Priming Oil Pump

CMac89

Registered User
I went to Lowes and bought one of the drill head paint stirrers and cut the head off.

Whenever I stuck it in the oil pump and turned the drill on I let it run for a little bit, because I didnt pack the pump with anything, and the drill started baring down then set back free.

I didn't know what was going on until I pulled the drill out and the hex part of the hex bar was stripped off and it was just a solid bar at the end. So, I'm guessing that I have enough oil pressure considering it stripped the hex out into a solid bar?
 
Pait stirring rod too soft!

Hello CMac89.
The steel that the paint stirrer is made of a soft steel.
The oil pump shaft that operates the oil pump is a hardened steel.
That is why the paint stirring rod stripped.
I would highly recommend removing the oil pump assembly and making sure that none of the chips from the paint stirrer ended up in your pump.
That could be diasterous!
When you have it apart you can then pack it with petroleum jelly (Vaseline).
The bearing down that you are experiencing is the oils trying to flow through the bearing clearances. The drag will be less when the engine is turning.
Hope that helps.
Bill
 
Thanks for the reply. I know its supposed to bear down I just wanted to know if there was another way that I could prime the motor?

Thanks :)
 
Crank the engine.

Another way to prime the pump is to disconnect the coil and crank the engine.
Most likely when the paint stirrer stripped you were generating oil pressure.
You can take a shot and start the engine to see if the oil pressure climbs.
Just don'tlet it run for too long if the pressure does not climb.
 
no one in their right mind primes an engine, its called engine asembley lube :rolleyes: , but since you put filings in your engine, time for a teardown :),amateurs :cool:
 
I don't know if I would go as far as to talk about who is or isn't in their right minds, but priming an engine is a good idea if it is done correctly and for the right reasons.

1) engine assembly lube serves several purposes and should always be used.

2) rounding off your drive tool is bad. I would pull the timing cover and clean up the mess. Note to self: AZ rents oil pump drive tools for free.

3) there is no purpose in packing the oil pump with vaseline. This is an old wives tale but if it makes you happy..... Mellings recommends coating the oil pump rotating parts in engine oil, nothing more.

4) priming the engine with the valve covers off will verify to you when oil has made it up each pushrod. Once you have oil coming out each rocker arm then you know the motor is fully primed. Some engine builders prime their motors for several minutes prior to startup.

Everyone suit yourself I guess. :)
 
XR7 Dave said:
Note to self: AZ rents oil pump drive tools for free.

Hey Dave, have you used one of those AZ primers? I thought I've read where they don't have the correct one for our cars???

Thanks!
 
:rolleyes:
XR7 Dave said:
I don't know if I would go as far as to talk about who is or isn't in their right minds, but priming an engine is a good idea if it is done correctly and for the right reasons.

1) engine assembly lube serves several purposes and should always be used.

2) rounding off your drive tool is bad. I would pull the timing cover and clean up the mess. Note to self: AZ rents oil pump drive tools for free.

3) there is no purpose in packing the oil pump with vaseline. This is an old wives tale but if it makes you happy..... Mellings recommends coating the oil pump rotating parts in engine oil, nothing more.

4) priming the engine with the valve covers off will verify to you when oil has made it up each pushrod. Once you have oil coming out each rocker arm then you know the motor is fully primed. Some engine builders prime their motors for several minutes prior to startup.

Everyone suit yourself I guess. :)
I took everything apart and cleaned it already so thats okay there. I just read it on previous posts, but I didnt do it because I thought it was a hoax also.

Nobody uses assembly lube for valvetrain so thats a good reason to prime the motor :rolleyes: .

Not to mention I mainly did this to see if I got oil pressure, but even if I did have oil pressure, then I wouldve let the oil get up to the valves.

Where's your assclown now?
 
AsScLoWn said:
no one in their right mind primes an engine, its called engine asembley lube :rolleyes: , but since you put filings in your engine, time for a teardown :),amateurs :cool:


Actually, I have never met anyone in their right mind who built an engine and DIDN'T prime it prior to initial startup. :rolleyes: Why would you want to go through all the time and money of rebuilding an engine and NOT make sure everything was going to get oil AS SOON AS the engine is started the first time? Most builders I know will spin the oil pump and turn the engine over by hand as they prime it to ensure EVERYTHING is getting oiled properly. IMO, at the very least the engine should be cranked over with the coil (or coil packs in our case) disconnected for several seconds before initial startup. It is also a good idea to crank over an engine this way if it has sat unstarted for a long period of time just to make sure you are not starting a dry engine.

But as Dave said... suit yourself. After all it IS your engine and you may do as you wish. :rolleyes:
 
CMac89 said:
he's tryna get at me 'cuz I called him a noooobie.

yea so :cool: , I seriously have never primed an engine and built over a hundred, I use cheap white lithium grease on anything that has friction :D ;) , so I have no reason to prime it, I just run to the oil pressure gauge and see if it climbs within a few seconds. I actually do lube the rocker pivots or pour oil over them :eek:
 
Just saying it has every plausible reason to prime.

What if you have a jesel setup with 1400lbs open spring pressure?

I do it mostly to make sure I have oil pressure and everything is getting oil through its passages. Why would I take a chance of putting the motor in the car and come to find out that somethings not oiling or I dont have oil pressure?

I<3 assclown :eek: In a straight way....
 
CMac89 said:
Just saying it has every plausible reason to prime.

What if you have a jesel setup with 1400lbs open spring pressure?

I do it mostly to make sure I have oil pressure and everything is getting oil through its passages. Why would I take a chance of putting the motor in the car and come to find out that somethings not oiling or I dont have oil pressure?

I<3 assclown :eek: In a straight way....

thats stupid spring pressure to run, you have to use a lower spring tension to break the engine in or you'll ruin the cam DUH :rolleyes:

thats why i said I "run" back to see if the gauge climbs, if theres no gauge and the car has hydraulic lifters they wont stop ticking or getting quieter after several seconds
 
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