Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Priming oil for start up

Okay so this may be a dumb question but here we go

So I have a 292 I am turbocharging and building an intake for getting close on every thing to getting it started I had broke in the engine with a carb before hand maybe 1.5 years ago but has been bumped around since so I was going to reprise the engine with the turbo now bolted on and I don't see oil coming out of the rocker arms only slightly

I remember it having 40 ish psi last time at idle but even with a high speed drill and turning the engine no oil squints out just slightly run out of some valve and oil is barely coming through the turbo

Changed oil and filter

Same thing I am running 15-40 and it is cold 40 but I would think it would still pick up and pressurize am I doing something wrong this time?

If your feeling resistance against the drill as you're pulling the trigger, then you're spinning it in the right direction. You also need to rotate the engine by hand occasionally to allow the oil to flow through all the oil holes in the crank to eventually find their way to all areas of the engine. There just isn't a direct path for the oil to travel unless you rotate the crank as well. All the oil holes simply don't align with passages in the block to let you do that. That's why often times, spinning the engine with the starter produces more oil pressure than with just a drill, even though the starter and drill spin at close to the same speed.

Are you using a distributor housing? If not, the top end will not get oil.

MBHD

That's true as well Hank. Good call. The same is true for small blocks and big blocks also.

No I was not using a housing hank I was thinking about that as well

I have the starter hooked up and the plugs out ran key while priming that would make sense

Oil is still not coming from the turbo

It is plumbed to the rear port on the block on the passanger side I believe that is a pressurized port am I wrong?

Josh, pm sent!

How does the housing effect oil flow to the head

The housing fills an area along one of the oil passages that is open if the housing isn't installed. This passage also oils the distributor gear and the lower part of the shaft.

We also discovered on the dyno back in the early 80's that the distributor also is the source of a pretty large internal oil leak on virtually all engines that have the distributor as part of the oil route. We created what we called "left side oiling", which took the distributor bore out of the oil route and diverted it down the left lifter bank and crossed it over at the front cam bearing to feed the right side lifter bank(V8 of course). This mod yielded a steady 10 psi increase in idle oil pressure with wet sump systems, if that gives you an idea of how bad a leak it creates. The distributor fits pretty sloppy into the bore in the block and doesn't seal around the oil galley path well at all, especially depending on the machining tolerances of both the block and distributor housing. It can also lead to oil pressure problems that are hard to pinpoint even in fresh rebuilds.

On the Chevy 6 inline 6 and the 4 cyl the distributor and housing do nothing but turn the oil pump drive. They are not like a V8 and use the distributor housing to block a oil path.

I bet if the engine was turning over the pressure would get where you want.
I bet the oil bypass was opening in the oil pump, it will limit the pressure to what ever the spring is set to. The higher viscousity oil will also bypass easier than thin oil. Bet everything is OK.

Drill should be running clockwise.

I didn't use a housing and instead used a long flathead screwdriver I had laying around that fit perfectly, cut off the handle, and put it in the chuck. Got 40 psi just 2 weeks ago doing that.

If you have lower pressure could it be at the turbo? I've heard that many installations with turbos have a pressure reducer put inline as they don't need, or want, that kind of pressure.

See that's what I was thinking Tom I was looking in there and I couldn't see any passages just the bore where the distributor sits I'll still hood a pressure Guage to it to see what I am getting g tomorrow

Where did you plumb your oil feed line in to your turbo Tom?

And are you running a pressure reducer?

Usually only ball bearing turbos will use an oil restricted orifice, but check with the maunufacture.
MBHD

You're more familiar with turbos and inlines: would adding the turbo oil lines into the mix lower the oil pressure? I would think it would depending on the plumbing, wouldn't it?

LowboyGMC: where is the high pressure line tapped?

It would lower the pressure some, but not to the point where it will not get oil to the top end.
I don't think there is a problem with your oiling.
Are you ready to start it? If so, run it up for a bit, look at your oil pressure and make sure you do not hear any loud valve train noises.

MBHD

My feed like is a 3/16th line from the rear port passanger side around to the top of the turbo

It is ball bearing it's the 60 series from turbonetics

Not close enough to run it

I added a oil pressure sender to the front port passanger side and cranked it with the plugs out via a battery it was getting 37 ish psi from that port but I had the same Guage on the port the turbo is hooked to now


I had the dizzy in and pumped it with the drill for like 30 second then cranked it pressure was up no oil to head

Josh,
I used one of the rear ports in the oil galley, above the starter. The oil galley is full size from front to rear on these engines. The oil pump is a direct port to the galley with the oil filter in the middle.
I have seen on some engines when taking apart, crud buildup behind a pipeplug. When you pull the plug, the crud will be like a wall. Kinda like plaque in a artery.
Maybe pull your oil line and crank once without it. The oil pressure should be very obvious. Likely squirting out.

The engine has been built and the oil port wasn't plugged before when it was running the oil pressure Guage but I can understand hook it and see

How much oil should be coming out of the return?