The small-block Ford’s lubrication system is consistent across four decades of continuous production with the exception of the 335-series 351C/351M/400 engine family, which is architecturally different than the 221/260/289/302 and 351W. Because lubrication is the lifeblood of any engine, it must be a foolproof system that keeps oil flowing under all conditions. Your main objective is to make modifications to the oiling system that improve lubrication while using off-the-shelf parts and proven techniques.
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Small-block Ford oil pumps are camshaft driven via the distributor gear. You should use a heavy-duty aftermarket pump shaft even if you’re building a stock engine, which minimizes the risk of engine failure. A good engine-life insurance policy is to use a high-volume oil pump along with the heavy-duty aftermarket shaft.
The best pumps are available from Melling and Federal-Mogul (Sealed Power). Weekend and commuter cruisers are happy with a stock 5-quart pan and pick-up. However, if you’re going racing, a stock pan doesn’t provide the lubrication capacity needed for high-RPM use.
Small-block Ford V-8s have a straightforward oiling system where oil is drawn from the sump to the pump to the oil filter to the main journals and up to the cam journals. Oil travels from the cam journals to the lifters, then up the push-rods to the rocker arms. This is a well-balanced oiling system from the factory and requires few, if any, modifications.
This is a typical high-volume oil pump from Speed Pro/Federal Mogul. The 351W has a higher-capacity pump than the 221/260/289/302 and should not be used on these engines. All you need for your small-block Ford project is a good aftermarket high-volume pump.
This stock small-block Ford pick-up is for a front-sump pan. If you’re running a road-race, Boss 302, or drag race pan, you need a smaller aftermarket pick-up designed to clear the baffles. If your stock pick-up clears the pan and gets within 1/4 inch of the sump bottom, you are free to use the stock pick-up.
When you’re installing the oil pump, make sure crank counterweights and rods clear the pump by at least .060 inch. This also goes for windage trays, which can also interfere with the pump and pick-up. Because parts expand with heat, .060 inch is the minimum clearance to have. This is a Milodon pick-up for small-block Ford in a road-race pan. If you mix and match parts, be prepared for obstacles such as pump-to-windage tray clearances.
This is a stock front-pump pan. The Boss 302 pan is identical except for pick-up baffling designed to keep oil around the pick-up in hard cornering. Make sure the pick-up is within 1/4 inch of the sump bottom but does not touch the bottom.
Drag racing calls for a deep-sump 7- to 8-quart pan that ensures adequate oil supply around the pick-up during extreme acceleration. A baffled high-capacity road-race pan is designed to keep oil around the pick-up during hard cornering and acceleration.
Both elements call for a windage tray to keep oil from being pulled from the sump into the spinning and reciprocating mass underneath. Windage causes oil foaming and pump cavitation, which can cause serious engine damage. Options are a Milodon, Canton, or reproduction Boss 302 windage tray and pan. The aftermarket offers pans that are stock in appearance with baffling and hidden windage trays.
Vintage Fords employ front-sump oil pans, which tend to be universal across all Ford and Mercury car and truck lines from 1962 to 1995. Late-model 1979–1995 Fox-based car lines have a dual-sump pan designed to clear rack-and-pinion steering and the subframe. The forward sump accommodates the oil pump, which is tied to the pick-up in the rear sump. This is important to remember when you order a crate engine or an oil pan.
Another important consideration is the installation of screwin oil galley plugs as a substitute for pressed-in plugs, which can pop out and cause an immediate loss of oil pressure. Also consider cam plug retaining screws at the back of the block for added security.
Pump Blueprinting
Oil pumps should never be installed right out of the box. Marvin McAfee of MCE Engines in Los Angeles stresses the importance of blueprinting every oil pump because you should never assume a pump has integrity right out of the box. Blue-printing isn’t only an engine consideration, it’s vital to every part of an engine build. Oil pumps are mass produced and not foolproof. They may have flaws and machining errors that go unnoticed until you encounter oil pressure and volume issues.
