The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop duh - something just dawned on me

on a rebuild, sometime back, posters talked about operating the oil pump with a drill in order to get oil throughout the system before starting the engine - how would the oil pump turn when it's geared to the cam, crank, pistons etc?

The gear is on the distributor. Without the dist. installed, the oil pump should spin freely.

A old distributer cut off and gear missing works very well. If you don't have one to cut up, use a old screwdriver and run the drill slow. On a rebuilt V8, a 1/2" drive big drill will really work at 60PSI oil pressure.

Joe

bingo! i forgot that the gear is on the dist and didn't look before asking. thanks

i'm sure you know the gear is what the cam used to drive the dist. the tang on the bottom is what drives the oil pump. you might cut the shaft off a old dist that chucks in the drill motor pretty easy. i am no expert on anything, but i like to have my wife turn the engine while i run the drill motor that way the bearings get a good bath. i don't do it so much that it would interfear with the cam breakin in that would be a concern. good luck.

I took the gear off an old distributor ($10, used), which then allows the distributor to be installed into the block and into the oil pump, without engaging the camshaft gear. Then, it is an easy matter of using a hex socket-bit in a drill to turn the distributor post to prime the oil pump and run oil through the lubrication system.

I made up an aluminum bushing to fit into the distributor hole, with a 1/2" shaft through the center and a tang ground onto the end. A shaft collar sets the depth correctly to engage the oil pump, and I've ground a 3-sided flat on the top to keep the drill chuck from slipping as the load comes onto the pump. It's adjustable for either 6 cylinder or V-8 by moving the shaft collar up or down.
Jerry