Hi again:
Thanks for the responses to my oil priming problem. I had never had so
much trouble pumping up oil pressure before starting an engine --
especially one with a so-called "self-priming" pump! I've resurrected
many engines that have sat unused for years, and this was the most
difficult one I've seen, in terms of getting the oil to flow.
I've succeeded in getting oil pressure now, and started the engine
successfully. Geoff Love's response came closest, in terms of what I
found.
This pump is made with two ports that seem to be intended specifically
for priming it. One is on the block, directly above the pump, and the
other is on the pump housing near the oil filter canister. When I was
failing to get pressure, I was pumping oil into the port by the filter,
and watching it run out of the oil galley at an open port. Cranking the
engine would not produce flow in the galley. When I succeeded, I
pumped oil into the port on the block, and watched it come out near the
filter. Lots of air bubbles came out too, and when they stopped I tried
cranking the engine again. I got a good gusher of oil from the oil
galley with only a little cranking. Then I buttoned everything up and
watched oil come out at the rockers.
I think one of the keys to success here was using a large syringe,
instead of a pump oiler, to put the oil into the system. The syringe
could put a lot of oil in all at once. I guess the oil must need to
fill the passages and the filter thoroughly, in order to force the air
out. Someone suggested using a preoiling device made specifically to
pressurize the system -- I'm sure that would work well if you had one at
hand, much as an AcuSump system works on a race engine.
I guess "self-priming", in the context of this car, means that you can
prime it yourself, if you know how.
John Dean
Charlottesville, VA USA
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