Rocker Arm Lubrication
Mssr. Penry asks --
> When removing the oil filler cap, how much oil is being
> pumped to the rocker through the tiny hole you can see?
> Mine has very little..... I bet I could remove the
> valve cover and run the engine without loosing much oil
> at all. How normal is that?
You should be able to remove the valve cover and run the
engine with little or no spillage of oil. On a good
engine, you'll see drops of oil emerge from a small hole
at the top of each rocker arm and dribble down onto the
head. This oil comes from inside the rocker arm shaft,
and lubes the arms themselves. They don't have a lot of
motion, and don't require much oil. This oil then runs
down by the pushrods and lubes the cam followers. If you
get a large flow of oil out of the rockers, or if it
"squirts", your bushings are worn and this will contribute
to lower oil pressure.
I have sometimes adjusted the valves on an engine while it's
running. I just remove the valve cover and slip the gap
gauge in place, and adjust the valve lash real time. Oil
loss is (or should be) minimal.
As for your overheating, geez you've already done a lot of
work. Let us know the cause when you finally find it!
-- Dave L.
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