Needed! MCF external oiling instructions

[DrDano]

I lost my instructions for my MCF external oiling system for my flathead. I have the system installed, but its not building pressure. Can anyone email or fax me a copy of the instructions? MCF has not been returning calls for the last few weeks, so I'm hoping a HAMBer has a set.

[Bruce Lancaster]

The guy who runs MCF has severe health problems after a major operation with major complications.
There is a partial writeup in the Oddo flathead book, which looks suspiciously like someone just misplaced the second half of the installation photos and didn't notice.
I remember an odd factoid from a discussion of this system a couple of years ago: Someone said he had discovered that his MCF system wouldn't prime if the filter was pre-filled with oil. A couple of other people wrote in and confirmed his experience on this. Seems very strange, but worth a try.

[DrDano]

Hmm....I was told the same thing by him at MCF, so that is what I did. I have my oil pressure gauge plugged into the back of the block where the line from the filter dumps in on the vertical plug on the drivers side top of the bellhousing area. The top plug has the return line in it, and the side plug as the pressure gauge line. Is there any reason why this system would not register pressure with the gauge here?

[DrDano]

Ok, the pump is building pressure, enough to blow the hoses apart. But, once the line is plumbed in to the back of the motor it seems the motor is not building pressure, as if a plug is not installed correctly or something.

I talked to a fellow at MCF today and said that if all of the plugs in the crank or a plug in the front of the block behind the timing gears could alos make the motor lose pressure internally. Does this sound right?

[Digger_Dave]

Just a note. Some early attempts at full flow filtering required a plug be inserted in the horizontal galley at the back of the block.

The filter out line was connected to the vertical out port; (normally had pressure sending unit mounted) the return filter line was then connected to the horizontal port with a "T" for the pressure gauge.

Try removing the horizontal hose and take out the sending unit. Use a thin blade screwdriver and stick it in the horizontal port and see if you can see the tip down the vertical port.

If you can't see the tip; then the block has a block off plug. It can be removed without doing any damage and then the MCF system should work right.

[DrDano]

The horizontal port is connected to the vertical, they both go to the same place and both are open. On the 59A flatheads or earlier styles with the integrated bellhousing you can do just like you said. What you would do is keep the stock oil pump and run a line out from the stock vertical plug hole. Then you would drill a hole just next to it on the flatspot about 2" to the right, plumb in another line here. Apparently this would circulate and filter about 95% of the oil at a time, a better solution than the old style canister setup. However, on an 8BA I don't think such a setup would work using the two holes in the back of the block for both the send and return lines to the oil filter. There is a site out there that explains the 59A process a lot better than I can.

I think the issue with mine has become that somewhere on the inside of the engine there is an oil plug hole that has no plug in it, possible something was left out when the engine was rebuilt causing all of the oil to run back to pan in quick fashion. The system is building hella pressure, but once its in the motor all the pressure is being lost, like a oil gallery plug is missing or something. The whole car goes back to the guy who built the motor next week and will stay there until he figures out what the hell is wrong.

[Digger_Dave]

That's a bummer.
Just thought I would throw my .02 in.
Good luck in solving the problem.