pressurizing oil system prior to start

[mgottshall]

I am getting ready to fire an engine that has been idle for years. Once I have completed all the prep work is there a method to manually pressurize the oil system without cranking engine?

[Benz Dr.]

Remove the spark plugs and put a bit of oil in each cylinder. Spin the engine with the starter until you see the oil pressure gage move to full.
Since there will be no load on any moving parts, you should have no problems doing this. You can put a bit of cam lube on the valve rockers and cam bearings before you start.

[Cees Klumper]

... Spin the engine with the starter until you see the oil pressure gage move to full.  Since there will be no load on any moving parts, you should have no problems doing this.

... Before re-installing the spark plugs

[mgottshall]

Thanks for the info but I was trying to find out if the oil pump shaft could be manually spun to lube all crankshaft bearings. Don't want to crank engine wheter under load or not without an oil film. I'm assuming the camshaft has a gear attached to drive the distributor and oil pump? If it's on the distributor shaft, like many older american engines, I can use a donor distributor shaft mounted in a drill with the gear pressed or ground off to pressurize the system completely. Drop the distributor back in and good to go.

[Cees Klumper]

That sounds like a lot of work; I think you're probably being overly concerned, and suggest you follow the Dr's advice.

[Naj ✝︎]

Thanks for the info but I was trying to find out if the oil pump shaft could be manually spun to lube all crankshaft bearings. Don't want to crank engine wheter under load or not without an oil film. I'm assuming the camshaft has a gear attached to drive the distributor and oil pump? If it's on the distributor shaft, like many older american engines, I can use a donor distributor shaft mounted in a drill with the gear pressed or ground off to pressurize the system completely. Drop the distributor back in and good to go.

Hi,
Yes, the oil pump shaft can be manually run. The oil pump is driven by the same shaft as the tacho. If you remove the thrust bush and tacho drive gear, you can use a flat screwdriver blade and drill to turn the pump.
If you have a donor tacho drive gear or even a distributor drive gear from a carb engine, you can grind off the helical gear teeth and use the shaft to drive the oil pump. If you search some very old posts by Joe Alexander (JA17), he has described one in detail. I have made such a tool and it was successfully used by a friend when he rebuilt a Fintail 220SE engine but unfortunately, I was not present to see the result.

Naj

[ja17]

Hello Naj,

I think that Dan C's method is more than adequate. However I have pre-oiled engines as you describe, except my tool was made from a old vertical timing gear. I ground the gear splines off the shaft. The bottom of it is actually "fork shaped" to fit over the single tang on top the oil pump.  I have a socket welded to the other end so I can engage the square drive from a hand crank.

The oil pump cannot be run from the distributor drive since the injection pump is also run off the same gearing.

I'll try to post a pic later.

[glenn]

Re: lubrication-the bigger picture. ..   Don't most larger rotating machines(turbines, etc) have independent lube systems that are started before the machine is started to eliminate the wear of initial start without lube?   How much would it cost to have an electric oil pump (to run 5 or 10 sec) before start on production cars?  500,000 mile car engines??  Inquiring minds want to know. ..

[Cees Klumper]

But ... On engines that have been sitting for years ok, however on our regularly-used cars, does the oil ever really drip clean off the moving parts such that they become devoid of any lubrication? It just seems that whenever I take an engine apart there's lots of oily film on whatever I touch. Probably I don't know what I'm talking about, but it seems to me that for all the efforts car manufacturers go through to make engines last longer, something like this would have been picked up long ago.

[wwheeler]

I saw something like this years ago. Seems to make sense but I think is overkill. Something else to worry about....

http://www.engineprelube.com/

[Paul & Dolly]

Re: lubrication-the bigger picture. ..   

Large Machines do run the Lubrication, Cooling and Fuel systems prior to start, this helps to "warm through" the systems and help ensure that the lube oils and fuels are at the correct viscosity for operation: - the machine is also "turned over" very very slowly prior to starting, (and after stopping) to equalise temperatures and stresses, and prevent deflection of heavy shafts.

I have always used the Dr Benz methodolgy if an engine has been dormant.

This was a Sulzer 10RND 90 Marine "Diesel" 28,000 SHP,  of about the same generation as our cars !

[Run MBC]

Remove the spark plugs and put a bit of oil in each cylinder. Spin the engine with the starter until you see the oil pressure gage move to full.

Should the coil wire or plug wires be grounded to the block while doing this?

[stickandrudderman]

Only if you're worried about igniting any spilt fuel.

[Run MBC]

^^^ Good to know, I've heard it can damage the ignition system on late-model EFI engines if you don't ground the ignition wires. (When doing a compression test, etc.)