PSA for camshaft expansion plugs+ flex plate!

[Erik the Awful]

There are some people who will die on a hill defending their position that you have to use a torque wrench on trim screws. Lube the bearings and prime until you get oil flow through the rockers. Done. Drink a beer and enjoy life with the two minutes and thirty seconds you saved.

 

[any4xx]

And if using a cheap priming tool, be sure it is chucked up TIGHT in the drill. Once upon a time I was priming a new engine when I noticed the drill didn’t have much resistance. Then I noticed metal flakes were raining down the distributor hole from the shaft of the priming tool being ground away by the drill chuck. It was so fun tearing down a brand new build to clean fresh metal flakes out of it.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Instead of a drill I use a 1/4" air ratchet and a socket. It spins fast enough.

 

[Hipster]

I participate on multiple forums, GM based. (Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Buick, Cadillac)

You'd be surprised at the number of folks who spend HOURS trying to get oil to squirt over the fenders, and even burn-up drill motors trying to achieve that. My God, some of them are trying to do this with pure-junk cordless drills. Prime, turn the crank, prime, turn the crank...if they were getting hourly pay, they'd be rich.

By the time you've put the distributor back in, all those oil galleries have drained again via the bearing clearance, lifter-bore clearance, vented oil-gallery plugs, etc. Perhaps via the oil filter if it doesn't have an anti-drainback valve that actually works.

You don't think that GM--Ford--Chrysler primes their engines before they're fired for the first time off the assembly line...do you? The aftermarket obsession with "priming" is more superstition than actually useful.

Gotta agree. The engine drains back and over priming will actually rinse all that nice cam goop you put on away. Plenty of people still using HFT cams , not everybody is having issues.

 

[BeXtreme]

You'd be surprised at the number of folks who spend HOURS trying to get oil to squirt over the fenders, and even burn-up drill motors trying to achieve that. My God, some of them are trying to do this with pure-junk cordless drills. Prime, turn the crank, prime, turn the crank...if they were getting hourly pay, they'd be rich.

Not surprised, when people don't understand the system or WHY you are doing something, they tend to go to one or the other extreme. Makes total sense that you end up with two camps, one going to PRIME IT FOREVER and the other going to just prime it until you see oil pressure.

By the time you've put the distributor back in, all those oil galleries have drained again via the bearing clearance, lifter-bore clearance, vented oil-gallery plugs, etc. Perhaps via the oil filter if it doesn't have an anti-drainback valve that actually works.

That's not how that works at all. There are LOTS of places in the galleries where air can be trapped and oil will stay after it purges all the air out. I have timed priming several engines and it does indeed take about 2 minutes for you to start getting oil out of all the rockers. The GM instructions.. and most aftermarket builders, tell you to rotate the engine over periodically and prime for 2-1/2 minutes for a reason. You are filling the lifters and purging a large volume of air out of the galleys. If you think it's totally fine for it to take 2 minutes to get oil to the #7 cylinder lifters while it's running... go for it.

You don't think that GM--Ford--Chrysler primes their engines before they're fired for the first time off the assembly line...do you? The aftermarket obsession with "priming" is more superstition than actually useful.

Yes, I absolutely do think that they do that when its practical and appropriate to the engine. There are so many different models and types out there that you obviously can't give a blanket "YES they ALL do it", but in some cases its actually faster to fill the engine with oil by pressure priming it through a galley plug anyways. In other cases they can have a computer test procedure that kills fuel injection for a 30 second cranking cycle before it fires to allow for oil priming and positive oil pressure before firing.

 

[Schurkey]

You are filling the lifters and purging a large volume of air out of the galleys. If you think it's totally fine for it to take 2 minutes to get oil to the #7 cylinder lifters while it's running... go for it.

Why on Earth would you install "dry" lifters into an engine? MY engines get the lifters pumped-up with an oil can filled with ATF (thin at room temp) so that I can verify lifter leak-down rate, and I'm assured that they'll pass oil to the pushrod seat. There's no need to "prime" (actually, prelube) the engine to fill the lifters because I've done that during assembly.

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This does mean that I have to set lifter preload carefully, so as not to open a valve into a piston while the lifter is "bleeding down".

As for using a drill motor, on engines with submerged oil pumps (NOT Cadillac, Buick, Mopar B/RB, LS, Vega, etc.) I just use an otherwise-useless old distributor housing, and turn it by HAND, about 1 to 1 1/2 revolutions per second although the actual speed isn't real critical. Something like 60 to 90 RPM is perfectly adequate. Oldsmobile doesn't even need a distributor core, a 5/16 six-point socket on a speeder handle or ratchet + extension works good.

On engines that have external oil pumps--Mopar B/RB, Cadillac, older Buicks--priming by spinning the pump with a drill motor or other powered device is CRUCAL (unlike submerged oil pump engines) and can take a good, long time to get the pump to pull oil through two feet of tubing and drilled passages sealed with paper gaskets and/or O-rings.

In other cases they can have a computer test procedure that kills fuel injection for a 30 second cranking cycle before it fires to allow for oil priming and positive oil pressure before firing.

I never understood excess cranking of the engine to achieve oil pressure. What takes the starter motor 30 seconds to do, takes a running engine about three seconds. I would avoid the wear on the starter, the wear on the flexplate gearteeth, and the additional rotations of the crank in the bearings.

In short...FIRE THE BYTCH UP. ALL the prelube has been done at engine assembly. ALL the verification of non-blocked oil passages was done during parts-cleaning BEFORE assembly.

