathe the inside to the rocker cover?
On my later model Chevys (70s and 80s) that I have had in the past you could not open the valve cover oil cap while the engine was running or you would get oil spatter all over the engine.
I have good pressure (25 lbs) but that is close to the bottom of the block.
It appears that the oil is coming through the top of the rocker arm. I checked the top of the one rocker I can reach and it is wet with oil. If I dry it off with a cloth it is still wet when I check immediately after. I think this is fine.
Thanks very much for the video...it was really helpful
