Ok guys, I did a little grinding in the lifter valley near the drainback locations and decided to paint it and seal it up. Well i didnt use a sealer but the paint will do that right? Anyways, here are some pics....



Here it is before



Here it is after the engine primer



After the engine paint



And heres the final look

I know it looks a little orange under the light but it is red. And yes, I did use the 500 degree engine primer and enamel by rustoleum. I will get some better pics in sunlight when the weather gets better. So???? What do you guys think? Lemme know. Also any input on sealing. Thanks!

 

I painted mine with a 1" brush and Tremclad/Rustolium paint. I did 3 coats of white before there was enough to give good coverage. I had my intake manifold off a couple of years ago and the lifter valley is still white.

I also painted the area behind the timing cover.

 

Nice!

 

So... spray paint overspray in your lifter holes eh? Might want to scrape that out and clean those eh? The lifters have a very specific clearance, and if you use a flat tappet style cam, the lifters have to rotate in their bores. A glob of paint could cause one to stick, and wipe out that lobe

 

ya im gunna get it cleaned off. im taking it to my machine shop guy to hone em out clean so he can let me know xactly what diameter lifter i need. he does a good job of getting blocks spotless. im going hydraulic roller with retro fit lifters so the diameter of the lifter holes is a spec i need before i order them.

 

Retro rollers will be the same diameter.

 

What did you clean the lifter valley with before you painted it?

 

Soap and water. then blew it all off with a compressor. And as far as diameter goes, Ive seen several different sizes on summit racing and I have no idea what size mine are now. thats why i gotta take it to my machine shop guy and have him tell me and get em cleaned up. Even if he doesnt hone them to a different size, he can clean it for me and give me an exact measurement.

 

They're .842"

 

Ive seen .842" and .874"

Is the other one for LS engine blocks or what?

 

.874" is for when you're blueprinting an engine and you have to correct a lifter bore alignment problem.

 

I don't think I'd ever paint the valley with paint, just too risky that it'll flake off and clog the oil pump. I would use some of the sealers they make or just smooth it all out.

 

I feel the same way. But in truth I wouldnt waste my time with anything thats just going to get covered up.

 

My block was new when I painted it. Mine is painted for oil control. The painted surface allows the oil to drain back into the pan quicker.

 

I have trouble believing that a paint flake would clog an oil pump, it would have to be one hell of a flake.

 

Alot of people used to use paint for electric motors, I think it was call gyptol or or armature paint or something like that.

 

with good prep the paint should be fine, but powder coating is a great alternative.

 

ok well it looks great...butt why would you paint something you cant see? lol

 

Better oil drainage.

 

True..thats one heck of a bore on that block .60 over?

 

Yes sir! 60 over. Going with a 3.75 stroke to make a nice 388! But ya, a lot of people dont realize why the lifter valley gets painted. Looks is definately not the reason. Its all about functionality. A slick lifter valley allows oil to drain back quicker. And since I used the 500 degree engine primer and enamel, it wont burn or flake off. Its perfectly sealed. My original question was if the paint would be slick enough or if I needed something that sealed and slicked better.

 

Glyptal is the name, but enamel paint works just as well.

 

One wouldn't matter too much, but a bunch would be a problem....I've seen it before.

 

Be aware that I used to use plain enamel until I found that Mobil 1 dissolved it. I've torn down two broken engines that I've built and know that I painted, both of which had almost no white color left in the lifter valley. I'm beginning to think that using a casting impregnator would work just as well and leave it at that. I know that diesel fuel won't wash it away, but am still not sure about synthetics.

Epoxy, such as Tnemic, would probably solve it as well.

 

Thanks for the heads up, makes me want to try a few paints and soak them to see what happens.

 

If you are worried about oil control, then just get a die grinder and smooth out the lifter valley. You won't have to worry about anything coming off. IMO unless you are turning high rpms (7K+) consistantly, oil return shouldn't be that big of a problem.

 

interesting thread, good info in here. do you also enlargen the return holes or just smoothen everything?
and what if you are? just wondering.

 

1

 

As I noted in the first sentence of this thread, I did do some grinding around the drain holes. I painted it for a better seal and a smoother surface. I dont exactly feel like grinding the whole valley smooth. But for a daily driver with some strip use and the ocasional hard cornering, the slick surface will prove beneficial. Oil will bunch up in the back on a hard accel, to the front during hard braking, and to the left or right rear drainback holes during hard accelerated turns. The 500 degree primer and paint will more than likely never come off even a bit. Alkyiroc said hes had his painted for quite some time! No problems there right? Plus, painting is much easier and works better than grinding (unless it is polished smooth.)

 

You can enlarged the return holes and smooth things out. I've seen where lifter valleys have been polished to help return out but only on race engines, mainly circle track stuff where guys run high rpms for long periods of time. Sustained high rpms can lead to sucking the oil pan dry if you don't have enough oil return and/or big enough oil pan.

 

This is a fairly common mod. I also ground away the casting flash around the drain back holes, and painted my lifter valley with Tremclad red. It was still there a year later when I swapped cams - no issues.

 

What kind of oil were you running? conventional or synthetic?

Thanks-

Eric

 

I run basic conventional.