Priming new oil pump

[muskrat]

We primed the pump last night prior to trying to fire up the rebuilt engine.

Couldn't get it started, ran out of day light and it got too cold for my helper.

Rotated the shaft counter clockwise for a few minutes. I was in the drivers seat with the key "on" looking at the oil pressure gauge. It didn't move.

Will the gauge move and show pressure while spinning the shaft with the drill to prime it?

Thanks for the feedback.

Muskrat

 

[bmc69]

Not only will the gauge show pressure, even a fairly high power drill will be bogged right down by the load once the pump is primed and working. Will even stall your average battery-powered or smaller AC drill motor.

 

[mini73]

Might want to check that your gauge is working. I know mine wasn't and got it working just by grounding out the oil pressure wire and just going ahead and buying a new oil pressure sending switch. Good luck

 

[muskrat]

Not only will the gauge show pressure, even a fairly high power drill will be bogged right down by the load once the pump is primed and working. Will even stall your average battery-powered or smaller AC drill motor.

Hum. You have me worried. I wasn't running the drill, but I was standing there for a moment or two and the drill didn't seem to bog down.

Wonder what the deal is here? Any thoughts? This is a new oil pump and pick up, I did prime the pump when it was on the work bench and it primed.

What do you think?

 

[mini73]

Make sure the oil shaft rod is in the oil pump. It might if came out if you pulled the distributor. I went through the same thing trying to get my bronco running.

 

[pcf_mark]

Make sure you are turning the pump the right direction too. I have a cheap mechanical gae I use when I start a new engine because I do not trust the electric ones at a time like that.

Take a valve cover off and run the pump until oil comes out the pushrods. Then you know you got it done. Rotate the engine a few times also to expose all oil ports on the crank.

It will get tough to turn once it get a prime.

 

[Teal68]

You should definitely get pressure on the gauge.

In contrast to bmc69's post above I just installed an engine that for the first time ever would not stop the drill while priming. It worried me so bad I hooked up a mechanical gauge to see what was going on. At higher RPM's I get 60 psi, and it only drops to 40 at very low RPM's. I can't understand for the life of me why the drill keeps turning so easy. Any explanation???

The pressure sure make me feel better seeing it at 60 and 40.

 

[00gyrhed]

I ran the pump backward for a while with no oil pressure and swore up and down I was going the right way.

reversed the drill and bam good oil pressure.

 

[bmc69]

. I can't understand for the life of me why the drill keeps turning so easy. Any explanation???

.

I had a new pump once (in a 460) that came with a defective relief valve, that spun very easy. But I don't think I saw much oil pressure indication, if any. Can't say I recall ever having one build to spec relief pressure without putting a good load on the drill.

 

[savage]

When I primed my 302 it made my electric drill labor, I tried my battery powered drill and it would not turn the pump.x-2 on what 00gyrhed said maker sure you are going the right direction.

 

[Teal68]

I had a new pump once (in a 460) that came with a defective relief valve, that spun very easy. But I don't think I saw much oil pressure indication, if any. Can't say I recall ever having one build to spec relief pressure without putting a good load on the drill.

It's odd for sure. It even holds pressure for a while afterward.

I started youtubing engine priming videos and every one I came across the drill never seemed to slow. Maybe it's more common than I thought. I only have my past experiences with engines and never thought otherwise.

 

[DirtDonk]

Been my experiences as well. Even a half-way decent 18v cordless would slow noticeably when the pressure got high enough. A lower powered one would just stop dead as soon as the pressure started to build up.

But at counter-clockwise, you were going in the correct direction. The no-drag AND no-reading on the gauge doesn't bode well for the pump turning. But like said, you can pull a valve cover off to see if oil is at least coming up to the rocker gallery.
If it's just oozing gently, there's very little pressure. If it's oozing in high volume though, looking like it's pushing up pretty hard, you might have gauge issues.
Some engines will literally shoot oil out the tips of the pushrods and through the rockers. Don't know what type of valvetrain you have, but if you shoot oil across the garage and hit the dog, you're probably good.

What pan and pickup?
What pump?
Did you fill it with oil? Yeah, had to ask...

Check the shaft, check the gauge, and try again.

Paul

 

[bmc69]

It's odd for sure. It even holds pressure for a while afterward.
.

Well all I can say is that the pressure sure sounds OK..so if it were me I'd start it and see how it behaves then. You can tell very little if anything about what an engine's running oil pressure behavior will be from what it does when priming it.

 

[bknbronco]

I tried to get mine primed but couldn't get any oil up to the rockers. I said screw it and fired it up and instantly got pressure.

 

[bmc69]

I tried to get mine primed but couldn't get any oil up to the rockers. I said screw it and fired it up and instantly got pressure.

In fact..that is the "not unusual"part. Oil is actually pumped through the pushrods by the hydraulic lifters as they settle and relieve a small amount of oil each time they are actuated. "Actuated" being the key term there..they are sitting still and dumb when you prime the engine, of course.

In the "old days" of externally oiled rocker trains (FE motors) and solid lifters (that pass the oil through even when static) we would expect to see oil in the top end during a priming. The old days.

 

[Teal68]

Muskrat,
I apologize if I side tracked your thread, but I actually thought it might be helpful that I had a drill that did not bog down is why I originally posted.

Back to your problem:
Before you do anything else ground your oil sender wire, turn on the ignition, and make sure your gauge pegs to high pressure just to make sure your gauge is good. Next somebody on here can probably tell you what the sender should ohm out at. Once you confirm both of those you at least know your gauge and sender function correctly.

Next, as everybody else has said, make sure you are spinning the drill CCW.

Let us know how it goes,
Tyler

 

[Ourobos]

If you're not sure on the stock gauge, and they are inaccurate at best, I'd put a mechanical gauge on it. Takes a whole 2 minutes.

 

[pk8950]

Every time I've primed a motor the drill has bogged down. If it didn't I knew the shaft wasn't in the pump. Just my experience.

 

[bmc69]

If you're not sure on the stock gauge, and they are inaccurate at best, I'd put a mechanical gauge on it. Takes a whole 2 minutes.

Very good advice, IMHO. I temporarily install a mechanical gauge with a short length of hose on every engine I build when it comes time to prime and to start.

 

[Teal68]

Well all I can say is that the pressure sure sounds OK..so if it were me I'd start it and see how it behaves then. You can tell very little if anything about what an engine's running oil pressure behavior will be from what it does when priming it.

Just thought I'd update in case anybody goes thru this old thread and has a similar situation as me.....

Drill did not build much resistance at all while priming, but gauge showed plenty of pressure. 60 max and 40 min no matter how slow I ran the drill. Now that I have it running it has great oil pressure. Min 40 even when warmed up at idle.

All is good!