you do realize it takes like 2-3 quarts to fill it up right?

 

I disagree. It takes no time at all to build oil pressure. I built about 20 psi with mine in a matter of seconds. No plugs or accessories though. No added strain on the engine.

 

In those matter of seconds you have plenty of things rotating at a few hundred RPM with no oil in them. Bad idea. Why not just do it the right way.. it takes literally 5 minutes to pull the intake manifold off with the engine on a stand.

 

I personally don't understand the method of disconnecting the coil and turning the motor over. Priming the oil pump is just that...the oil pump with nothing else turning over. You are spinning the motor by turning it over...you would be doing the same thing by starting it and letting it idle.

But, i agree with Javier, priming isn't your problem if you motor has no oil pressure. First check the wire going to the oil pres. sensor to make sure that is at least hooked up. If it is, then you might want to take off the intake and spin the oil pump drive shaft. Oh and remove the oil pres. sensor first, after spinning the oil pump shaft for awhile you should notice oil comming out of the hole where the sensor goes.

....if you get no oil you have probs, lets just hope your motor is ok. Probly gona have to take the motor out and check the oil pump. You might want to check your bearings also to make sure you didn't do any damage to them by running the motor with no oil pres.

Good luck
James

 

And as mentioned, do check your oil pressure sender.

Mine literally snapped off during the engine swap and putting the engine back in from the bottom. It read 0. With the wire disconnected the gauge will read *full* pressure.

 

my motor is 383 brand new castrol 10w 30 motor oil factory oil pan high performance oil pump...im ready to drive just no oil pressure

 

Did you properly set pickup height? Did you check the pressure sender to make sure it's not broken? How did the engine go in, from the top of bottom? Very easy to break it when it comes in the bottom.

 

Very easy to break it when it goes in from the top also.

 

Obviously, part of the process of priming the system is to manually rotate the crank after you have run the pump for a minute or so and allowed pressurized oil to fill the galleys and reach all the parts. Just running the pump by itself without rotating the crank serves no purpose.

 

when it was running was you motor ticking and making lots of noise?
if so no oil pressure.
if it was quiet, then check your sending unit and wires.
the way i like to prime a motor is to spin the oil pump with a drill untill i see oil comming out of the push rods. then once the motor is in, without the plugs installed i spin the motor over for a least a min utill i see pressure on the gauge. that way you know if your gauges are woking and you will have instant pressure upon start up. the reason you do not want to do this while running is because you will build heat real quick with no oil pressure can be real bad on your motor. call me cautous, call it not a good thing to do but it works for me.
good luck and i hope you figure this out.

 

I laugh when some of you are so **** about priming before starting. Taking the coil wire off and cranking till you have pressure is more than enough. You dont even need to do that. I take engines apart all the time that ran with zero oil pressre for 30 seconds or more. The bearings always look good. As long as you dont continue to drive it, you're ok. So cranking the engine to build oil pressure sure as hell isnt going to hurt anything

 

I agree w/ the turning the crank. This should turn the cam which will turn the oil pump driveshaft. Is there anything wrong with this method? I am about to do it tonight...

 

You've read the thread. There is no consensus.

 

Tell it like it is Shoebox!!!

In the order which i would recommend (please feel free to correct, add to, or change this):

Yank the manifold & do it with a priming tool and drill until it comes out the pushrods & rotate the crank a few times
or
Get one of those jobs that primes the engine through an oil port, then crank it with the plugs out until you see pressure before starting it to make sure the oil pump works with the engine not under load
or
Turn it over with the starter with plugs out and see if it builds pressure before starting it.
or
Start it up and hope for the best

 

so is there a for sure way to prime the oil pump? I dont see a for sure way yet, my intake manifold is off waiting to prime.

thanks