The Ford Barn

glenn in camino · 02-06-2017, 08:23 PM

I'm about to restart an engine that I've been working on for the last few months. I'd like to pour a quart of oil in the distributor hole to insure the oil pump has oil at the startup. The distributor is in place and I would rather not remove it as I had a difficult time getting it in. How can I add oil to this engine without removing the distributor? If I pour a few quarts of oil down a spark plug hole, and let it set overnight, will it get down to the oil pump?

Drive Shaft Dave · 02-06-2017, 08:30 PM

Just put it in the oil fill tube, the oil pump will be submerged enough. By filling through the dist. hole you would be adding oil to the valve chamber thus getting oil to the main bearings.

Tom Wesenberg · 02-06-2017, 09:45 PM

You could remove the drain tube on the side, then use a pump style oil can to squirt at least a quart of oil into the valve chamber.

Ed H. · 02-06-2017, 09:51 PM

Quote:

If I pour a few quarts of oil down a spark plug hole, and let it set overnight, will it get down to the oil pump?

Gosh do not do that. You cannot compress a liquid. You will certainly do engine damage when you go to crank it over. Crank it over with the plugs out, this will prime the pump, you will be fine when you fire it up.

Art Newland · 02-06-2017, 10:13 PM

I put new gears in an oil pump this summer. Just for kicks I put it in a coffee can with some clean oil and spun it up with a cordless drill (slowly). It picked up the oil very quickly, I bet by the third revolution oil was coming out the top. You could do what Ed H suggests, get the engine spun over 6-8 revolutions, the let it set for a few minutes and let the oil run down to the main bearings. Buy the time you get the spark plugs back in she should be ready to go.

Big hammer · 02-07-2017, 08:05 AM

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I would squirt some motor oil thru the spark plug holes, let it set over night. Then loosen vavle chamber drain tube, crank motor over until oil flows out the drain back tube. Clean and tighten the tube, crank the motor over one more time. Finish putting plugs back in, then normal start up for cold engine. Ignition swich on, fuel vavle on, etc, pull on the choke, and hit the starter. It should start in 3 or4 revolutions. Don't get in a hurry to here it run again! Enjoy the moment! :-)

fordfixer · 02-07-2017, 10:51 AM

I think the real question, is why is the distr. so hard to get in or out. Once removed and the housing cleaned. It should go back in quite easily. If the engine has been timed already, nothing is changed by removing the dizzy. I always pour two quarts down the hole before starting a engine.

Jim Brierley · 02-07-2017, 01:29 PM

As drive shaft dave says, the pump is submerged in oil, and the tray full so the rods will have oil immediately. The problem is getting oil to the mains. Oil must be pumped into the valve galley to gravity feed the mains. This will take maybe a minute at most but it is a good idea to dump a quart down thw dizzy hole. Up to you.

Bruce_MO · 02-07-2017, 01:59 PM

I bought a new engine from AEM several years ago, and Rich's instructions at start-up were to loosen the oil return tube and expect to see oil flowing in 2 minutes as I recall, or shut it down if longer than that. I had rebuilt the oil pump myself, and thought I'd be ok... its a pretty easy task. But it took longer than 2 minutes... closer to three as I remember it. So I pulled the pan and installed a new pump from Bratton's. I also checked a couple rod bearings to make sure that things were OK. I then had oil flowing in about a minute with the new pump. To make this check a lot easier, I took an old oil return tube, cut a 3" section out of it, and fitted a section of clear 3/4" ID tubing and hose clamps from Home Depot. Now I can see oil flowing without making a big mess.

Pouring oil down the distributor hole is great, but if there's a pretty long lag from the time you pour it to the time you start the engine, the oil might not be there. Not sure how long it would take for all the oil to leak past the clearances.

02-06-2017, 08:23 PM	#1
glenn in camino Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Camino, CA. Posts: 3,086	engine startup I'm about to restart an engine that I've been working on for the last few months. I'd like to pour a quart of oil in the distributor hole to insure the oil pump has oil at the startup. The distributor is in place and I would rather not remove it as I had a difficult time getting it in. How can I add oil to this engine without removing the distributor? If I pour a few quarts of oil down a spark plug hole, and let it set overnight, will it get down to the oil pump?

02-06-2017, 08:30 PM	#2
Drive Shaft Dave Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: New hope Minnesota Posts: 742	Re: engine startup Just put it in the oil fill tube, the oil pump will be submerged enough. By filling through the dist. hole you would be adding oil to the valve chamber thus getting oil to the main bearings.

02-06-2017, 09:45 PM	#3
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: engine startup You could remove the drain tube on the side, then use a pump style oil can to squirt at least a quart of oil into the valve chamber.

02-06-2017, 10:13 PM	#5
Art Newland Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Lynden, WA Posts: 1,564	Re: engine startup I put new gears in an oil pump this summer. Just for kicks I put it in a coffee can with some clean oil and spun it up with a cordless drill (slowly). It picked up the oil very quickly, I bet by the third revolution oil was coming out the top. You could do what Ed H suggests, get the engine spun over 6-8 revolutions, the let it set for a few minutes and let the oil run down to the main bearings. Buy the time you get the spark plugs back in she should be ready to go.

02-07-2017, 08:05 AM	#6
Big hammer Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Land of Lincoln Posts: 3,166	Re: engine startup Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I would squirt some motor oil thru the spark plug holes, let it set over night. Then loosen vavle chamber drain tube, crank motor over until oil flows out the drain back tube. Clean and tighten the tube, crank the motor over one more time. Finish putting plugs back in, then normal start up for cold engine. Ignition swich on, fuel vavle on, etc, pull on the choke, and hit the starter. It should start in 3 or4 revolutions. Don't get in a hurry to here it run again! Enjoy the moment! :-)

02-07-2017, 10:51 AM	#7
fordfixer Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Crete, Illinois Posts: 296	Re: engine startup I think the real question, is why is the distr. so hard to get in or out. Once removed and the housing cleaned. It should go back in quite easily. If the engine has been timed already, nothing is changed by removing the dizzy. I always pour two quarts down the hole before starting a engine.

02-07-2017, 01:29 PM	#8
Jim Brierley Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Temecula, CA Posts: 4,113	Re: engine startup As drive shaft dave says, the pump is submerged in oil, and the tray full so the rods will have oil immediately. The problem is getting oil to the mains. Oil must be pumped into the valve galley to gravity feed the mains. This will take maybe a minute at most but it is a good idea to dump a quart down thw dizzy hole. Up to you.

02-07-2017, 01:59 PM	#9
Bruce_MO Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 435	Re: engine startup I bought a new engine from AEM several years ago, and Rich's instructions at start-up were to loosen the oil return tube and expect to see oil flowing in 2 minutes as I recall, or shut it down if longer than that. I had rebuilt the oil pump myself, and thought I'd be ok... its a pretty easy task. But it took longer than 2 minutes... closer to three as I remember it. So I pulled the pan and installed a new pump from Bratton's. I also checked a couple rod bearings to make sure that things were OK. I then had oil flowing in about a minute with the new pump. To make this check a lot easier, I took an old oil return tube, cut a 3" section out of it, and fitted a section of clear 3/4" ID tubing and hose clamps from Home Depot. Now I can see oil flowing without making a big mess. Pouring oil down the distributor hole is great, but if there's a pretty long lag from the time you pour it to the time you start the engine, the oil might not be there. Not sure how long it would take for all the oil to leak past the clearances.