For priority main blocks this is OK not for stock block oiling.

Bogie

 

Is info for the Dart BBC block going to apply to the Small blco SHP?? That's a BBC in the vid....staggered lifter bores.
i know he says Big M, Little M, and SHP at the beginning, all the same layout I guess?

I can see what the mod does, it just caps the end of the lifter feed after it oils the last lifter instead of just dumping it to the crankcase....so it makes some sense. I know those blocks send the oil to the maoins and the front of the block before it splits off to each lifter galley and pumps it back to the rear.

 

Yes I'm assuming they're the same layout.

I don't have a lathe, so I was wondering if anyone around here has made them...
Otherwise I'll have to ask my machine shop if they can turn an aluminum rod to size for me.
I could do the drilling.

 

I am using a dart shp block for my current build and I can help yo out with some information on some things that I have come across about those blocks. First thing i am using a melling shark tooth 10054st oil pump that puts out 60 psi and have no issues using it and I am using valvoline 10w40 oil and during cold starts it will be around 70 psi or a hair over before the oil gets warm.

I also have been told that the mod that the Mr Straub in that video recommends is not needed by another machine shop guy named Carl Hinkson from CNC Blocks and there was a big argument on some forum about needing to use that mod or you could have issues which as in many cases has not been proved from some people who have never done the mod and there oil pressure and lifters have been just fine. I know for fact that Carl speaks a lot against the Morel lifters being to tight which I am using and I have had no problems using them and they are the $800 dollar hydraulic roller lifters I am using.

I know your not asking about the lifters but I am just saying I did the mod just to be safe but warning on when I got it the plug does not fit tight at all and I had loctite on it and it still did not fit tight so I had to take and peen it to mark some marks on the aluminum plug to get it to stay in the block nice and tight. Carl has stated he had done hundreds of builds without doing that mod and there has been no problems with people having issues with oil getting to the rear lifters in time etc.

SO I can't say for sure just how accurate that is but the guy has a pretty big name for himself for his work at his machine shop and he can be a nice guy when he wants to but he is one of those guys who has his set ways of things and if you don't agree with him he will not be open minded etc.

I have read some who have never done the mod and there stuff has been fine and also there is the issue spoken about using the dart shp cam bearings which have three holes instead of two holes.

I bought a set from carl which only has two holes and he takes a die grinder and makes a groove so oil will feed to the other hole for the samshaft. Unlike traditional small block bearings all the bores are the same 2 inch size. I forget the name of the brand of cam bearings I used but many folks use them in the performance chevy small blocks which are not factory blocks but after market performance blocks.

With the dart cam bearings some people complained of lower oil pressure at idle but was fine at the top and while rpm's up just fine. I have also some have used the dart cam bearings that comes in there kit and have had no issues with low oil pressure at idle so I would assume it all depends on what clearances people is using to factor in that part and also what brand of lifters they are using.

I can tell you my Morel lifters are really noisy when I first start up my engine and sounds like a solid roller but once it warms up they quiet down but I am also using full roller rocker arms with aluminum valve covers which only adds more noise and a fast rate hydraulic roller cam so it does tick tick but I could care less aobut that. When I had a cam swap done last summer which I did not do because of health reasons I asked my Father who did it what my lifters looked liked after a full year of use and thousands of miles and he said they looked like brand new so take it as it is.

I can't say if the mod is really needed or not as there is some who said it helped and some who have not used it and did fine so there is a lot of he said and they said sort of deal. This all started over a gentleman who had a lifter get stuck in the rear passenger side lifter bore and he blamed it on the oil not getting to the rear lifters quick enough and there was a full blown out war between Mr Carl Hinkson and Mr Straub who also does custom cams and other stuff and is also I very reputable guy and a good person to buy from who makes the part for doing that mod.

That is one of those things you have to choose to do it or not. I also was going to use a standard oil pressure oil pump but I did not like stock 45 psi pressure and even lower at idle with proper clearances and I asked Carl from CNC and he said I could use the 10 percent higher volume oil pump and be just fine and I took his advice and have been using it for two years and I have excellent oil pressure everywhere and no problems with stuff.

 

You will need to get your lifter bores measured and checked along with what ever brand of lifters you get because Dart makes them on the tight side because some aftermarket lifers have a slightly smaller body diameter compared to what factory specs are and I have read some folks bought some comp cam brand lifters and they were .001 to big and not withing the range recommended for proper clearances. I know the factory GM size hydraulic roller lifters is what works really well in those bores as is as I did not have my honed at all but checked and my Morel lifters are tight but they are not so tight that they are too tight and have been trouble free for two years going.

 

None of my engines have used the modification nor need too.
Pumps are standard pumps giving about 60psi hot at 2000rpm and 25 at idle. Dart blocks are super nice but ya gotta check everything. You’d think they would sell a “ready to assemble version on a GM blue print. i suppose they are trailering to the professional who has all the equipment already so rough is good enough. I suppose marketing the price point is important too.
Anyway, standard pump is okay and I haven’t needed to re route oil for any reason.

