I assume the ball in the rear main is supposed be free to move back and forth. What would happen if I plugged that hole in the front of the main and eliminated the ball?
If you plug the passage the oil that passes through the MAIN BEARING AND FLOWS TO THE REAR WILL LEAK OUT. tHAT IS A RETURN PASSAGE. tHE BALLL MOVES FORWARD TO LET THE OIL RETURN TO THE SUMP. tHE BALL ROLLS BACK IF THE CAR IS ON A STEEP INCLINE SO OIL CANNOT FLOW TO THE REAR AND GUSH OUT.
The hole is the oil drain back to the sump(oil pan)from the groove in the rear main bearing cap & block.The ball is supposed to roll back and stop oil flow out past the crankshaft either when driving up steep grades or parked with the front of the car at a steep angle,ther is a pin in front of the drain hole to stop the ball from come out of the angled drain hole.If you block the drain hole up,oil will escape out between the crankshaft & block/bearing cap.
Take the ball out. Only problem is oil in the pan can leak if front of the engine is much higher than rear. The passage needs to be clean whether the ball is in place or not. If clean the ball should move as intended.
Try spraying either electrical contact cleaner or brake cleaner up the hole with a long nozzle on the aerosol can against the ball til it's free.
that is what i did on mine, removed the bearings cap, and sprayed it both ways with brake clean and the nozzle. ball move clean and free. like noted others drill out the pin and remove the ball.
AACA - VCCA - Stovebolt - ChevyTalk Love the Antique Chevrolet's from 1928-1932 The Beauty, Simplicity, History, and the Stories they Tell
I have never taken out the ball and left it out. Measured the ball and ID of the passage where the ball resides. When compared the passage area minus the area of the ball discovered that the open area was larger than the area of the passage at the rear main cap slinger. So what that means is if the passage and ball are clean there is no flow restriction with the ball in place and therefore no need to take the ball out.
