Pre-oiler

[grannyknot]

In our climate my engines sit for 4 months sometimes and first start up always makes me cringe thinking about all those surfaces with minimal oil protection.

So I have put together a pre-oiler that will blast fresh oil into the oil circuit

before start up.

I was thinking the oil sender hole might be a good candidate, can anyone see a problem using it?

 

I welded an air nipple to the top of he fire extinguisher and will have 90lbs pressure on when I squeeze the handle.

 

[Zed Head]

Seems like a good spot.  But I wonder how much oil could flow back through the pump.  If oil makes it to the top end though, it seems safe to assume that it's also made it to the bottom end, since the system is designed to be balanced..  So a test with the valve cover off would indicate effectiveness.

 

How do you get the extra oil back out?

[grannyknot]

I thought I would start by opening the drain plug for about 7 seconds then blast a quart of oil in with the pre -oiler, start the engine and add or drain later after checking the dip stick.

I think eventually I'll get the timing down so it will be just a 2 step process.

 

It may be that I'm doing nothing but making myself feel better but with all the threads this year about destroyed cams... I have also timed my engine, 40 seconds from starting to crank the engine until the first dribbles of oil come out of the oiler bar and that is with a fairly new oil pump.

Anyway, it can't hurt and might help.

[zKars]

I think that removing the coil wire and just cranking in 10 second bursts for 3-4 cycles until you see some oil pressure prior to initial spring start up might accomplish about 90% of what you're doing with the clever oil injection apparatus.

This however would not allow one to have wonderful inventive ideas and then to be able to implement them with various machine, flame and spark producing tools. So forget I mentioned the above. Back to the shop! That's where I'm going!

[gnosez]

Go to a race track and watch how very expensive engines are started (ignition off, crank once twice, three times, ignition on, fire that puppy up).

Or get an Accusump.

[Chickenman]

Dry startups after extended storage are always a big concern on Vintage cars. Anything that can be done to get oil pressure to the parts quicker is helpful. Your pre-oiler or an Accusump is a very good idea. Other things that can help:

 

Synthetic oils have a big advantage over Dino oils during storage. Synthetic oils will cling or soak into the metals on a molecular level and provide added protection ( over Dino oils ) during long storage spells. It's an important point on Vintage cars or Specialty cars that may not be driven for months at a time

 

Of course you have to wait until the rings are seated ( on a new build ) till you start using Synthetics.

 

The oil sending unit location for your pre-oiler is very good. Goes straight to the main oil gallery and the bearings should get the oil first. Recommended location by Accusump. It's the bearings that I worry about more than Camshafts when the engine is sitting on a stand for a long time. Turning the engine over by hand ( on the stand ) won't damage the camshaft, ( as long as you used proper cam proper  lube on it  and the " Parkerizing " on a new Cam also helps protect it ) but the Main and Rod bearings are susceptible to being damaged by getting " wiped dry". It's why some bearings have a sacrificial layer of dry lubricant on them.

 

When the engine is all installed and ready to go... remove the valve cover, pour some fresh oil directly over the camshaft, then bolt things up again. That will provide extra protection till the oil gets up to the spray bar on the initial startup. After the camshaft is broken in ( 20 minutes at above 2,000 rpm minimum ) the delay of oil spray to camshaft is not as critical, and in fact, once the oil galleries are initially filled, they tend to remain filled. See explanation below.

 

• A note on oil filters. It is important to use the proper oil filter on our cars. Because the filter sits sideways on the engine, the factory filters feature an " Anti-Drainback " valve. This prevents the oil galleries from draining down when the engine is shut off. Some cheap oil filters don't use an " Anti-Drainback " valve or have one of very poor quality.  Buyer beware!!  ( BTW, the factory Nissan filters use a high quality Silicone ADB valve ).

Edited November 18, 2015 by Chickenman