First Engine Start Questions, First Engine Start Options

[Dave_Darling]

I used a turkey baster to squirt oil up into the pickup tube on a fresh rebuild. Got pressure pretty quickly after that... But it was a gaddafful mess, what with removing the sump plate and all.

--DD

[AE354803]

Should I look for another pump and swap pumps?

If you have oil moving through the passages then you're primed. I would start it, if you start it and you don't have high enough pressure then turn it off and go about all this other stuff.

the pressure is not going to be very high when only the starter is cranking the engine over due to low RPM. If you are really worried about the pump take the gauge off and crank it over for a second, you'll see oil flowing.

Keep in mind the pumps deliver flow based on RPM, the pressure you see is a result of the oil passages/bearings etc restricting the oil's flow. The flow is what you really care about, pressure is just the easy way to ensure that you have enough flow.

[stugray]

do you only have the vdo oil press gauge?

I started with a mechanical gauge because I didnt want to trust that the vdo worked right on the first try.
is the vdo sender & gauge grounded to the engine & battery negative?

[Highland]

I was using an oil pressure gage from Harbor Freight. I blew some air into it and the gage appears to work.

After not getting any pressure with the mechanical gage, I tried the VDO dummy light gage with an ohm meter hooked up. I believe it reads resistance with low pressure and open when there is oil pressure. As much as I cranked, the ohm meter always showed continuity.

My choices are to tear it down or start it. As advised earlier in the thread, I think I'll just try starting it cause I'm not sure what I'd be looking for if I opened up the engine again. I know the pump is at least powerful enough to flow oil into the filter and I can see oil through the oil pressure gage mount hole.

[stugray]

I have never tried it, but has anyone ever filled a grease gun with oil?

It would be a cheap alternative to an accusump.
You could precharge the oil galleys from the oil pressure gauge hole.

[Highland]

Here is some help:

1- Dont install the pushrods (cranking to prime with pushrods installed will wipe away the cam lube you put on the cam & lifters)
2 - remove the sparkplugs
3 - install a mechanical oil pressure gauge if you have one.
4 - do NOT fill the oil filter with oil before installation
5 - crank the engine until oil pressure peaks then keep cranking for as long as you are comfortable to get oil through the whole system. (Dont overheat the starter - ~10 seconds at a time, then cool off)
6 - check oil and top off if required
7 - reinstall pushrods & set valve lash (with Jakes pushrods, cold lash is zero)
8 - reinstall spark plugs
9 - proceed with engine first startup & follow Jakes cam break-in instructions

Regarding step 1. I lubed the cam and lifter during installation then set up my pushrod lengths and in the process have turned the motor over many times by hand to verify valve lift geometry. Did this wipe away all the cam lube?

Should I remove all the lifters (push rod tubes) and re-lube the surfaces then spin the motor with no pushrods? Is this part of the break-in process?

[Java2570]

When I did my rebuild last year, I had a few tense minutes getting pressure. I think someone here recommended cracking loose the oil filter slightly and cranking the motor over a few times. Even if you see oil in the filter, you can still have an air
bubble holding up the oil progress. It made a mess but after I tightened it back up
and tried again, I got pressure up pretty quick.