Engine: Oil Pump ?

[kmac530]

To prime my pump what direction do I turn the shaft and how hard should it be to rotate?

I used a piece of rod and cut a tab on the end similar to the distributor drive end and want to use a battery drill to spin it and prime my motor. Just want to make sure I spin it in the correct direction. Any other neccesary tips?

[StudeRich]

You want to turn it Counterclockwise the same as Distributor rotation. It will be very hard for a Makita battery powered to turn, but if you use Low/Slow speed and a fresh charge it should work, have someone tell you if you get 20-40 Lbs. on the gauge before you burn up the Drill. It is best to use a 3/8" or 1/2" Reversable Electric drill.

[Mike Van Veghten]

AND...to do it correctly...turn the crank shaft through a full revolution to make sure all passage get filled.
If you leave the crank in one position, less than half of the passages will get oil.

Mike

[kmac530]

OHHH MAN, thanks for all of that. I thought that it was too hard and something may have been wrong....phwhew. Thanks also for the heads up on turning the crank. I will need some help for that, but good input.

Good news for me.
I REALLY do love this site.
Again, thanks to everyone here...Oscar is coming along because of ALOT of help here.

[JoeHall]

I used a battery powered WalMart drill a couple of weeks ago to prime the 289 I rebuilt. The pressure relief valve popped open early on, but I just continued to spin it till oil was coming out all the rockers and the oil galley was filling up the cavities from the lifters. Never thought about cranking the motor over, and not sure how that might work, but will spin the pump again after adjusting the valves.

[K-Hawk]

keep the valve covers on , if not don't stand near the sides, oil will be squirting out.

[kmac530]

That much I knew...lol.
They are on and ready. Just fix my starter, crank while priming OP, drop in distributor/plugs/wires and try to fire it up...wooo hooo, maybe today if my neck can hold up long enough.

[JoeHall]

keep the valve covers on , if not don't stand near the sides, oil will be squirting out.

If just priming by rotating pump only, as I thought was meant here, the oil does not squirt anywhere. It simply oozes out around the rockers, lifters, etc. It will eventually overflow and drip down the sides of the engine, but you'll have plenty of time to stop before that happens. If the engine is running, that's a whole nother story, of course it will sling everywhere, but that is mostly because of the moving rockers.

On another note, if you don't have a drill, you can also use a speeder wrench, just takes a little more elbow grease.

[kmac530]

Okay, I am a bit scared. I got my starter fixed and installed. I put my homemade oil pump primer rod in my 1/2" drill motor, 110v not battery this time, and inserted it easily into the motor with the drill in reverse, counterclockwise.

As soon as I start spinning it, there is alot of torque on the drill to turn the pump, even when I started cranking the motor over the torque on the drill may have dropped a tiny bit, but not much at all.
I mean there is alot of torque against the drill.

I have done alot of non-Stude motors and I have felt resistance from a high pressure or high volumn oil pump, but this is alot. Too much I fear.
I am sure that my oil galleys are clear, my bearing tolerances have been checked, measured, and double checked, all well within specs. New check valve and spring on the front. Complete oil pump rebuilt kit from SI in my engine overhaul kit. Rocker arms and shafts cleaned and blown out.

I am going crazy. Any ideas?
It is enough pressure against the drill motor that I am worried it could shear the drive pin on the distributor shaft.

HELP.

[jackb]

can you turn the crankshaft with a big socket ?

[kmac530]

Yes. I can turn it over no problem. If I pull the rocker arms off so there is no valve spring tension it turns over fine. The springs are very tight, but I knew that would be the case since they are new and R2+ HD racing springs.

I do not have the distributor in yet and am just trying to prime it for the moment.

What if I drain the oil and turn the pump over dry, well not dry and not fast just not buried in oil, and see if that turn easier?
I turned the pump over after I rebuilt it and it turned just fine.

[kmac530]

Come on guys....no ideas?
Pull the motor and tear it back down to re-inspect every galley, line, tube, hole, port, and the pump? Time I don't have and a new gasket kit.... I am ready to throw something.

[kmac530]

Ok so update, My wife got home and I had her sit in the truck and watch the gauges.
I spun the oil pump with my 110v corded 1/2" Black and Decker drill motor. It took 10 to 20 seconds to get to 20 lbs of psi. Then another 20 seconds or so to get to 40 psi and by the time it got to 40 psi my drill motor was LITERALLY smoking out of both sides.

I stopped, pulled out my rig, set down my drill and shaft driver slowly so I didn't bend it, and went to look at the gauges {maybe 15-20 seconds after stopping spinning} and it still had about 30 psi and was slowly dropping.... as I watched it. Maybe another 20+ seconds before it dropped all the way down.

HELP....
{not yelling at you guys....just screaming in frustrating I guess}

[JoeHall]

You can check the oil pump for binding by spinning it backward. It should spin easily, and you should hear a gurgling sound from the pan as the pump pukes air from the pickup screen.

If the oil is cold and thick, the pump can require a bit of torque to turn. But from your description, it sounds like the pressure relief valve may be stuck closed, even though you said it is new. If it is opening, you should hear a sound that can best be described as wet flatulation (trying to be clean here) from the timing cover while you are spinning the pump. If you cannot hear that sound, remove the valve assembly, lay the cap and spring aside, then insert about a 12" long piece of safety wire thru the tiny hole in the center of the valve, then tie a knot in the end of the wire that sticks out the engine side of the valve. Use a small screwdriver to push the valve from backside in, till is it completely seated, then pull the wire to drag it back out. It should float back and forth FULL TRAVEL without any drag whatsoever. If it will not, use a .45 cal. bore brush on the end of a drill, and carb cleaner to clean the bore. Then try the fit again. It may take up to an hour of patience, but do not settle for anything less than free floating, full travel of the valve. Of course, the carb cleaner will contaminate the oil, unless you drain it first. Use oil no thicker than 10W30 initially.

The PR valve is often not given the attention it deserves during a rebuild. If hot tanked, the process will often mess up the surface of the bore enough to stick the valve.

Just my 2 cents.

[tbirdtbird]

Can you pull a gallery pipe plug close to the pump or otherwise loosen a fitting close to the pump and try the drill again to see
1) if it requires less torque
2) if any oil comes out

what was the upshot with the starter?