355 Priming engine oil pressure before starting

Hi All,

I'm looking at ways to prime the engine with oil before starting it, especially for when the car will be sitting for a month or more without being driven.

One thought was how to spin just the oil pump without cranking the engine at all, to get the oil flowing around ti build up pressure first.

Alternatively, have the ability to crank the engine, but with no spark or fuel.

I've done this on my track bikes by pulling the fuse so it will crank but not start, what's the F355 equivalent?

Some many say it's not needed, but, I like the idea of being able to minimize engine wear, especially the top engine, in a highly strung engine ( this will be for my TODA engine build ).

 

Decisions, decisions....

If you filled out your profile, we might know if you have a 2.7 or 5.2, US/Euro/UK car, an F1....

Pull the injector relay/s? Not sure if the car will crank on a 5.2 (with immobilizer). You may hear some buzzing noises (Secondary Air Pump) when you pull the relay and turn on the key.

Jumper the starter

Jumper the starter relay on a 5.2 F1 (key required for cranking). Pins 30/87
Jumper the starter relay on a 5.2 (gated). Pins 30/87. No key required... Car will happily crash into your garage wall if you just jumper the relay if the car is not in neutral.

 

I was wondering about that...just having an 'oil prime' button that without doing anything else, just powered the starter relay to get things spinning.

 

Totally unnecessary. Just trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist.

 

You can use your immo to achieve that.

 

My 5.2 (gated) doesn't crank with the immobiliser active.
Cranking on the F1 is controlled by the F1 TCU, so you can leave the immo active and still crank.

 

My manual 5.2 is the same.

If I want to turn the engine over, I remove the fuel pump fuse.

 

Amen.

 

Using a high Molly/ZDDP/Titanium oil should provide more than sufficient protection for those early seconds.
Redline 10W40 is loaded on Molly and ZDDP (and no Ti as far as I know). That is precisely why I was considering it. But then it turns out it is also extremely high in Ca, which would compete with the other two. So I am not sure how effective are those antiwear agents

 

Why doesn't the problem exist?

 

Cranking over supplies enough oil to the crank journals . There might be sufficient residual lub left as well from the previous ( long time ago I know ) run .

As long as you don’t immediately redline it with 2 secs of running you will be ok .

Just let it tick over for a few mins before attempting manoeuvres …..talking a modern Ferrari that’s been stood idle for a long period .

I know certain marine diesels ( bigger 20-34 L ones ) won’t let it fire unless the oil pressure has reached a certain point .ECU controls this .
So after extended sleeping ( winter haul out etc ) they crank over a bit longer , but we are talking crank shafts 6 ft long here and 45 L sump capacity, 15/40 W oil .

Back on topic .
The forum isn’t congested with “new shell threads “ and “another big end job “ etc etc like say cam belts , fuse 30 A for the HVAC .Sticky plastics , Slow down light , dropping a bank , ALL of which afflicts every 348 owner and few more for 355 guys .

 

Two possible ways:

1. Install a push-button switch to crank the engine (without having to turn the ignition "on") - you can do this via the existing starter relay or via an additional relay. Having an additional relay will avoid energising some other circuits that may be linked to the coil of the existing starter relay.

2. Install an Accusump - the smallest would be fine as it would practically only be used for engine pre-lube.

 

I had an accusump for several years many years back. I installed it trying to help oil starvation during hard (I think left - I don't recall now) corners. Didn't work. I left it on to simply use a a pre lube before start up but finally just ripped it all out because it made oil changes a bit more complicated. Seem like I was always leaving dirty oil in the thing. It became more of a pain in the ass than anything else.

When I removed it I was shocked to find how the shop spliced it in.

You want it? I still have it in a box.

 

The oil film on bearings is what lubricates them. The film stays for decades after the engine is shut down. In 47 years working on Ferrari professionally we never rebuild engines for worn out bearings. Pistons, rings, cylinders, valves and guides wear out. Often the bearings are good enough to be reused.
What problem are you trying to cure?

 

On my car ('98 GTB) if I don't lock the doors, I can crank it and it won't fire. Press the immobilizer button once (so the lights flash), or lock/unlock the car, and it fires. When it's been sitting for weeks I'll give it a quick crank to create oil pressure before starting. I know it's pointless but it makes me feel better.

 

I know exactly how you feel...