Oil pumps are relatively simple. All small-block Fords have a G-rotor design where oil is positively displaced through the pump cavity. A spring-loaded pressure relief valve keeps oil pressure constant and safe.
Replace pressed-in oil galley plugs wit screw-in plugs for oil galley security. Although the factory pressed-in plugs do well, why take chances?
Every new oil pump should be inspected and blueprinted. Check clearances and check the pressure relief valve piston and spring for freedom of movement.
MCE Engines safety-wire oil pump bolts to ensure pump integrity. This is a precaution borne of racing and aviation experience. You should at least use a high-heat thread locker on bolt threads.
Marvin McAfee of MCE Engines uses a timing set oil spray via a .020-inch oil hole drilled in the front oil galley plug. The oil spray provides additional lubrication and cooling for both small-block and Cleveland engines.
Toss the stock oil pump shaft (right) and install an aftermarket shaft from ARP (left) to ensure shaft integrity even with a stock application.
Early 221, 260, and 289 engines were fitted with a timing cover oil filler tube (the valvecover location came later). It is common to see engines built in the same time period with the timing cover oil fill and others with the valve-cover location.
This is a Boss 302 windage tray, which can be mated to any small-block Ford (except Cleveland). Use the appropriate Boss 302 front-sump pan and pick-up. If this pan and windage tray are not available from the Mustang aftermarket, check with Milodon and Canton to evaluate your options.
This is MPG Head Service’s wind-age tray for small-block Fords (except Clevelands). It is a good fit for small-block Fords. It clears all stock and aftermarket oil pans. Use a high-temperature thread locker on fasteners.
Most small-block Fords are fitted with a front-sump pan such as this one for vintage and truck applications. The Boss 302 pan is exactly like this pan except for the road-race baffle around the pick-up.
Begin your blueprinting with G-rotor endplay and radial clearances checked for 360 degrees. Remove the pressure relief valve and spring and check for freedom of movement with the bore and valve piston lubricated.
Spring pressure should be 23.6 to 24.6 pounds at 1.37 inches. If you need more spring pressure, add shims to the spring.
335-Series 351C/351M/400
When Ford conceived the 335- series small-block Ford for 1970, it created a completely new engine family. It wasn’t only about motor-sports, but also light-duty use in an all-encompassing engine family designed to ultimately replace the Windsor small-block Ford. Unfortunately, 351C production ended in North America after just four years. The raised-deck Cleveland (351M and 400) continued through 1982.
The 335-series oiling system is different from the 289/302/351W small-block: It has one fewer oil galley, resulting in two galleys along the lifter bores. Oil is drawn to the pump from a front- or mid-sump pan, then passed to a main horizontal oil galley across the front of the block where it leads to both cam bearings and main bearing journals, then up to lifter galleys. The problem with this approach is oil starvation to main and rod bearing journals at high RPM because they have to share oil with the lifter galleys.
This Cobra T-pan from Tony D. Branda is designed for road racing, which calls for a special pick-up from Canton or Milodon to clear the oil baffle doors. GE Glyptal spray-on and brush-on insulating paint seals cast iron and aluminum to prevent weepage and improve oil flow. Because Glyptal is extremely toxic, always use a painter’s respirator.
This is GE Glyptal inside a Cobra T-pan. It keeps oil in when casting porosity can be poor. It also improves oil return flow on cylinder head and block surfaces. Use a brush with GE Glyptal to reduce fumes and make application easier.
Here’s a Milodon road-race pan for small-block Fords. Note the intricate series of doors and baffles designed to keep oil around the pick-up during hard cornering, acceleration, and deceleration. Although this is not a stock item, it is suggested when you’re going canyon cutting.
Small-block Ford oil drain plugs can be chronic leakers. Here’s a quick tip: Use a Chevrolet oil drain plug gasket like this one to eliminate the leaks. Teflon tape on the threads also helps.
