Many thanks to all for the suggestions! Bottom line - I think I'm OK.
Despite warnings that I might burn out the starter, I cranked for a full
minute and finally got 45 lbs of pressure on the gauge. Still no oil at the
rocker arms. Took out the threaded plug an inch above the pressure relief
valve. Threaded plastic tubing through the gallery at the back of the block,
right to the cooler hose - to see that it was clear - it was. Hooked up the
oil pressure tank again, put in a quart and found a cup had pooled on the
floor under the pan. My pan was full. Didn't know about that 1/4 inch hole
loocated an inch under the pressure relief valve . . . it must be an overflow
gallery in case the sump gets full - hmmm, learned something new. Still no
oil at the rockers. Took of the rocker assembly, took it apart - all oil
galleries were OK. Took off the head - same thing, the rear pedestal gallery
is clear. Head gasket was installed correctly. Threaded a piece of wire into
the hole on the top of the block that goes down to the rear camshaft journal -
seems OK. Cranked the engine again to see if oil is coming up from the rear
of the camshaft - yes, but its just "oozing" up, not spurting. Is that OK?
The oil comes from the oil filter, through the main gallery at approx. 50 lbs
pressure, to the 5 crankshaft bearings, then through three more galleries to
the three camshaft journals, of which the rear one has another gallery going
straight up to the top of the block (to feed the rockers). By the time the
oil gets through that maze, I'm not too surprised the pressure is greatly
reduced and that its just oozing out of the top of the block. The engine shop
did press in new camshaft bearings, and I'm told that if they screwed up, the
oil flow holes on the rear journal could be misaligned, reducing oil flow to
the head . . . but somehow I doubt it. I used a very experienced shop that
does a lot of MG engine work. Does anyone's experience indicate that oil
should be flowing more freely to the rocker assembly? I'm tempted to put it
all back together, squirt oil all over the rocker arms, and fire it up, and
see if oil does eventually flow out of the rocker arm holes. Risk? If the
rear camshaft bearing is misaligned, maybe I'll burn it up, but unlikely since
I know its getting a small amount of oil. Or the rocker arm assembly could
run dry. I'll keep an eye on it, and let you know how this turns out.
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