Hello, great forum here, and lots of information!A BIG thank you to all who post and reply!
I would like to know in detail, the oiling circuit on a 396. In depth, I would like to know what path the oil takes when it leaves the oil pump, how it gets to the mains, cam bearings, lifters, and the rockers. Mainly how does it get from the crank to the lifters. I think I understand how it gets from the lifter gallerys into the lifter and up through the push rods, but how does it get to the lifter gallerys? Detail would help alot.
Thanks!

The oil doesn't get from the crank to the lifters exactly. The oil pump feeds a main oil gallery that feeds separate branch galleries that go to the crank and cam. The lower one goes to the crank mains and ultimately to the rod bearings. A separate branch off the mail gallery feeds the lifter galleries (one on each side) which ultimately feeds the lifters, up the push rods and to the rocker arms and valve stems. The cylinder walls and cam shaft lobes are lubricated by the general splashing of oil off the crank and from between the rod journals and what leaks past the lifter and the lifter bores.

The best way to understand it is to look over an oil passage drawing. Such drawings are printed in a number of books on how to rebuild or hot rod a big block Chevy. The diagram may also appear in a shop manual or overhaul manual for your specific year of car.

Thanks for the reply Rich-L79. The reason I asked the questions was because my 396 wasn't oiling up top like I thought it should. The engine is tore down now and I was trying to figure out the path the oil took to get to the lifters. I did several searches of posts here and on google but never got the info I was looking for, but thanks to you, I think I've got it now. It seems to me that it flows from the oil pump, through the rear main cap, into the outside of the filter, through the filter and then to the rear main bearing and also up a passage in the rear of the block to the lifter gallery. Looks like it enters the shaft cut in the block for the distributor just above the cam gear, passes around the distributor and enters the lifter gallery.Is that correct?
Again thanks!

What year is your 396?
65-66 blocks take a different rear cam bearing & the rear cam journal needs to be grooved to oil the lifter galleys.
Later blocks have a groove cut into the block under the cam bearing like a small block.
The oil gets to the lifter galleys through two holes drilled from the rear cam bearing groove to the galleys
The early blocks are drilled but the oil is circulated to the holes by the groove in the cam itself instead of the groove in the block.

Thanks for the reply Wolfplace. The block went out today to the machine shop. When the cam bearings are out we will find out more about what block it is. The casting #'s are hard to read but the #'s stamped on the front passenger side indicate a #'s matching block. Hopefully he can check the deck height and tell me if those #'s are original. I had read about the '65 and '66 blocks and the groove in the bearing and cam. This motor has niether groove, so i was thinking it wasn't '65 or '66.
Thanks again!!