The double-sump Fox-platform small-block oil pan is designed to clear the removable subframe and rack-and-pinion steering. The oil pump is located in the shallow sump with a pick-up tube to the deeper rear sump. This is a Fox road-race pan. The pick-up is attached at the pump and at the number-3 main cap. This is a challenging pick-up location for installing a pan.
The Boss 302 oil cooler package fits any small-block Ford, including the 351C/351M/400. The thing is, the factory oil cooler package consisting of this adaptor, hoses, brackets, and the cooler is very scarce and decidedly expensive if you can find it at all. The oil filter adaptor alone can run around $300, and that’s a used one.
This is the oil cooler that is attached to the radiator support. The oil cooler is universal to both big- and small-blocks.
Traditionally, mains and rods always had an exclusive oil galley. Because high-performance street Clevelands have adequate oil supply to all critical points throughout the engine, Ford engineers did their job well. However, when you spin a Cleveland to high RPM (above 6,000) oil starvation exists at main and rod journals. The 351C oiling system is typical of most mass-production V-8s of the era with the pressure relief valve in the pump where oil pressure is control-leaked back to the pan before reaching moving parts.
Aside from obvious block architectural differences, the 335’s cam bearings receive oil first, which means that number-4 and number-5 main and rod bearings are oil starved. In factory form, the Cleveland’s oiling system performs the job nicely.
In race form, main bearings and journals can become oil starved. To rectify this shortcoming, oil must be routed so main bearings get the oil they need during high-RPM conditions.
Seasoned engine builders use several approaches with Cleveland oiling systems. Two of these approaches are basically the same modification with only slight variations in the way they are performed. Another involves external plumbing, which routes oil from the front to the back of the block to improve bottom-end oiling, which really isn’t very effective. Yet another strategy involves lifter bore sleeves that restrict oil flow to the cam and top end, which is effective and easy to perform.
This is an aftermarket windage tray for the 351C in all its forms with two- or four-bolt main caps. All 351C engines were fitted with the same oil pan; the only difference is the amount of oil you put in the pan. The 351C sump looks similar to the Boss 302 sump, where oil is held closely around the pick-up to prevent pump cavitation. Use a windage tray if you put 6 quarts in the pan. (Windage is the flow of air within the crankcase.) The tray keeps windage around the crank and away from oil in the sump. It allows the oil coming off the crank to easily enter the sump without the windage affecting the scavenging of oil already in the sump.
This is a deep-sump 7-quart Milodon pan for the 351C. You want a Milodon pick-up designed for this pan with at least .350-inch clearance.
These diagrams illustrate Tim Meyer’s approach to keeping more oil at the crank and less upstairs at the cam and valvetrain. The number-1 cam bearing is turned to redirect oil flow. The galley is drilled out to 5/16 inch.
There are two basic types of oil pressure senders for small-block Fords. This is the small sender, which is a low-pressure switch that closes at 5-psi, illuminating the oil pressure light. This is a warning light (only) on/off switch and does not work with a gauge.
This the oil pressure sender for a pressure gauge, which makes it a variable resistor to ground. When resistance is high, you have low oil pressure indication. When resistance is low to ground, you have high oil pressure indication.
When the Cleveland was used in NASCAR competition, an internally plumbed oiling system was used to feed journals number-2, -3, and -4 through drilled passages in the lifter galleys. But honestly, this is an unnecessary modification for a street or even a weekend racing engine. And if you’re running hydraulic lifters, you don’t want to take too much oil away from the lifter galleys.
Easily the best oiling system approach is from Tim Meyer of TMeyer Precision Automotive Machining, one of the world’s fore-most Cleveland specialists and builders located in Minnesota. Tim uses one oil restrictor plug at the number-1 main journal, drills out the cam to main galley oil passage to 5/16 inch, and indexes the cam bearings to the 4 o’clock position at all five journals. You can call this approach lubrication traffic management, and it works well.
Written by George Reid and Posted with Permission of CarTechBooks
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