 

None of my engines have used the modification nor need too.
Pumps are standard pumps giving about 60psi hot at 2000rpm and 25 at idle.
Anyway, standard pump is okay and I haven’t needed to re route oil for any reason.

Thanks for the info... are you running hydraulic lifters?

 

Right there is some golden information from Johnsongrass1 and from what I have read as well many have not used the mod and been fine.

 

That plug won't help unless you run the engine without a distributor

 

The Dart block moves the main galley crossover to the front of the block. This makes the passage and it’s leakage in the distributor housing useless and unnecessary. This passage built into the distributor housing is necessary on stock blocks that feed the lifter bore crossovers from the rear.

In actuality the priority drilling’s along the block steal the oil volume from the lifters so plugging the end of the distributor lifter galley bore may help that bore gain and hold pressure , but the real problem is insufficient oil fed to the lifters. Your discovering why the factory engineers feed the lifters first.

Given this and the fact that main and cam bearing oiling with their attentive “leaks” is occurring first the lifters at the end of the right side galley are the most likely to be shorted especially with the distributor housing providing another leak on the end of that passage. But one advantage is that lake also provides a vent for trapped air.

As far as pump volume goes contrary to Dart’s recommendation I like to run a higher volume pump it does help the hydraulic lifter tick issue. But here is a place where you need to consider bearing leakage, additional plumbing for coolers and full volume filters as opposed to more stock flow requirements. Feet of lines, angle fittings, resistance of coolers and filters, as well as wide bearing clearances are all things that require additional pressure and volume to overcome the flow resistance losses and/or leakage losses.

So you need to strap on your thinking cap and look at the intubation you’re building.

Basically the priority main oiling blocks are solving a problem on the SBC that only exists in engines turning over 7000 RPM in which case it’s unlikely there would be hydraulic lifters on the motor.

Bogie

 

From some of the posts, I'm getting "You'll be fine without the mod".
From Bogie's post, I seem to be getting "The mod might help with hydraulic lifters" (which is all the mod is intended for).

So I guess the deciding question for me is "Will the mod hurt anything?".
I think the answer is "No", judging by the response.

Bogie: My setup is pretty limited, so I think I'll just leave the high pressure spring in the pump. Thanks!

Eric32: Could you clarify who sells these plugs, and how to contact them? Thanks!
It does sound like yours was a 7/16" piece of rod. To make it correctly, you have to turn down a larger rod.
So maybe they just skipped the lathe process, cut and drilled "plugs" and let you figure out how to make it stay put...
I wonder if the dimensions were the same as he shows in the video. It's supposed to be a bit larger (.4385) than 7/16" (.4375)
I could just order a 7/16 rod and do it myself if theirs are just 7/16".

 

You also need to keep in mind that a lot of hydraulic lifter noise is the result of high lift cams that move out from under the lifter on the backside of the lobe. This is usually combined with fast leak down lifters which allow a gap to open up without compensating for it. So they tick a little bit. Another is aerated oil which is not hydraulically stiff. This allows the plunger to sink a bit against valve spring pressure which results in a tick.

So there are possibly several things going on that cause hydraulic lifters to tick and the Dart video alludes to that with the statement that the plug doesn’t fix every time this issue crops up.

One, also, needs to consider that oil under pump pressure is only a supply to the lifters. The hydraulic support of the valve train forces is accomplished inside the chamber under the plunger. The engine oil pressure has nothing to do with this except to fill the reservoir inside the plunger that feeds this chamber anytime the inertia valve can be opened by engine oil pressure which is only when there is a gap in the valve train, otherwise valve spring pressure pushing back on the plunger keeps the inertia valve closed. This valve leaking is another cause of liter tick from surface damage of the valve and it’s seats or crud trapped there on. Basically playing leak games with this valve either directly with the valve or with metered leaks out of the chamber is how anti-pump up or fast leak down lifters work. Under all of these methods the intent of a hydraulic lifters design to take up lash in the valve train is subverted to some extent so if you’re using parts pushing the edges of the envelope you can expect ticks for a reasonably long list of reasons. This then between builders offers some flexibility as to how we go at solving the common problems and that is an important point to take away from these discussions.

Bogie

 

Yeah, I believe there were notes about my Howard's lifters that indicated that you would get some ticking.
I just figured that if this plug mod helps oil the valve train better, without hurting anything else, it's worth doing.
I won't be expecting a silent valve train, just peace of mind if it's likely to help.

 

Eric32, you were indicating that you bought a "kit" from Straub?

I looked on their site, but I don't see anything about that, other than a link to the video.
I'll call them and inquire after the holiday.

