Places to get oil feed from on a ECOTEC

[maven]

Ok, I know I might get a rash of "Ive never had any _____ and Ive done this for ____ miles" replies but heres my take.

Avoid tapping into ANY of the up to 5 ports on the back(left side) of the head.

While there are as many as 4 ports back there with pressurised oil feeds the only thing i recommend sticking in them is a pressure gauge.(the 5th one is the one on the bottom right as standing at the drivers fender looking atthe head, this is one is a COOLANT passage, avoid it also)

The reason you dont wanna tap into them is because ALL of the oil for the entire valvetrain flows through those passages. If you tap into it your starving the cams, lifters, and valves. How could this be possible??

All of the oil for the entire head flows through one .065" port in the head near the end of the intake cam.

Yes the entire valvetrain is fed via a .065" opening!!!!

This is a great place for a gauge because its the end of the line(last place oil goes)

I still highly recommend the safer(though more labor intensive) idea of tapping into the oil filter housing(theres usually a nice flat spot on the left side that'll work perfectly)

This location is better because your taking oil BEFORE any other engine component gets it, which means its always full pressure as the housing is the first stop after the pump(and it has yet to pass through any of the other restrictions in the block so your not taking anything from a critical oil passage), and its as clean as the oil will ever be.

Just my $.02

[ppazz1101]

I'm not so sure that's a bad spot to take the oil feed. Here's why:

A) Garrett uses that for their Cobalt turbo kit. Plenty of people have been running that kit with no problems.

B) Hahn uses that for their turbo kit. Again, plenty of people have been running it with no problems.

C) I've seen two custom setups tap there for a feed without problems.


I don't doubt the info you provided, but I also don't think it causes oil starvation. With so many people running setups that tap there, and all the testing done by Garrett and Hahn, I just think that if there was a problem there they'd have found it.

I only bring this up cause I don't want this thread to scare people away from getting oil from there if that's an easy/only option. It requires no drilling or tapping, just the proper fitting.

[sunfireman03]

On an engine such as this with a cartridge style filter, how beneficial would it be to design an oil filter relocation kit, where it used the existing filter housing to drop in a special canister with two lines, one for extracting oil and routing to a new filter location (probably mounted to either the block or chassis) and eventually the turbocharger, and the other to return the oil back to the block, all of this being done without restricting the flow. Surely, if the oil is being forced through a .065" opening for the valvetrain, a tube .5" for the oil filter isn't going to restrict the oilflow at all. Let me know what kind of downsides you would see for a setup like that.

[sunfireman03]

Naturally the oil filter would be located further up the line in a separate container.

[ppazz1101]

Seems like it's more complex than that. It's not just about flow. You need to make sure you're getting proper pressure to the entire system. Changing something as you stated sounds like it's going to have side effects like changing pressure elsewhere in the system.

[black06g85]

I've been running mine off of the tap for the oil pressure sensor, hasn't let me down yet

[ppazz1101]

I've been running mine off of the tap for the oil pressure sensor, hasn't let me down yet

Don't think I've seen that. Where's it located?

[black06g85]

right under the oil filter.
here's a pic from my old setup, but the feed is still in the same spot.

[ppazz1101]

Ah ok. Yeah I never really looked for it before.

[maven]

Another place to get oil from, and is where the LNF actually gets its feed is from one of the balance shaft oil galley plugs on the rear of the engine. They are easy to get to when youve got the exhaust off, they create the shortest possible pressure line, AND of course its where GM gets it from.

[DaFlyinSkwirl]

^ there's 3 of them right maven? right in a row?

I'd assume everyone would rather tap the block than the head for oil feed.. valvetrain survival is pretty important..

of course, putting a feed on the end of the oil cooler isn't a bad idea either, although the pressure line will be pretty long as a result.. def an option for me since I have the LSJ block now =D

[Admiral Jedi]

Another place to get oil from, and is where the LNF actually gets its feed is from one of the balance shaft oil galley plugs on the rear of the engine. They are easy to get to when youve got the exhaust off, they create the shortest possible pressure line, AND of course its where GM gets it from.

This is on the L61 too? Can you show us a diagram?

What kind of fitting is needed for this? Is it like on the head where you remove a bolt and screw a hose into it?