edelbrock heads and oil restrictors

[wrench87]

i have edelbrock heads that i bought from keith craft they were his stage 1 heads, they did not come with any oil restrictor i purchased my oil pump from precision oil pumps along with screw in plug kit, i believe he gave me .090 restrictors. today i used a drill with a oil primer the oil came up quickly so now i am concerned if the .090 restrictors are to big what is every one else using?. should i just wait until i start it or should i change them now?. this is for my 445fe

[FWB]

Originally Posted by wrench87

i have edelbrock heads that i bought from keith craft they were his stage 1 heads, they did not come with any oil restrictor i purchased my oil pump from precision oil pumps along with screw in plug kit, i believe he gave me .090 restrictors. today i used a drill with a oil primer the oil came up quickly so now i am concerned if the .090 restrictors are to big what is every one else using?. should i just wait until i start it or should i change them now?. this is for my 445fe

ultimately i would ask keith.........however what size to restrict to will be dependent on what rockers your using. i've used from .045 to .090.....it'll be a seat of the pants thing. too much oil and it'll run the pan dry or puke it out of the breather, too little and well you know what that show will look like.

Fred

[wrench87]

i e mailed keith craft, there response was yes we run them?, that doesnt help me much. i am running erson rockers and smith bros pushrods with no holes in them. and a hydraulic roller cam.

[FWB]

i would think you could do better by calling them instead of the email, but why do you think .090 isn't enough? i am sure you could get two answers from guys here, some would say .060 some would say the .090 works.

how flooded does the top end get with the drill? you using the drip rails too?

[wrench87]

i sent them another e mail they said they use between a .060 and a .090
so i guess i could start out with the .090. erson does not reccomend drip rails?. i never had a motor where the pushrods did not have holes how does the oil get to the roller tip?, is it because i am just using a drill the rockers and push rods are not moving i did not see any oil at the roller tips.

[blykins]

Keep priming....

You need to use a pretty hefty drill to get oil moving. The rockers are oiled through the block, not the pushrods. FE's have oil passages in the deck that feed the heads. If you'll notice, one of your rocker studs will be swedged because the oil hole sits right beside of it.

You didn't leave any galley plugs out did you?

[wrench87]

i know how there oiled i just never had a motor like this, i was using a 3/8 drill which i know know by all the smoke that came out of it is 2 small. all the plugs are installed, i used the arp studs for the rockers i could see the oil coming out of the shaft and coming down the stands. just curious why i did not see it getting to the roller tips?. i did not prime it for a long time i did not want the oil to go over the valve cover gaskets and make a mess.

[wrench87]

so what is the difference between the arp studs which all were the same size compared to the stock style bolts?

[blykins]

You should have had 2 ARP studs that were necked down in the middle....did you?

[ted]

I have a 390 with the Erson roller rockers and had the same problem as yourself with too much oil to the topend when using 0.090" restrictors. The 0.090" restrictors were allowing oil to flood the heads up to the pushrod holes. I've since reduced the restrictor size to 0.062" and while it decreased the amount of oil considerably, there's still a lot of oil up there when the engine is held at 3000 rpms for any length of time.

[wrench87]

no they were all the same size, i have to check my receipts i dont remember who i got them from i am going to check my receipts. i remember questioning this because i read the stock bolts were cut down. i was still getting a lot of oil through the shafts would would this do if not corrected?. the engine is still on the stand so i am glad i caught it now. they came from keith craft when i bought the erson rockers. would you have the size of the shaft on the 2 cut down studs i will have to remove them and check?. i am pretty sure i miked them all this was done a year ago so i dont remember?.

[Keithc8]

If you are getting plenty of oil to the rockers you will have no need to worry about the studs. The studs are a little loose in the stands and it is plenty of room for the oil to go around. You said that you were getting plenty of oil up stairs.
Good luck, Keith

[wrench87]

i did get plenty of oil but i never saw it get to the rocker tips?, the drill i was using was not strong enough so i am hoping like blykins said i just need to keep priming. the oil was basically coming out of the shafts and running down the stands.

[Chaplin]

If you do some reading, particularly over at the FE forum, I think you will find that people running Ersons with E-Brock heads and .090 restrictors have had a lot of problems flooding the valve covers with oil and, as a result, excessive oil consumption as the oil will cover up the valve stems. Apparently, the Ersons put out a lot more oil than others and the stock drain back holes in the E-Brock heads arent big enough to allow the extra oil to drain back fast enough, causing oil to pool up on top of the head. It seems the consensus is to use .060 restrictors (some went as small as .040) with Ersons and E-Brock heads.

[wrench87]

i just brought the engine home and i filled it with 8 quarts of joe gibs break in oil, the the thing primed pretty quickley i thought i was getting a lot of oil i am using a blueprinted melling pump from doug at precision pumps but it started to go over the valve cover gasket i am using studs for the covers.
i think i will change them now while it is on the engine stand, i dont remember what the machine shop tapped the threads to i think they were just set screws?.

[wrench87]

found out the set screws are 12x24, i forgot to mention i am using a hydraulic roller cam, does this effect the size of the restrictors?

[blykins]

No, you're just restricting oil to the heads....not the lifters.

[olddog]

As for the oil not getting to the rocker's roller tips, I suspect it splashes there once the engine is running. Maybe the experts will confirm that.

[RICK LAKE]

wrench87 Been running ERsons for 5 years and this is what I have found.
Guys who race and run a .060" oriface are not getting enough oil up top in road racing. The other issues are blueing of the pushrod cup, weaking of the valve springs. noises at idle.
Here's what 15 years has shown me, Have the motor setup right to start. If you are running an FE bottom end of rods and crankshaft run an #80 spring in the oil pump. Also a HV pump. This is hard on the Distributor drive, so it needs to be checked every couple of races. I run 8.5 quarts in the motor oil pan, 1 quart in the lines and cooler and have 3 quarts backup from the accusump. I lost a valve cover gasket that was 15 years old, 2 years ago and was lucky to do no damage to car.
You want the valve covers to be full of oil to the bottom of the intake manifold holes when running. This oil splashes on everything. The most important thing in the head is VALVE SPRINGS. They need to be cooled. They create alot of heat. With pos valve stem seals you will never have an oil problem. If the valve where not straight, machine right, poor machinist assembly, Yes you could have a problem. You are not hurting anything by letting this oil flood the heads. Nascar motors run sprayer bars in their heads to spray oil directly at a certain spot. If you have blue smoke clouds when you start the motor, make hard turns, slam on the brakes, may only come out one side pipe, and it stops after a couple of seconds, your valve stem seals are not doing there job. You are running a PCV valve??
Wrench I have seen alot of motor blowup, break, and seize. I have never seen one break from running too much oil pressure or having too much oil in the heads. I have not written any books but been a mechainic for over 30+ years with all kinds of racing background. I take the best from each and use this in my motors. Just like what is better, Torque or HP. I will take torque any time of HP. My motor will live for many year longer. We are talking about a gas motor not diesel. IMO leave the #80's in the heads and forgetaboutit. Make sure the valve cover gaskets are in good shape and seal well. Rick L. Ps side note. cold start with my motor, 135-138 PSI races in the 75-85 psi. I have lost 3-6% of spring pressure at seat over 12 years of running beehive springs with a 6,200 rpm limit. My lifters act like solids from high pressure. have a .015" depression of the plunger in the lifter body. This way if a miss shift happens, Mr Piston doesn't hit Mr. valve and do alot of damage to Mr. Motor and my pocket to repair. Rick L.