How do piston squirters work?
 

Just a few questions for my education:

1. Where are the oil channels that feed them?
2. Why are they spring loaded (or appear to be when I was cleaning them out.)
3. Whats the best way to clean them? (Mine don't drain carb cleaner back through the "wrong" way...

The spring holds a ball against a seat, as the oil pressure rises, the ball is pushed up from the seat, and they start "squirting"

They are fed from a drilling that intercepts the case boltswhich share oil from the mail oil gallery.

If your spraying carb cleaner into them, you cleaning them pretty well, you may want to plug the oil passages and use some compressed air to see if all the squirters are opening

Tim.

For all the answers you've given me, whenever you're in Chicago area, I'm buying the beer!

My squirters appear to sit towards the upper end of the "tube" they're in... If I push on them gently with the platic carb cleaner parts tube, they go down "into" the case. Is this correct? I would think that oil presure would push them out towards the surface but mine are already that way... Is there a diagram somewhere?

Dont know of any cut away drawings of a piston squirter, but ive attached a pic of one that hasnt been installed.

maybe another way to visualize how they work is to think about that gag gift from old TV shows... a can with a snake that pops out when you open it...the squirter is a small can with a spring in it, a ball on one end and a plate with a hole on the other. The oil pressure lifts the ball, and viola you have cooler pistons.

I think they dont work till 45psi, im sure to be corrected though.

You can push the "top" of the squirter into the case, and it will spring back., just check that they all open by using compressed air (having plugged all outlets on that cae half)

GOT IT!

I was thinking the ball had the hole through it to push it above the top...

Tim, You da' man!

But it they don't open untill that high pressure, than squirting some carb cleaner in through the backside won't get through per se, have to used compressed air eh?

I re-iterate my offer for local libations should the opportunity arise...