The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop I got a Problem

I have been driving around my newly acquired all original 1947 Chevy 3800 that has been sitting in a pasture for the last 10 years. It has some rocker noise, the oil gage in the dash moves when I rev it so I think/hope it has oil pressure. So I took of the valve cover to do some adjustment and found something odd. There was no oil in or around the valve train. (Bone *** dry) I changed oil before I started driving it and the old oil was pretty clean and not milky. So what gives how is the oil brought up to the valve train?

trentw,

Welcome to the Stovebolt. On your engine, oil is supplied to the rocker assembly from the oil distribution valve which is located on the drivers side of the engine, mid block...right under the header pipe.

You will see a VERY small copper line the disappears into the side of the engine. This tube passes through the water jacket, pops out under the side cover on the passengers side and travels up through the head to the center oiler.

This system is prone to plugging, especially after a engine has sat and might have gotten cruddy inside. Repair kits are made for it...don't try to remove the tube to clean it. It is a one time deal..removing it usually will destroy it and a new one will have to be installed.

You can troubleshoot it by removing the fitting at the center oiler to see if oil has made that far. Many times, the rocker shafts themselves are plugged tight.

More folks will be along to add their advice, and in the meantime, I will try to find a nice link or picture of this system that will hopefully make more sense than my ramblings.

Stuart

Trent, in my online album if you look in the lifter oil folder, the 5th picture I have my dewalt drill running the oil pump, you can see the oil running out of curved copper line. Pretty sure your engine is something like this, mines a 235. There at one time was an upper end oil problem in this engine :confused: as the copper line you can see in picture 4 was added. The line goes across the top of the engine to the left side. Ed

Yep I see the pipe in the middle of my engine but it’s loose. So that’s that feeds oil to the rocker shaft? Also what engine would this be 235 or 216? I suppose you guys need some block casting numbers…

trentw,

I'm confused. You shouldn't have a setup like Fredoly has! If you have a pipe, and it's loose, then is should be leaking. If it's loose and not leaking, it must be plugged upstream from the loose fitting.

Right now, I'm not sure we're on the same page on this, but I have enclosed a link to a picture of what I'm referring to. This picture is for a '38, but it will give you a idea of what this thing does and how it is installed.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f167/Tinys1938/oilline.jpg

(thanks Tiny)

Stuart

Sorry for the confusion, this copper pipe in the middle is that I was referring to. I pored some oil on everything on top so that’s why it looks oiled [img]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/trent175/DSCF2423.jpg[/img][/IMG]

Is there a line missing?

trentw,

If you look at the picture I linked, you will see what the plumbing is suppose to look like.

Obviously, your supply line has vanished...who knows why! The next step would be to pull the sidecover and see what secrets are hidden behind it.

From your picture, It appears you have a short sidecover, which to me indicates you have a 235, but I could be wrong. There are folks here that can show you where to decipher engine numbers and are much more knowledgeable on this subject than I am. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Stuart

you have the same engine thats in my 46 2 ton a short cover 235 with 2 center bolts holding on the valve cover. yes you have a line missing it comes up from inside the block and hooks to that little fitting in the center. i believe that it can be fixed by dropping the oil pan finding the port that it should supply from then run the line up through the head and put on a ferule and connect it. oh and i bet that engine is a 52-53 235 car motor. philip

Thanks you guys for all the help, this is a great site with some good people. I got to get that pipe fixed and get the numbers off this engine I thought It was all original. (Ops) [img]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/trent175/DSCF2425.jpg[/img]
here is the truck.
[img]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/trent175/DSCF2426.jpg[/img]

well with that last picture i take back my last comment it would appear to be a 216 and could very well be the original. in that picture i can see that the side cover goes all the way up.

Trent that’s a nice looking truck, seems to have a lot of potential and doesn't look like it has much rust. Looking at the wiring, plumbing and just an overview it looks mostly original. In my opinion though you have a lot of restoration before it will be ready to put on the road with any amount of dependability, especially as you say, "it's been sitting in a pasture for 20 years."
Trucks like this are what anyone that is serious about restoration is looking for. If your purpose for getting a truck is to have a everyday gravel hauler then you would be a lot better off looking for a much newer truck.

