Re: Hydraulic lifters?

Posted by HH56 On 2018/11/12 12:54:19

Yes on the feed side but if the 288/327 5 main block is an early one it is possible the port into the crankcase where the oil filter would return might be missing. There was a thread in the last month or so where a poster said his block did not have the return port into the crankcase. .

On pre 51 288/327 5 main engines hydraulic lifters were more an option and not ordered much nor was the oil filter. In those engines without much need for a large oil flow to the lifter gallery the optional oil filter was plumbed so all flow to the lifters went thru the filter before feeding the lifter gallery.

Somewhere around 50 - 51 the 288 5 main block became more often equipped with hydraulic lifters and with the 327 with hydraulic lifters becoming more of a higher end engine, as with the 356 and 327 9 main it appears there was a need for more oil flow into the lifter gallery for hydraulics so that was accommodated. The return plumbing for the optional filter was changed to match the 356 and 9 main 327. The oil filter got a partial flow and apparently the return from the filter was dropped into the crankcase rather than needing to go to the lifters port. On those engines I believe there is a return port just above the oil pan in a thickened area on the side of the block.

If you added hydraulics and a filter to an early block flow would still need to go thru the filter before feeding the lifter gallery. If that proved to be an issue with starved lifters then a return port could be drilled and tapped into the crankcase as was done on prewar 356 engines when the starved lifter issue was first noticed.