Priming Oil System
 

So I just finished rebuilding my motor and even though my new cams and old cams have assembly lube I for the life of me cannot find the proper way to prime the oil system. I know there's no pump but I still figure there must be a way to properly get the engine internals coated.

Any advice?

I saw a similar post with people saying hold the pedal down while trying to turn over the engine but I dont think that correct especially when it's a brand new short block, head, cams etc.

If you hold the accelerator and clutch pedal down it will crank the motor without starting. I do it after oil changes because you can't add oil to the filter before installing it.

A newly installed engine is not going to start right away. I had to crank mine over for 30-45 seconds before it fired up. Plenty of time for to op to build up. Assembly lube is there to take care of start up lubrication.

Correct way is with spark plugs out and crank until you have pressure.

Priming isn't really necessary if the engine is properly assembled with lube, but if you want to... Floor it and crank until the oil pressure light turns off. It will usually happen within 15 seconds, and don't crank more than that at a time. If after 3 attempts the oil light is still on, pull the plugs and try again.

Yeah but if you just turn it on, you might have an oil pump that wont prime. Happened to me, had to send it back.

Spun a bearing in my 3000GT VR4 by not packing the oil pump on a rebuilt block with lube. I always prime now, no matter what.

A few minutes extra work vs risk thrashing a multi 1000$ engine is an easy choice im my eyes

I feel the same it's been two years since I was able to drive it because the head blew and I'd rather not take chances after a year of trying to get parts and assembling it.

How long did the engine run without oil pressure?

I've never once heard of that. Startup usually pushes the oil into the engine fastest as it gets the pump into a much more efficient pumping RPM vs cranking.

This I've seen other have issues with. A dry pump trying to push (purge) air through thick assembly lube does not always work well :/

Adding some assembly lube to the pump should always be done. I wish they shipped them this way. Of course, I wish they shipped them with bypass pistons that never stick and backplate bolts that don't come out too :lol:

Not to get OT but...

The bolded statement is false, I add oil to the filter before installing it every oil change with very little mess.

But the accelerator thing is a cool trick I didn't know. :thumbsup:

doesn't most of the oil drain back down from the filter once the engine turns off?

Haha...


https://i.imgur.com/pyOcMvY.png

Check valve. It still can drain down, but it drains into the oil galleries on the filtered side. Plus, it saturates the filter element.

I think...

@Jdmjunkie you certainly can fill your oil filter, and very quickly install it without spilling any oil.

There is absolutely no reason to do so. It dumps right back out.

Yep. And every single time you shut the car off as well.
The aftermarket has an answer but as often the case it is really just a solution to a very, very, very minor condition and something else that could screw up.

https://www.baxterperformanceusa.com...drain-adapter/

I did the IAG recommended process twice and got no oil at all. Called them up and the front desk lady told me just start up the engine. Took it to a IAG gold certified shop and they said the oil pump was defective

Did a certified shop do the assembly and install? The pumps in these are stupid simple. The only way for it to not work is it is broken, missing, backing plate loose, or crankshaft extension installed incorrectly.

It's always a nail-biter watching the oil pressure gauge just sit there for two seconds while the engine runs at fast idle.

Meh. There is enough residual sitting on all the oiled parts to last that few seconds.
I have pulled apart engines that have sat in a field for a decade or more that still had residual oil on everything critical.

I know but I still count Mississippis.

You have a kidney stone?

Excess RTV

Just wondered since you missed a P.

^ this

I bought a fully assembled and timed long block from them. I have my theories but it works now so whatever.

Do not recommend filling the oil filter on ANY Suby engines.

Think about the premise of this thread. It's all about purging the air from and filling with oil the galleries, passages and ports. If you take a dry filter element, and fill all the media's pores with oil, it has a harder time pushing the air through it. Which means it's more difficult for the pump to prime. What the difference is, I can't say. Most (nearly all) new EJ engine priming issues we've come across have been when customers filled the oil filter with oil.

of note though, all those motors didn't use the 0-20 mix.

that thin oil still concerns me...

Still leaves a film. The engine is designed to tolerate it.

Peanut gallery thought.. what about priming the system by pouring oil into the galley at the top of the block or thru the oil filter holes?
There's a farking yuge port on top of the block by the AC compressor- (16 or 18mm thread I forget now). You could easily stick a funnel on that thing and fill the engine with oil instead of the filler cap on the valve cover.

That's basically how you prime an old school water well pump-- pour a few gallons of water into the output end until there's a head built up, then fire up the pump and voila.

BUT.. that might also present the air evac problems mentioned before.. just thinking out loud.

When I put my last engine in, I certainly crossed my fingers, said a couple Hail Marys, and then counted Mississippis when I hit the ignition. the thing fired up for 1-2 seconds, clattered real bad, and shut off. I thought I broke something on the cam gears, then realized there was air in the fuel lines to be purged.
I cranked it again and after a few seconds it fired up and clattered until the cam thingies built oil pressure and it all ran smooth like buttah.

Plug and pray!

There are, for the sake of definition, several modes of lubrication. In this case we are concerned with the transition from thin film to hydrodynamic. We depend on thin film lubrication with every cold start. If the film stayed cool, we wouldn't even need the oil pump.

Stirring any fluid raises its temp. Viscosity drops as temp increases. (I know - duh) We're safe as long as the lubrication mode switches to hydrodynamic before the film gets too hot. That's it in a nutshell.

Same premise as to why you don't want to fill a filter with oil beforehand. Anything that makes it harder for the pump to move the air out of the system and replace it with oil, is going to increase the time it takes to prime.

Priming is really done once the oil gets sucked into the pump and that first bit gets squeezed by the pump. After that point, the engine passages fill rapidly.

I believe we sometimes overthink these things. I am certain I do.

Are you sure about that?

:iono:

You may want to think about - :iono:

THIS ^

There are no instructions anyplace other than YouTube "experts" that say you should prefill the filter.

Even the filter does not say to prefill the filter!

It's like they think the manufacturer doesn't want the car to have as much reliability as possible. Some of the nonsense invented by enthusiasm is just...well, their heart is in the right place. Sometimes the best thing you can do is follow directions though.

Step-2 clearly shows the filter being filled with oil.