I am putting together a G2 Hemi BME block w/ Barton Rockers and Jesel lifters. Priming w/ drill I have 65 psi oil pressure. Here are the issues I seem to have.

Rear three (cylinders 4,6,8, and 3,5,7) exhaust rockers seem to have good flow on each side, intakes a little less, up to about 3/4 lift then they will cut off. There is seepage around the shafts and a dribble coming out the front onto the valve retainer. If the rocker is off there is full flow out of the pushrod.

Cylinders 1 and 2 were dry no matter what position. I connected the oil band to the feed hole on cylinder two with an engraving pen and was able to get flow like the rest.

I measured the height of .035" hole in the bushing and is about .25" lower than the oil band in the lifter @ max lift. Do I need to modify (mill a flat) on the lifter to get oil from the bushing hole back to the band? Or is intermittent flow to the rocker acceptable? This is a drag race only engine lobe lift is .520"


This engine has been a pure nightmare trying to get parts to work together, researching the forum looks like I am not alone...

Following for my own education.

Nothing helpful: I remember being told there have been oiling revisions (to the rockers) and other detailed changes over time, but beyond that it went over my head.

Wow, this is a complicated one. I wouldn't think they need flow at all lifts. You have a lot of oil going up top. If you modify the lifter I assume it's hard and you might want to grind it instead of milling it. I think this needs to be moved to a higher level. Call Ray Barton 610-693-5700 then press 1 and then press 1 again. Sorry to pass the buck but this engine is complicated.

I plan to talk to Ray today. All these componnents and block maching came from him. Just curious if others have experienced this or pushrod oil these blocks. FYI this is the mod I did on the lifter. It was also suggested by Jesel.

That makes sense with where you said your oil hole was and if you needed full time oil. I've never built an engine with that much lift so I didn't know if it needed it.

When we installed new lifter bushings in my BB wedge it had little oil flow up top. I grooved the lifter about .020x.020 from the band to the feed hole. Many said that was too large. However it'll hold 50psi@idle hot, 80psi@7000. The rockers don't see a lot of oil until about 2/3's lift. Lobes are .484/.470. Same pushrods and adjusters since day one, over 1000 passes.
Doug

So just got off the phone w/ Ray

He stated I shouldn't have hardly any oil at low lift and they adjust the hole in the bushing to align with lifter and oil near peak lift. Recomended I rotate the bushings with a new raised hole. Stated a lot of guys run the way I have it, but potentaily suck the pan dry.

I also called another well known hemi specialist. He stated they use keyway lifters that oil throughout the range.

I do have a large pan (12 qt if needed) with a Ishihara Johnson scraper and an accumulator.

At this time not sure what to do. I really don't want to tear it down (again)

If he said a lot of guys run it that way, I'd run it. I think there is going to be a lot of oil up there. Priming is one thing. Hot oil with that pump running 4000 rpm's and flowing through all those moving parts. Gotta make a flood.

Oiling is everything in a Hemi...

Do you have a data logger that tracks oil pressure as you go down the track? If not, consider getting one or hook up a GoPro that is pointed at your oil pressure gauge. If you have oil pressure problems you can tear it down and fix it, or you could hook up an accumulator. Just depends on if you have a problem and/or how bad it is. The accumulator is also good for preventing dry starts so that is another reason to run one.

Mine puts a lot of oil up top. Charlies pan with IJ crank scraper and a screen baffle in the pan. The dipstick is calibrated for whats in the pan, not the engine itself. It has been run with as little as 6.5qts in the pan. But the pressure will bobble on a hard shutdown at the stripe. With 7-8 qts there are zero issues. It also has a Master-Lube accumulator. But it is used mainly for start up.
Doug

I really have not run my new Hemi with all the oiling mods other than to fire it up and put the car in the trailer, but I am seriously considering going to a dry sump this go around. I have done a lot more to better control on this engine than any other I have ever built, but I still worry if I want to race it, and shift it at 7k or so, I am going to still have an issue.

Best way is to go thru one of the fore most builders familiar with your block, otherwise, its a big learning curve. There are a lot of different ways the parts and the way they match up can screw you. I have been on a 20 year curve myself with these. The bigger the cubes, the more fun you will have. I have never used push rod oiling, but my understanding is if your running the Barton T&D setup, you don't need to. So I am following along to see what your solutions are.

Appreciate eveyones input. I do plan on running an accumulator. I have a 3 qt Moroso on my small block and belive it is well worth the money. I use a selonoid valve on the ign switch so I can pre-lube as well as trap pressure when shutting down.

I played with it last night and am getting what I belive to be good flow to all the rockers. I did the oil band lifter mod to three intakes ( cyls 8, 4, and 2) and they are now flowing. I made very shallow cuts with an engraving pen (roughly .005") It didn't need much. Not sure why they needed it, possibly a hair tighter in the bore? When on base there is a steady sream out and around the tip. As it comes up there is seepage aroud the shafts and some dribbling at the hole in the tip. At this point I guess I just need to run it and see how it behaves. They still shut off from about 3/4 lift up, maybe that will change with heat and movement. As Rick stated above I'm sure it will flow more once things are heated up.

Of the builders I talked to there doees not seem to be a consnensus of what should be seen when priming. When I was sold this setup I was told to use pushrod oiling.

I had the same issue using BAM solid oil thru roller lifters in my factory block. I may have cut mine deeper than needed.

I used pushrod oiling in my BMP aluminum block. It was a wedge block with B1 heads and T&D rockers, so the top end details are different, but the block details should apply.
I went to a lot of trouble measuring things before building it, and it just worked fine with no mods.

Maybe this picture from my notes will be of use to you. A pic is worth a thousand words.
The cam base circle diameter can be different. Mine was 0.90" dia and my cam lobes were 0.470" lift.

I made a similar sketch in my note book when building the engine. My hole is roughly the same location as yours in the bushing. With the 60MM cam and .520 lift the hole is aligned with the oil band at base then below it at the upper lift.

I talked to Ray more yesterday and I feel better about what I have now with its intended use. He gave good advice on what to look for.

I can't imagine a guy being more knowledgeable about high lift cams in a Hemi than Ray. And helpful also.

Did you groove the number four cam journal to oil the rockers full time?
If you didn't, you should

I've never seen a Hemi cam that wasn't grooved.

I have, more than one