spinning the oil pump.

[MotoMike]

Is there a way to spin the oil pump without cranking the engine? I know that after a long period of sitting or after a rebuild on my old big block chevy, you could pull the distributor and use a drill and a fixture made from an old distributor to spin the pump to get everything oiled before attemps at starting the engine.

[ccambern]

You could kick it over without the plug... other than that, nothing I can think of. I stressed about this after my rebuild and tried kicking to get oil to the top end. Didn't see any until I started the engine, then saw it almost immediately. I poured a little oil on the cam and valves before startup, as well.

[DewCatTea-Bob]

" Is there a way to spin the oil pump without cranking the engine? "

____ Not without pulling-off the oil-pump/F-R motor-cover.
Instead, consider pulling-off the cyl.head bevel-cover and then force-feed some oil into the hole in the center of the camshaft's tip-end.
Doing that may also prime the pump and feed the crankshaft a bit. _ (2 to 6oz of 20w-oil should due for this, but this job really shouldn't be needed).
__ I like your thoughtfulness Mike !


DUKE-Cheers,
-Bob

[MotoMike]

You could kick it over without the plug....

Yikes sounds like a lot of kicking

[MotoMike]

" Is there a way to spin the oil pump without cranking the engine? "

____ Not without pulling-off the oil-pump/F-R motor-cover.
Instead, consider pulling-off the cyl.head bevel-cover and then force-feed some oil into the hole in the center of the camshaft's tip-end.
Doing that may also prime the pump and feed the crankshaft a bit. _ (2 to 6oz of 20w-oil should due for this, but this job really shouldn't be needed).
__ I like your thoughtfulness Mike !


DUKE-Cheers,
-Bob

thanks Bob, and I like your answer. I knew there was an idea that my ponderings had not yet uncovered. will this method of oiling hose down the rockers and cam lobes as well? what kind of pressure would the pump usually provide? could I use a bottle of oil with a nipple on it and just squeeze it in, or would I need to get more sophisticated?

I know it probably isn't needed, the owners manual says to squirt some on the piston and cycle it a few times and that should do it. But if I'm going to be obsessed I might as well get lost on the small stuff.

[DewCatTea-Bob]

" will this method of oiling hose down the rockers and cam lobes as well? "

____ It won't get any oil into the rocker-spindles (which depend only on oil splatter/splash) but, the rocker-faces & cam-lobes is where most of the oil will go to ! _ And if the pressure is held very high for long, it will feed everything that the pump does.
__ It would be better to use warmed 40w-oil. _ (I used to take a half-quart of warmed 10w20 oil and mix in about 4-oz of well heated 'STP Oil Treatment' and shake-up together till cooled-down, and then keep that useful mix on-hand for piston-ring/piston assemblage & other such work like you're doing. _ [Cuz the STP helps to hold the oil to stay in place longer.])


" could I use a bottle of oil with a nipple on it and just squeeze it in, "

____ Yes, that's what I've always used... a 6oz plastic bottle (which came in woman's hair-dye kits - [I'd take the new bottle & let the wife continue using an old one]), which comes with a tapered-tip that can have a hole made in it's tip-end (instead of cutting-off as directed), and just stick the tip-end into the camshaft's hole firmly, and then give it a hard-squeeze.
__ Keep in mind that the longer the engine sits after you've pumped-in your priming oil, the less help your added-work will have ended-up doing for you._ So if you don't use a sticky-oil, then start the engine as soon as possible after your oil-injection job.

____ I think you're my type of mechanic, so you should make a good DUKE-mechanic !


Dukaddy-DUKEs,
-Bob

[ccambern]

You could kick it over without the plug....

Yikes sounds like a lot of kicking

It was. I gave up.

[MotoMike]

You could kick it over without the plug....

Yikes sounds like a lot of kicking

It was. I gave up.

I pre oiled it as Bob suggested and have had it running for a two days now. Today, I checked my valve lash and since I had the covers off, I took off the bevel cover too and with the plug out, and cycling the engine by hand with the kick starter, (quickly mind you)I was able to cause oil to pour out of the hole in the cam and onto the towe shaft bevel. So you were right Clark

[DewCatTea-Bob]

" cycling the engine by hand with the kick starter,
I was able to cause oil to pour out of the hole in the cam "

____ That should always be possible to do so long as the oil-pump is still primed with oil ! _ And you had injected-in enough oil to fill the oil-passage likely all the way back-down to help prime the pump.
__ When the pump has gotten all the oil drained-out of it, then there's only air left for it to try to draw & suck-up oil (from the oil-sump) with. _ Since the air really can't prime the pump, the pump has to turn at a relatively high RPM in order to create enough suction to draw-up any oil into it, (which then primes the pump).
Therefore, it can be relatively easy, or, next to impossible,, to pump oil up through the top-end while merely at just kickstarter-RPMs, (depending on if the pump is already primed or not).
__ While left parked on side-stand and with the pump having been left unused long enough for it to have lost it's grip of any previously primed oil, then in order to get the pump re-primed as easily as possible,, leaning the motor as far as possible to the right, should then allow the pump to more easily suck-up oil from the oil-sump and thus get primed with less effort. _ This method should be easier to do than injecting oil in-through the camshaft, (but still not as good, as far as the cam & rockers are concerned).


DUCATIly,
-Bob

[MotoMike]

Bob

I appreciate the pre-oiling tip. gave me a bit more peace of mind. since the hole is not strictly round, that is to say it has a slot across it, the nipple I used did'nt fit perfect and some oil squeezed out the slots and spilled onto the bevel gear, so a full quart didn't make it into the oiling system. it probably did fill it as you suggest as it offered a lot more resistance after about half was in the engine. All that said, the hand operated kick starter incident was after I had it running for two days and with a cold motor that had been sitting overnight. So I guess the pump must not bleed down that quickly. And I should have worn a glove as i got a blister on my hand from the kick start rubber