How to Get Oil to the Top End of the Ford Y Block V8

[@tomnekuda3818]

Good video.....covered a lot o things I remembered from my Y-block days. I forgot how the exhaust manifold burned my hand when "running the clearances" on the valve lash with a hot engine. Keep 'em coming! Tom

[@HotRodReverend]

Thanks for stopping by… much appreciated.

[@tedpruitt8691]

I was having trouble finding the gerotor type oil pump. All new that I could find was spur gear pumps. But I finally scored one on eBay at $155.

[@HotRodReverend]

This has always baffled me. Ford made many more of the gerotor pumps over the years Y Blocks lifespan, but the aftermarket really only sells the spur gear variety. Plus, you can only find the gerotor rebuild kits in the aftermarket, not the spur gear so much. It is all quite odd.

[@paulmuntalbano7342]

Great video, Daniel. You covered a bunch of things not covered in depth anywhere, including on Mummert's site. Very detailed and well done. Happy to see that your move to CA hasn't dampened your spirit...Paul

[@HotRodReverend]

@@paulmuntalbano7342 appreciate that Paul!

[@joealbert7773]

Back in the day, I saw a good number of Y blocks with the external oilers. I've had probably 5 cars with Y blocks, all of them with a lot of miles. I never had one that didn't oil on the top end. However, I have had a number that had very low oil pressure at idle. My 57 T-Bird was that way. It ran good, but the oil light would come on (once it was hot) at stop lights. When I tore it down the one thing I saw was a lot of wear on the cam bearings and cam journals. I re-manned everything on the engine and drove it another 20 years with no low oil pressure.

[@OlysGarage]

Great video, LOTS of information!

[@HotRodReverend]

Appreciate you stopping by!

[@dastrayer63]

Good video. Thank you for sharing this. I can easily pull valve covers to see if the oil is pumping up, now that I know what to look for. I'm new to the Y block. I appreciate your shared information.

[@HotRodReverend]

Sure thing - thanks for checking out my channel, lots of Y block info on here and on my website, HotRodReverend.com.

[@freddyyblock]

Great help , thanks

[@danielelliott3659]

Good video. One of my favorite engines is the y block ford. Because im cool....

[@HotRodReverend]

@@danielelliott3659 😉

[@danontherun5685]

I'm noting a warning about tuning failure. About 15 years ago I had a pair of 292s built with 312 cranks and rods, +.06 312 HE pistons, +.01 deck, cut heads -.04 then tuned them as I have since 1968 however these were my first performance builds. They detonated pistons in about 3500 miles which ruined the blocks. My engine builder warned me to have them professionally tuned due to high compression with HE pistons and to limit the super charger to 5psi at 5K. I had another pair built same way and had them chassis dyno tuned after 500 careful miles. Been running both since no problem but I do not touch air/fuel or ignition and only use 91. $100 each to dyno tune them, $3700 loss each. The tuner deleted both vac advances after recurving the distributors and removed the choke plates, they are very happy powerful engines and I've had every build dyno tuned by him since.

[@HotRodReverend]

These are great engines and it sounds like you got it all sorted out. Did the builder ever tell you the static compression ratio? I wonder what the static compression was as well. Adding that blower certainly put the engine in another class!

[@danontherun5685]

@@HotRodReverend Builder didn't CC them I recall he figured the non pumped engine with G heads about 10:1. The pumped engine has posted low comp truck heads (471?). I originally got a Paxton blower system but tossed it because they need about 18hp just to turn. Got the ceramic bearing pump which doesn't use oil and minimal hp, 1 v belt. BTW, while the supercharged Ranch has a lot more power the dual carb bird is a lot more fun to drive because it pretty much jumps straight off the ground which took a lot of carb work to solve bog with 900 cfm on a 322 ci. Also did a lot of work to keep the 4:11powerlocs under them, busted spring perches and motor mounts can be a bit of a problem. I figure blowers are the best power increase because they don't cost mileage and later units last a very long time. Both engines happily spun to 6K but I usually shift about 5K for fun runs. Dropping to 2nd OD at 70 is quite satisfying.

[@HotRodReverend]

@ Great info to know and much agreed on dropping into OD!

[@dustbat]

Back ago I always heard the spinning of cam bearings cut oil off to rockers. The issue I had was truck would be running fine and slow down to idle. After it set it would go back to normal. At last I found out why. Carb was icing up. As I recall the passage that carries heat under carb was clogged.🦇

[@HotRodReverend]

@@dustbat wow, go figure. Icing like that will do it. Where did you live at the time?

[@dustbat]

@@HotRodReverendAs now we lived in Amelia Va. It gave me a fit. You would be going along and it gradually slowed down then stalled. I threw a lot of money at it on fuel pump, carb etc. Had no idea what it was. One day it did it with spouse with me. Told her keep your foot on the floor. Engine would only idle. I ran around took air cleaner off and down it the air horns it looked like little daggers. I did not know what it was. Looking like daggers I did the right thing. Poked them with my finger. Engine went to max RPM as I screamed at wife let off the gas!!!!!! 🦇

[@HotRodReverend]

@ 😂 would have loved to have seen (and heard) that commotion!

[@dustbat]

@@HotRodReverend LOL. It was loud as you seem to guess. I was just so happy I found out the issue. Had 3 Y blocks over the years of my youth. Almost bullet proof. They kept that mill around a long time.🦇

[@HowardJrFord]

​@@dustbatthat's interesting . My dad bought a 292 powered 62 F 100 and drove it for 15 years and never encountered that , and we live in Ohio .

[@jamesmclaughlin48]

excellent video, Reverend. I had my 55 Tbird 292 rebuilt last year, to my knowledge it had never been out of the low mileage (28k) car. The drain tubes were both crimped. I thought I read something years ago that Ford had actually recommended crimping. Can't find that article. Thougts on that?

[@HotRodReverend]

I have never read that in any TSB (technical service bulletin) but anything is possible. I think if FoMoCo had recommended that back in the day as a manufacturer it might have triggered a recall. Bean counters would not have liked that one.

[@marvinellis1517]

No 430 ?

[@HotRodReverend]

@@marvinellis1517 different animal

[@EarlGuyton425]

Over head oilers are NEVER NEEDED. Solution is, On all Y blocks you have to line up the rocker tube hole with the oil hole on the engine head or the rockers run dry. On the engine head you showed in one of your videos end the oil hole in the head is on the second rocker shaft bolt down and the tube for the rockers has to face down and line up so when oil comes out of the hole in the head it goes inside the rocker tube. Many Yblocks get scored rocker tubes and ruined rocker bushings and dry valve guides because hardly no one knows this. Then of course oil never gets to drain down on the top of the cam or solid lifters as well, plus the oil tube that runs off the end of the rocker tube never drops oil on the timing gear or chain. So a horrible domino effect of destruction occurs in the engines

[@HotRodReverend]

Please watch the video beginning at the 4:00 mark; this is covered in detail.

[@timevans9710]

The only thing I can say is,... Buy a Chevy.

[@HotRodReverend]

@@timevans9710 …

[@deadchewie]

1. remove y-block. 2. install Windsor motor.......fixed.

[@GeoffMcIver]

No character in a Windsor. Looks out of place in 50s ford cars and trucks.

[@deadchewie]

@@GeoffMcIver But it breathes, oils, and weighs less than the rest of the car.