I would bet the ranch on it, that someone tried taking the line loose from inside the side cover and broke it off. This means that your going to have to install one of those kits that Stu mentioned. And like he explained the line that goes through the blocks water jacket uses a compression nut, not a nut and sleeve like at the ends so it's a one shot deal, once you tighten up the compression nut your done, taint no taking it loose without replacing the whole line.

Right behind the oil dip stick on the block is the engine number that will tell you if its the correct year or not.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

This truck was owned by an old farmer down the road from my folks. It was storied in a machine shed when it wasn’t used. About 10 years ago they needed more room in the shed so they drove the truck out to the pasture. It’s in decent shape. It worked nice for hauling a little dirt for the wife’s flower gardens. I am bummed to find this problem the old thing runs like a clock! So what do I have to do to get some oil up top? T off the oil gauge line? I’ll dig in to it this weekend and see what the heck happened to the line.
thanks
Trent

trentw,

You will have to pull the sidecover off...not the pan! That oil line, as the pix I linked shows, comes through the water jacket from the oil distributor on the drivers side of the block.

The standard procedure would be to purchase a new line and replace it following the instructions.

Pulling the side cover off and investigating what is going on with the existing line would be the first order of business. For all anyone knows, it's sitting behind the sidecover pumping oil like a banshee...we can only hope.

If this were true, it would merely be a matter of either reattaching the line, or splicing on a little section, then reattaching it.

Any repair of this problems will require you to pull the side cover and asses the situation.

If you do this, you should round up the sidecover gaskets and the sparkplug hole gaskets. They might come as a kit.

Stuart

Trent, as several have suggested, this is really an easy fix.

You can buy a kit from Jim Carter's (around $20-$25) that is the complete replacement and solution to your problem.

The missing/partially missing line you need starts down on the drivers side of the block, and is connected to the oil distributor.

It winds around and over to the side of the block, where it enters the block and runs up through a water jacket inside of the block.

It exits the other side, under the side cover. From there, it's bent upwards and passes through the hole that is visible in your pictures of the head. At that point, it connects to the fitting that is attached to your rocker arm assembly.

Save yourself the grief of trying to "jimmy-rig" something. Buy the kit, and do the replacement.

When I replaced mine, it was less than a 30-minute fix.

Let me know, if I can help you out with more details instructions on the procedure.

To add to what Stuart said...

You can get the side cover and spark plug hole gaskets from NAPA. They come together as a set.

Less than $20, if I remember correctly, and the price of fuel hasn't driven up the cost.

look what I found.
[img]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/trent175/DSCF2428.jpg[/img]

Thats a good sign and a bad sign. It looks kinda dry in the pushrod/lifter area too. So little to no oil has been coming outta the tube also?
Looks like its "repair kit" time.

trentw,

Gee....what a surprise! What are you going to do now...inquiring minds want to know.

Stuart

Trent, if it were mine, the next step I would take is mark the position of the rotor, pull the distributor, and spin the oil pump to see if you're getting oil up to that line. You could also just start it with the side cover off and see what happens.

If you were a little closer I'd stop over and look at it with ya. I just looked at the map to see where Greenbush is at. WOW,you and I can't hardly get further apart and still be in the same state!

$3.00 at the hardware store and ordered some $14.95 gaskets from bumper to bumper. Also Cleaned up the sludge off the rockers.
[img]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/trent175/DSCF2433.jpg[/img]

trentw,

As they say..you da man! Great work. Does it oil now? I see the plugs are in, so you have probably run it.

Stuart

Yep I got to fire it up and watch everything work, makes a mess on the shop floor. The ends of the rocker rail/bar are wore real bad, would that be the cause of little or no oil at the ends when it running? I took it all apart and cleaned all the oil passages but I get a lot of oil coming out of the over flow. Could I pinch the over flow shut?

Yeah I’m way up north. Back in the good old days growing up, Canada’s drinking age is/was 18 so every Friday- Saturday night this little bar across the border would be packed. It was always an adventure getting back across the border.

oh yeah......
Thanks guys for all the help

trentw,

The inside of the two tubes can get so plugged you actually have to drill them out. There is a plug on the outboard end you can pop off to 'rod' the tubes if you are adventurous.

It was sort of SOP for folks to pinch the overflow tube off in an effort to get the whole assembly to lube.

There are small holes in the bottom of the shafts that allow oil to gravity out and around the rocker arm...these are usually plugged with smegma as well.

Stuart