Is the splash shield needed on 502 gen6????
 

I bought a bare 502 block and assembling the engine now. I am using the Morel lifters with tie bars but I am going to use the stock spider lifter retainer as I read that it aids in dripping oil on the lifters and cam. I do not have the valley tray that sits above that just below the intake and wonder if that is needed?? thanks..... TBF

Because of the way lifters are oiled, I can't imagine that dripping oil would be needed. There are two oil galleries that runs front to back in your block intersecting the all of the lifter bores so they get lots of pressurized oil. A valley tray can be useful if it keeps hot oil off the underside of the intake. Cooler intake air = more hp.

if you are using link bar lifters,forget about the spider retainer,it wont be of any use and possibly will interfere with the link bars,and you don,t have to have the tray under the manifold,but it does keep hot oil off of the intake manifold keeping it cooler.

Don't use spider but if possible use heat shield .It wasn't put there for no reason .

OK thanks Fellas, yes I am using link bar lifters so no spider, I found the splash shield for around $30 so I will get one and use it... I have an air gap intake and getting it ceramic coated now.... Every little bit of heat rejection will help prevent vapor lock so I will do it. I also think the splash shield will help keep the lifter valley area coated in oil so I will use it....... TBF

I agree. Use the splash shield.

Getting my motor going now and I picked up the valley tray brand new for $22?? It was a little rusty but scrubbed up nicely and should last a long time bathed in oil...... Seems like keeping hot oil from hitting the bottom of the intake is a good thing.....TBF

You got one new but it was rusty? Not sure I understand. If you bought one from an online retailer, please provide us a link. I might opt for one of these as well, although I wonder if it helps as much when you are running an intake that has an air space under the plenum like the Air Gap and the Dart.

fixx
 

50/50 hinedite.....now if your using a single plane intake or a air gap intake you really dont need the splash shield but i always use one just to keep the intake cooler.. definitely if your using a dual plane intake..

Yes, I got it from boats.net and it had a little rusting going on but not too bad..... It is still very serviceable and needed a little scrubbing but cleaned up with a small amount of pitting remaining...... I am using the RPM Air Gap manifold and feel that using the shield will keep the wind generated oil vortex away from the top of the engine and probably do a better job of keeping the cam/ lifter valley covered in oil......... GM engineers are likely pretty sharp fellas and there is a reason they use the shield so I dont think I will be second guessing them! TBF

TBF, I don't actually recall GM using a splash shield on any of their factory engines. I think the "dogbone" retainer arrangement just happens to double as an impromptu splash shield - it's main function is to act like a spring to hold the lifter retainers down. That being said, it would be interesting to get a back-to-back comparison of temp readings on the area under an air gap manifold to see how much the shield helps.

The spider that bolts to the block and retaines he dog bone lifter guides is certainly unique to all gen 6 hyd roller motors.... The splash shield sits a few inches higher and looks like it does a pretty good job of keeping hot oil off the bottom of the intake...... I am not sure how many engines were equipped with the splash shields but my Gen 6 7.4MPI had one and I have no idea about the Gen 5 or 4 engines...... But again, it was put there for a reason and GM spends millions on R&D and I am not going to question that...... TBF