If a person is sharp enough to use vented oil-gallery plug(s) at the front of the engine, air is purged almost immediately upon seeing oil pressure. I think this is the right size for "880" Vortec and some TBI blocks. They come standard from GM, but most soft-plug and oil-gallery plug kits don't have vented plugs for that location. (I make my own with a lil' tiny drill bit and a pin vice.)

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[Insert Quarter]

I never understood excess cranking of the engine to achieve oil pressure. What takes the starter motor 30 seconds to do, takes a running engine about three seconds.

ALL the prelube has been done at engine assembly.

From what I’ve read and understand, the priming debate most likely started years ago because someone used an oil primer like this one from Moroso #62200:

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If you only changed the oil pump, this primes the oil pump well and you’re good to go. If you need to prime more than the oil pump, using that style primer in a SBC leads to this:

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This area is normally sealed when the distributor is installed, which has a groove to allow for oil to flow to the passenger side oil and those lifters, pushrods, etc. If the distributor is removed to prime the engine, you’ll need to use a priming tool. But be careful, notice the Speedmaster difference:

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Make sure you have a priming tool that lines up properly to seal the oil galleys or make one from an old distributor.

Mahle Clevite recommends: Preferred method: remove the distributor and use an oil pump priming tool while manually rotating the engine by hand. (Mahle Engine Break-in Procedures: page 2 under Prestart Checks & Procedures)

Mahle Clevite TB-2071: Because oil must be present in the bearing clearance space in order for the shaft to build an oil film, pre-lubricating an engine before initial start-up is extremely important. Actually pumping oil through the engine’s oil galleys is the only effective way to pre-lubricate the engine. This can be done on some engines by actually driving the oil pump with an old distributor shaft in an electric drill.

Bearings need a hydrodynamic wedge to keep the crankshaft and camshaft from touching the bearings. Assembly lube does not create a sufficient hydrodynamic wedge for this, using the correct viscosity oil creates a proper hydrodynamic wedge.

Assembly lube is used to keep the parts lubricated while you’re assembling the engine (Installing pistons, degreeing the camshaft, setting lash, etc). Ideally, most of the assembly lube gets washed off the bearing surfaces during priming as it does a poor job of protecting the bearings once the engine fires and are under load. (FYI - For a flat tappet cam, preferably use one that’s been nitrided. Either way, use a calcium sulfonate complex grease for the lobes and don’t worry, there won’t be enough oil pushed past the lifters during priming the engine to wash it off.) (PSA – Never mix greases, the soaps used in different greases may not be compatible and wash each other out, effectively leaving no grease on the part.)

I think this debate originally arose from someone using the wrong priming tool, add in some Narcissism, lack of knowledge about hydrodynamic lubrication, and you have (a VERY CONFIDENT person saying, VERY CONFIDENTLY) “I primed the engine for infinity, burnt up my drill, and never got oil at the rockers” or “Priming is overrated, prime for X amount of time and you’re done, that’s why god made assembly lube, I’ve been doing it that way for X# of years” or “XYZ Company, and aftermarket short block suppliers are idiots to recommend this, it’s a waste of time.”

We’re hardwired to believe someone who talks confidently (regardless it’s actual knowledge or just narcissism). If somebody says something VERY CONFIDENTLY, people will tend to listen to them, and those that don’t know will also believe them. And then this incorrect information gets passed along by well-meaning people.

That’s my best guess as to why this debate seems to come up repeatedly.

At the end of the day, if I’m installing an engine, and something happens, I prefer to be able to say:
“I followed the install recommendations of AERA, Chevrolet, and Mahle Clevite.” Not:
“I did it the way SoAndSo said to”

On that note:
The OP was installing an engine from a builder that forgot to install the rear cam plug, I wonder if he got his ECU programmed and fired it up?

 

[L31MaxExpress]

I fill the filter, fill the pan, verify oil pressure before dropping the distributor in. Then it is ready to go. I could spin the drill over long enough to fill the filter, but it is quicker to just put oil in it while I am lubing the rubber seal. Oil pressure builds this quickly on a fresh build.

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[Erik the Awful]

Yes, I absolutely do think that they do that when its practical and appropriate to the engine.

I've been to Nissan's engine plant in Smyrna, TN, and I don't recall them doing any priming. The engine went together, got filled, and went right on the dyno. If they got primed, it was done in seconds.

Assembly lube is used to keep the parts lubricated while you’re assembling the engine (Installing pistons, degreeing the camshaft, setting lash, etc). Ideally, most of the assembly lube gets washed off the bearing surfaces during priming as it does a poor job of protecting the bearings once the engine fires and are under load.

When running without a load, engines don't need as much oil as people think. We've all seen it plenty. A wore out small block will run just fine reading 0 psi at idle, but under acceleration you want that pressure to come up.

There are LOTS of places in the galleries where air can be trapped and oil will stay after it purges all the air out.

Most of your oil drains back to the pan when you shut the engine down. You will have air pockets. That's why people claim that most engine wear occurs during startup, but in reality the oil film is still there between the engine parts, and it lasts long enough to get the oil pumping again. If you're worried about air pockets in the oil, do you run a pre-lube system or an accumulator so you can lube your engine before every start?

 

[Insert Quarter]

We've all seen it plenty. A wore out small block will run just fine reading 0 psi at idle

Don't speak for everyone, I've literally never seen this.

There's been a lot of VERY CONFIDENT talk, but nobody has posted anything to support it.

I'm curious why some people will passionately disregard the recommendations of Chevrolet, the bearing manufacturer (Mahle Clevite), and AERA.

Reminds me of buddies' dad changing his oil. He pulls the filter, drains the oil pan, bumps the engine a couple times "to make sure all the old oil is out" LOL, puts a new filter on dry, adds the new oil and done.

No amount of explaining why that's a bad idea changes his mind. LOL