engine start up after rebuild

About to start my engine after I have rebuilt it - can oil pressure be achieved with the starter alone? Has anyone any tips before I take the plunge? Advice please!

 

Ya know I asked this same question before I was to fire my engine. I turned the engine with the starter quite a few times prior to trying to start the thing and I think it helped because oil pressure was nearly immediate upon start-up.

 

NEVER dry start and NEVER use starter ti prime a new engine. Most wear occurs in the first few minutes of a dry start and a lot of engines fail because a lag of oil pressure for just a few minutes or seconds. DO NOT believe any one who says you can use the starter to prime they were just lucky.

The only way to prime your engine is with an oil pig. Beg borrow or steal one. This comes w/over 45 years of engine building.
clay

 

I assume that all bearing locations are well fitted with oil during the rebuild.
If you want to be sure, remove the sparks and start without compression till
you have full oil pressure. The put them back and start as usual.
In the Ferrari Workshop manual is also the details engine treatment during the first
xx mls described with max, loads and revs...

 

If it was assembled with proper attention to lubricating moving parts then fire it up, you'll get oil to more parts faster that cranking the starter. methinks

 

If you use a good engine assembly lube that is way more gooey than regular oil, take plugs out and spin until pressure is achieved, you'll have no problems. If the engine is out, you can always install an oil pressure accumulator, more complex as there are plumbing issues.
Personally, this is a better procedure.
I think it is best to start any engine out of the car. The time it takes to set it up, is minimal compared to the redundancy in work you will be faced with, when for minor problems, you might have to take the engine out again.
If an engine Dyno is not feasible, the only way to break it in, is under load while driving the car.
Regards, Alberto

 

I am assuming that sparks are spark plugs.
How do you start a car without spark plugs.

 

"...The put them back and start as usual"
Regards, Alberto

 

Thank you for clearing that up.

 

I poured oil down one of the oil hoses going to the heat exchanger and some down the pressure sender hole at the back of the engine. Replaced the hose and installed a mechanical oil gauge at the sender hole and spun the engine over with spark plugs out, carburetors wide open and fuel pump off. Pressure came up very quickly.

 

Don't do it. Prime w/oil pig. This is too expensive an engine to risk with whatever these other guys are suggesting. if your local, no calif, I'll loan you one. Do not believe that the gooey-sticky assembly lube will save you, It has been known to plug up an oil galley in the crank and starve the rod journal. You will be using oil pressure to blow that goo through your bearing clearances which are not that big.If their method works, they are heros, if it doesn't you'll get a bunch of sorries and that's all.Beenn their,, done that.

clay

 

Clay, I'm sold...what is an oil pig? Where and how?
Thank you for the future happy moments, your reasoning makes perfect sense.
Regards, Alberto

 

PS. I take it, it is not this...http://oilpig.com/ possibly the Accusump I described before?

 

Guys, thanks so much for the advice. The engine is currently on a test bed I knocked up so it is easy to work on. I have been to the farm and borrowed a big oil pump off a tractor, with some simple plumbing I conected it just before the oil filter. With a fair bit of arm winding I eventually got 50 psi on the gauge and flushed through a gallon of oil!
I left the sump plug out and was able to drain out the initial circulated oil. Just got to sort out an issue with the ecu and I will be ready to start it up any day,
Thanks again - will post a pic in a couple of days

 

Boy! I would love to see a video of that!

 

Here is the hand opperated oil pig! Sarted it up tonight!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kze9OvoOs2M

Very satisfying, thanks for the advice, will post the dyno traces etc when re-installed and run in

 

VERY GOOD, YOU ARE SAFE AND SMART, A GOOD COMBINATION. I din't have to sede the results, they are predetermined
clay

 

gratz to you!

 

Its alive!

 

Ok, the engine now has about 4.5 hours on it and it is running sweetly. I checked the clearances and most have closed up, some just 0.02mm a couple 0.04mm and a couple 0.06mm. Is this normal? the heads had new seats placed. My plan is to set everything on the large side and then recheck after a thousand miles, is this sensible?

 

Nickrry

The valve clearances as you know are:-

Inlet. 0.15mm to 0.20mm
Ex. 0.25mm to 0.30mm

After my rebuild they closed up very slightly but as i set mine to mid way between these settings i.e 0.18mm & 0.28mm any variations would still be in tolerance

no point at all in setting them "loose" best to set them to the factory setting and check after 2 -3,000 miles. they shouldnt wear out that quick.

One point i would say, take your time to do it, run through each shim and make a note of the sizes without adjusting anything, reshim as necessary and once finished recheck them afterwards.