The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop priming oiling system Q

49 Chevy 216 freshly rebuilt

Today I took an old screwdriver, broke the plastic handle off and put it in my drill to use for an oil pump primer- worked good, except... And here's my question. I know it circulated the oil, but from looking in the oil fill cap I could not see any activity in the rocker arms. I had the drill on high speed (not sure of the rpms) So, would it take more rpms, equaling more pressure for the valve on the side of the motor to open and allow oil into the copper tube and up to the rocker arm assembly? Or, should I be able to see oil coming out of the first couple rocker arms? Or does the oil only come out when the rocker arm is in a certain position? Thanks.

It's a good idea to rotate the engine when priming. After you have primed the engine rotate
it a quarter turn and do again and so on till you have made a couple of revolutions of the crank. You should have oil everywhere it's supposed to be.

Arnie

oldcar,

The rocker assembly seems to be the last place to get oil. Without the valve cover off, you might not get to see all the activity. This might include the oil pouring out the bypass or overflow on the center oiler.

The path to the rockers has some small, blockage prone areas, and the rocker shafts, unless cleaned properly might be "solid".

I wouldn't have heart failure UNTIL I actually ran the rig...with valve cover off and watched for the telltale oil drips.

Pulling the sidecover on a 216 is more of a headache than the smaller cover on the newer rigs, so finish the installation and run the engine, it will probably be fine. If it is plugged somehow, it isn't terminal.

The valve cover shouldn't be permanently installed until after a final valve adjustment, so it should be a piece of cake to take it off and watch as the engine runs.

Stuart

I tested my 38 216 by disconnecting the oil line where it connects to the rocker shafts and cranking the engine with no spark plugs to slow it down. It took 6-8 seconds of full speed cranking to get oil to show at the top of the copper line. The battery was fully charged when I did this.

Thanks guys, that's what I was hoping for. atomarc: When I rebuilt it, i pressure washed the crap out of all the oil passages- hopefully nothing is plugged. I probably wasn't creating that much pressure because i had a little plastic cap covering the hole where i'll be connecting the oil pressure gauge line, and it didn't pop off. It was just pressed in there with my thumb, leaked a little bit, so I probaby wasn't making much pressure huh?

just pull the coil wire and crank the engine over a few times watch oil pressure gauge.were not runnin a top fueler here.just an old stovebolt

oldcarandtrucknut typically when you prime the pump with a drill you will "feel" when you get preasure. If you didn't feel the drill load up then you will want to plug your oil gauge into the hole and do a true prime. When you have the system complete and ready to go use your drill and run it. You will feel the resistance when the system starts to make preasure, you will hear the load on the drill. It will jerk in your hands. Good luck

dan-pa,

Shame..remember that one persons top fueler is another persons stovebolt, and maybe vice versa.


Stuart

actually, i forgot to mention that I WILL be running nitro methane in the 216...... cool huh?

May seem like a stupid question but are you turning the shaft/drill in the right direction?

I've gotta ask...

WHY?!

While it will give you better performance in the short run, the tradeoff is replacing the engine MUCH sooner.

This, coupled with the fact that a 216 can't be taken over 3000 RPM for any length of time without blowing something up spells trouble.

With a capital T which rhymes with B for Babbit.

My suggestion: get a small block chevy and use it. You can safely wind out the engine to 7000 or 8000 RPM and they're a little more tolerant of explosive fuels.

Sell the 216 to someone who will appreciate it for what it is. (We have a forum for that sort of thing here on the 'bolt.)

My brother used an old distributor. He ground down the gear on it. Then he stripped down the top of the distributor and welded a socket to the top of the shaft. he cut off the end of an extension,placed it in the drill, placed the extension into the socket, and powered the drill on. It works great

Brendan,

Read the entire thread...this was poor humor from Eureka!


Stuart

Whoops... That's what I get for skimming.

Apologies, everyone.

Sorry.Atomarc, I guess it's 20 lashs. I use to pack the oil pump with vasoline.Has anyone done this? The rod bearings an mains with STP :p

I pack the pumps w/Vaseline on about every engine I do-on most newer stuff there is no way to prime the oiling system, oil pumps are driven directly off cranshafts etc. & priming it days before starting is a waste of time, also many egines must be cranked while priming or the crank passages will not line up to supply oil to the rest of the engine. I have installed countless engines & primed very few. Pack pump w/Vaseline, crank with coil wire off until light goes off or oil gauge moves. never had one come back for oiling issues. brian

Yeah..... I was joking about the nitro methane... I'm not retarded.

I tried priming my oil pump tonight on a 235. Used the screwdriver trick and opened my the beehive filter along with removing the valve cover. I felt the "jolt" of the drill and saw the oil moving in the beehive filter. Closed the filter and continued, no oil at the rocker arms yet either. Turned the engine and repeated...no luck either. I guess I could try running the engine as noted by "atomarc" to see if I notice anything.

64fleetside, i never heard of packing a oil pump with vaseline. I have always submerged them into a coffee can full of oil for a couple days. Works great, i will check into the vaseline trick.

Thanks,Tim