i recently tried to start my 73 Z for the first time in ten years and some weird metal scratching sounds were coming from the head. i removed the valve cover and noticed the back half of the cam wasnt getting oil. The base of the back spray bar was bent and oil would leak out there instead of being sprayed on the cam. Furthermore, the short spray bar in the very back was loose and almost failing out (as seen in link)

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMG_6174.JPG

i have been searching the forum for a long time now and found tourniqet had the same problem but didnt find any posts that explicitly had an answer so, lets settle this topic once and for all. is this a common problem? i used a bench vise to straighten out the base part so now my only problem is how the bar is suppose to be attached? was it brazed in to begin with? how about JB weld to hold it in place?

Also, what causes the base part to bend out of shape?

i realize the first respond is going to be to buy a new one but for $70 i would rather hold out. i plan on rebuilding the entire head within the year and the performance cams are all internally oiled. so it seems buying a new spray bar is a bit of a waste.

Something is definately wrong with your spray bar. There might also be some damage to the # 6 cam lobes. I couldn't see it in your picture because the lobes were pointing down. Remove the spray bar, there are 3 bolts that hold it in place. Take the two philips head screws off and remove the plates. Once removed you will need to have it cleaned. Take the bar to a radiator repair shop. They can boil it out and braze the broken part. Don't use JB because this is a place where you don't want the weld to fail. You can cut your own replacement gaskets.

Before you start her back up I would suggest pouring some oil over the rear of the cam. Normally I would suggest you put the cover back on before starting her back up but your engine could use a good cleaning anyway so start that puppy up without the cover and visually insure your getting a good spray out of the rear end of the spray bar.

:classic:

Hey, my oiler bar also had problems. The tubes do in fact seem to be brazed in place. I would not use JB Weld myself on an internal engine part. Upon removal of the valve cover, I notice the short tube up front, closest to the timing chain was in fact missing. Don't know if it fell down below the timing chain area, or was lost by the previous owner. Anyway, I made a visit to the junkyard and picked up a complete undamaged tube. Either pick up a used one, making sure it is solid, with all oiler holes pointing in the right direction, or go lightly with the brazing so as not to block the flow. Remember to align the pinholes correctly, and if you pick up a used one.....run some carb cleaner thru it to clean out the gunk. Good luck.

And yes.....this is common.....the one on my 260 parts car was bent, and all tubes could be easily spun. Would be a good idea for anyone that takes the valve cover off to check the tubes while you are in there for tightness, and oiler hole direction. BTW, I should have the engine out of mine by the end of the week, and will let you know if the short tube shows up in an ugly place.

i took the bar off and cleaned it up already, but wasnt sure what the "official" fix for the bar would be from the experts here. When i took off the cover the back half of the cam looked dry whereas the front was well oiled. I poured some oil over it and checked the valve lash. All the lobes are still smooth but the back half is discolored.

Dude, after thinking about it, don't start the engine without the valve cover. I imagine oil would be slinging everywhere. Not pretty.

The connections are soldered - not braised. Braising involves brass. Easy to remember BR (braise) = BR (brass) Good idea to take it to a radiator shop and have it soldered back up, Ed! I would suggest buying a new oiler for a couple of reasons. First, if you heard metal scratching noises and judging from your picture, you trashed the cam. The cost of a new oiler bar is the least of your problems. Second, the oiler didn't get that way on its own. Someone bashed it. Check for other damage. Check to see that your lash pads are still in place.

I just had a similar issue with my spray bar. I found that the point where the spray bar attaches to the rear cam tower was slightly out of alignment. This was causing the small reservoir in the back of the spray bar to open up, oil leaked out, and the spray bar didn't work right. I had the head checked at a shop, and the inside of the cam towers are perfectly in line. Don't know how the outer surface went out of line though. Rather than trying to "straighten" the cam tower by filing the outer surface, I slightly bent the spary bar to accomodate.

I'll let you know how it works when I run the car in a few weeks, but it looked good going together.

Failure of the solder joint of the tube to the mount boss is very common failure mode. Unfortunately the disruption in oil flow/spray usually caused damage to the hardface coating on the cam lobe. If you got lucky and the cam lobes are not trenched with a wear groove, spring for a new oiler instead of investing in a bandaid fix. I assume that after 30+ years that Datsun fixed their soldering process and the parts on shelf today have better reliability.

Bending of the mount boss is another problem that I have not seen before.

I had lots of problems with my spray bar... I found it easier th swap in an internally lubricated camshaft instead of trying to fix the lube tube. I had my engine on a stand though, so it was easy to swap cams.

to whom it may concern, i have 2 cam oiler spray bars available...

When I looked at this thread I thought the picture MRCOW linked was my engine. The appearance is identical (exzept his head looks a little cleaner), the oiler tube extension is exzactly the same mess. This is probably more common than you think.

I currently have a friend who is a ship's engineer looking at mine, but I believe I will spring and get a new one.