 

Here is the kit link that I used. Please be aware they say it would provide a press fit but boy when I put mine in it would not press hardly tight at all so I had to peen it with some dings to create some edges on it around the radius and then put loctite on it which was overkill at that point lol but it worked.

Straub Technologies

 

Thanks for the link Eric!
I don't know how you find that thing through their menu system...

 

I would suggest drilling a small hole , 04", in the plug to let air out and to put oil pressure on both sides of the plug so that it is not being forced into the distributor body. A distributor with o-rings on the body would probably do the same as this plug.
Some builders don't like the o-rings and suggest removing the lower one to better oil the cam gear. On engines with bronze dist gears I put a groove in the body to spray oil on the contact area from cam to dist gears

 

There's already a .040" hole in the plug.
It's purpose isn't to plug the galley, just to retain more oil in the galley.
A slow leak...

 

Ha its funny, I had to message them in order to get the link cause I could not find it either. And yes it does have a hole in the plug.

 

So I got this plug kit in the mail.
I measured the plug and it seems to measure right on with the plans.
.4385-.4390 in the middle, with slight taper toward the ends.
If fits snugly as soon as you start it in the hole, so it seems like it will fit perfectly.
I haven't installed it yet. Did you use Blue or Red Loctite?

 

When I installed mine I at first just used some red loctite but the plug did not fit very tight at all and could be easily pushed in and out with out much force so I took a pointed chisel and put some marks all the way around the plug to put rough marks on it so it would grip better and then I put some more loctite on it and after that the thing stayed in quite tight. Unless my plug was machined down to much I don't know or it could have just been a block machining process of a hair of a size difference vs another block but the press fit would have never held the way it came even with loctite.

I have ran mine for two and a half years and yet any problems but my lifters still sound like a solid roller cam but that is the nature of the beast. I run Morel roller lifters which also go under the Howard's brand name and they are the link bar style and I use full roller comp cam ultra pro magnum roller rocker arms with aluminum valve covers.

 

So I finally got around to installing this galley plug... and it did exactly what yours did.
It started off with a little bit of resistance, but the further in it went, the less friction there was.
So I just took it out and will do something like you did.

 

Can anyone tell me that they used the Straub plug and if it made a difference? I also have a Dart 406 block and can't figure out why the the lifters are loud on the 6/8 cylinder until the car warms up to temperature .

 

I can't tell you whether it made a difference, since I never ran the motor without it.
My lifters create a ticking sound anyway, but they were louder initially until I readjusted them.

 

I can tell you at least this. On my dart shp block I have never ran one without the plug, but when I start it up on a cold start and the colder it is outside the louder my lifters are when it first starts up and takes a while for it to quiet down until it gets up to temperature and even after that it still makes a lot of noise.

It sounds like I am running a solid roller cam but I am not. I run Howards lifters which are made by Morel which I have heard make a lot of noise compared to other lifter brands but I ran a regular GM factory block before the dart shp block and I ran GM oem roller lifters and also Howards oem lifters that were made by Morel and there was no difference between them brand of lifters between each other and still had a sewing machine sound at start up and ran like that all the time except on that motor with the GM block I had cylinder 4 make more noise vs any other cylinder so go figure. The dart shp block seems to have a slightly louder ticking sound vs the GM block with the different oiling design but for me its not much.

To me it has more to do with the aggressive rate of the camshaft and also the running of full roller rocker arms and I did run aluminum rocker arms prior and now run comp cams ultra pro magnum and run tall aluminum valve covers and no difference between the rockers as far as making the sound from the valvetrain as a whole. From what I have heard from some people the plug made no difference and a former member here who does machine work on those blocks said it was not necessary and went to war with Straub on another forum over this.

He said it makes no difference and he never used it on any of the blocks he has done and the hundreds he sells nobody has complained at least that is what he has said. According to Chris Straub without the plug the rear lifters on the passenger side can take up to almost a few minutes before they get adequate enough oiling to them and the plug helps oil to get to them way faster.

I am in no way saying he is wrong or right as Chris Straub does a lot of good work on his stuff and the other guy was Carl Hinkson and has a machine shop in New Jersey or something like that. I can't remember what forum it was on. I honestly can't give a answer if it really makes a night and day difference or not. For me it would be a pain if you had to have your engine rebuilt and then when you go to clean the oil galley area out I don't know if it would still be safe leaving the plug in as is and just spraying and clean and scrub from both ends with wire brushes or if it would be a trap to hold tiny enough debris from machine work, and don't know if you would have to take it out and install a new one or not.

I have a new block that I want to make into a 350 but because of covid and health issues and other stuff its on the shelf for now and I don't know if I will use the plug for it or not.

 

And to answer your question my passenger side of my dart shp block on the rear is is still more noisy vs the driver side but not by much. I have my lifters adjusted per the specs that Howards recommends and regardless of where the amount of turns I use they are just a noisy period. Just the nature of the beast with fast ramp cams.