Another method of priming the oil pump?
Discussion
Having had the sump off the wedge for the last couple of weeks I was pretty sure that the oil would have drained out of the filter and pickup pipe, this was confirmed when I removed the filter and found it empty.
So I was going to need to prime the pump and did not want to remove the distributor to access the drive shaft. I tried pouring oil dawn the pump outlet pipe but that was a very slow process which lead me to thinking that I need some means to force it down the pipe. So I cut the closed end off the old filter and removed the contents (element, relief valve and anti drain-back valve). I then screwed the now endless filter casing onto the filter head and filled it with oil.
Next step involved a 24 mm socket and ratchet on the crank nut and turning the engine over backwards until all of the oil had been drawn down through the pump. Then I replaced the cannibalised filter with a new one that I had filled with oil. I then removed the ECU trigger lead (to prevent the engine from firing up) and turned the key, the oil pressure light went out within about 3-4 revs of the engine = result.
An extra bonus for me in this case was that when I initially went to turn the engine over the crank pulley bolt unscrewed it cannot have been any tighter than about 20 Nm.
I have not seen this method mentioned anywhere before so sorry if it is old news.
So I was going to need to prime the pump and did not want to remove the distributor to access the drive shaft. I tried pouring oil dawn the pump outlet pipe but that was a very slow process which lead me to thinking that I need some means to force it down the pipe. So I cut the closed end off the old filter and removed the contents (element, relief valve and anti drain-back valve). I then screwed the now endless filter casing onto the filter head and filled it with oil.
Next step involved a 24 mm socket and ratchet on the crank nut and turning the engine over backwards until all of the oil had been drawn down through the pump. Then I replaced the cannibalised filter with a new one that I had filled with oil. I then removed the ECU trigger lead (to prevent the engine from firing up) and turned the key, the oil pressure light went out within about 3-4 revs of the engine = result.
An extra bonus for me in this case was that when I initially went to turn the engine over the crank pulley bolt unscrewed it cannot have been any tighter than about 20 Nm.
I have not seen this method mentioned anywhere before so sorry if it is old news.
Hi before i started my engine which had vaseline in the pump.
What i did was to remove the distributor and found a 1/4" drive socket that fitted over the oil drive spigot and used a battery drill going anti clockwise with the ignition on and spun it until the oil pressure switch went out.
This saved turning the engine over and i knew i had good oil pressure before i tried to start it.
Mike
What i did was to remove the distributor and found a 1/4" drive socket that fitted over the oil drive spigot and used a battery drill going anti clockwise with the ignition on and spun it until the oil pressure switch went out.
This saved turning the engine over and i knew i had good oil pressure before i tried to start it.
Mike
Hi Terence yes it's hard to squirt the oil down the hole and your idea is indeed new and seems effective. However in my method I use one of those 1l or 2l oil bottles with the 1/4" nipple on the cap - they type that you can stick a short pipe onto. This type fits the hole pretty well and you can just squeeze the bottle and the oil is forced down the hole. It's a bit simpler and quicker.
Hi Adam I can see the squeezy bottle would be simpler and also better if your engine was rebuilt and you did not want to turn it over before getting oil pressure up.
I had some squeezy bottles around but nothing handy to go from filter base to bottle. Plus I must admit a bit of impatience to hear the old girl run again, so when I though about the filter method I went full steam down that route. The rewards were just as she still sounds awesome, the crank pulley nut is now tight and the sump gasket no longer leaks.
I had some squeezy bottles around but nothing handy to go from filter base to bottle. Plus I must admit a bit of impatience to hear the old girl run again, so when I though about the filter method I went full steam down that route. The rewards were just as she still sounds awesome, the crank pulley nut is now tight and the sump gasket no longer leaks.
The simple method is to buy a priming tool - remove the dizzy remembering to mark its position - attach priming tool to your drill - set the drill to run in reverse/anti clockwise - locate priming tool into the oil pump drive gear and spin your drill to drive up the oil pressure. Works even better with an assistant watching the oil pressure gauge with the ignition. Job done and it's the correct method....forget the vaseline method too messy and not reliable IMO. Priming tool is cheap to buy too....
GV said:
The simple method is to buy a priming tool - remove the dizzy remembering to mark its position - attach priming tool to your drill - set the drill to run in reverse/anti clockwise - locate priming tool into the oil pump drive gear and spin your drill to drive up the oil pressure. Works even better with an assistant watching the oil pressure gauge with the ignition. Job done and it's the correct method....forget the vaseline method too messy and not reliable IMO. Priming tool is cheap to buy too....
I do this (made my own tool) but have also done the squirty-oil method. Upsetting the timing doesn't worry me as much as getting oil all over the shop, which is what I always, without fail, do on every vehicle I ever work on 
I don't see the point of going to all this trouble. As long as the sump is full of oil and the main high tension lead is disconnected, a couple of turns of the starter motor will prime the whole system, which is what I have always done when ever I change the oil and filter. I have never had any problems, and none of the engines have ever blown up on me, yet. If you have an immobiliser that turns the ignition off but allows the starter motor to turn, that could also be used to prime the oil as the engine won't fire up. Can someone tell me what all the fuss is about as I completely fail to see the problem?
Tony. TCB.
Tony. TCB.
ElvisWedgely said:
Can someone tell me what all the fuss is about as I completely fail to see the problem?
Tony. TCB.
Yes. The Rover V8 is renowned for its poor inability to self-prime the oil pump, particularly if the front cover is scored. Of course it will suck if you crank for long enough but you never know how long that will be and as most of us don't fancy writing-off the crank, for the sake of a few minutes 'fuss' it can be guaranteed that there won't be an issue. Maybe you've just been lucky Tony. TCB.
It's not just this forum where the subject is discussed so it's not as if there's some TVR folklore involved.
When carrying out a straight forward oil change I do not generally prime the pump I simply drain and refill the sump put some oil in the new filter and then change the filters over and crank the engine (with ignition disabled) and in the past have never had a problem.
However.in this particular instance I was pretty sure that the oil had drained out of the suction line to the pump and the pressure lines to and from the filter as the filter was empty and some oil had dripped from both the strainer and crank whilst the sump was off. I did not want to unnecessarily disturb the distributor so tried the method described above which worked well for me and in this instance highlighted the issue of a loose/not-tight crank pulley bolt. In my original post I was not suggesting this is the method that all should use, I just wanted to pass on a tip that may help someone else out in the future.
IMHO the main reason why this is a hot topic with TVR RV8 installations is the remote mounted filter that is mounted significantly higher than the standard position on the front of the engine at near crank level. I first encountered the priming issue when fitting a RV8, with remote filter, to a series 11 Land Rover in 1979 so it is not recent problem or TVR specific.
However.in this particular instance I was pretty sure that the oil had drained out of the suction line to the pump and the pressure lines to and from the filter as the filter was empty and some oil had dripped from both the strainer and crank whilst the sump was off. I did not want to unnecessarily disturb the distributor so tried the method described above which worked well for me and in this instance highlighted the issue of a loose/not-tight crank pulley bolt. In my original post I was not suggesting this is the method that all should use, I just wanted to pass on a tip that may help someone else out in the future.
IMHO the main reason why this is a hot topic with TVR RV8 installations is the remote mounted filter that is mounted significantly higher than the standard position on the front of the engine at near crank level. I first encountered the priming issue when fitting a RV8, with remote filter, to a series 11 Land Rover in 1979 so it is not recent problem or TVR specific.
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