i've been bustin my *** this week to finally get my motor together so i could put it in this weekend...i got the roller rockers on today and adjusted, and i put my HSR intake on and everything...then i got this bar from my dad's buddy, and oyu put it on a drill and then put the other end on the oil pump shaft...i think its called a oil priming tool or something...but anyways, i got it on there and i read a few things and they said just let it go wide open for 2-3 minutes and you should start seeing oil shooting out of the rockers on the top orifices there...well i had the thing spinning wide open for about 4 minutes and oil just started oozin out of the drivers side of the motor, not shootin, just slowly oozing...so i kept going, it was like 8 minutes after i stopped because there was no oil coming out of the other side of rockers....i dunno what is wrong!!! then i read a different article they said you have to turn the engine slowly, that didn't work either....i'm stuck here for answers, i can't understand why this isn't workin...i dropped the oil filter and it was full, so that means oil is getting to the filter, but I just don't know about the path of travel of the oil....anybody got any ideas? maybe something is clogged, but what?? the motor is supposed to go in tomorrow (saturday) but it looks like it won't untill i get this problem resolved...i know the oil pickup screen is good because its getting oil into the filter, and the pump should be good cuz its filling the filter up...but i have no idea...the info on the shortblock is all just stock except the crank was ground .010, and we got the matching bearings...anybody got an explanation??

 

What does your oil pump primer look like? Is it just a shaft, or does it have the collar on it to provide the oil a passage past the distributor shaft hole in the block?

 

priming a SBC is a waste of time but it's good for making you feel better. good chance your drill didn't have enough *** to do the job, or you didn't have the right type tool for a SBC

 

What's wrong is, you have a massive internal oil leak.

There are 3 passages that run all the way from the front to the rear of the block to feed oil to everything. The 3 plugs around the cam journals at the front and rear of the block are the ends of them. The center one, which looks like a kind of hump or spine right in the middle of the intake valley between the lifters, feeds oil to the cam bearings and from there to the mains and rods. The passages to the right and left of the cam bore feed oil to the lifters. The one to the pass side lifters goes RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE of the distributor housing; and without a dist (or suitable substitute) installed, oil will simply spew out of there and prevent any pressure build-up. You'll be lucky to see 5 PSI on a gauge installed in the usual place.

IMO "priming" is worthless anyway, it's a "security blanket" for people who have no confidence in their work and want something to make them feel warm and fuzzy, even though it accomplishes nothing. Put your motor in, and hook up the fan switch like it's supposed to be, don't be so determined to dream up reasons to hack your car and alter it pointlessly and harmfully, just because you don't understand it.

 

Sounds like you just used a straight shaft to prime the motor and not an actual primer or old distributor. Just below where the distributor seats onto the intake is a larger circle/or bump out area on the shaft, this is to provide a channel for the oil to go around the distributor to the other side of the motor. If this channel is not there the oil will follow the path of least resistance.

Sounds like everything is good to go IMO. I'd never recommend running the drill at WOT doing a prime, we've always just spun it enough to get oil surging through the veins and into the oil pressure gauge which might equate into 200rpm or so. And yes Ede/RB it makes us feel better and I've never lost a motor so I'll stick with what works for me even if it's unnecessary.

Sorry to repeat what's been said, but when I read this it seemed like Apreion's post and RB's needed to be combined for clarification or better understanding.

 

yes it is just a shaft, it was given to me by a mechanic and he said it should work fine...in no way shape or form is it a gutted out distributor...so you guys think everything is good? should i just proceed and put the motor in, and just keep a close eye on it when i fire it up? i hope the problem is just because the distributor is not in, I hope i don't have a bigger problem than that...

 

I agree with RB, your motor is more than likely fine. The shaft you are using isnt much good for anything other than priming the pump. What you really need to use to pre oil is a distributor housing modified to attach your drill to spin the oil pump driveshaft without the cam gear on it, if you want to pre-oil your motor and verify pressure with a mechanical gauge installed at the back of the block.

I installed mine a few weeks back with the same results. It's running now with 60 PSI while cruising and 30+ at idle. Drop your motor in and move on.

 

Have confidence in your work. I agree with RB83L69. If you have a new oil pump in your motor and the oil pump drive shaft is afixed correctly you should have no trouble. Ditch the priming tool and finish installing your engine!

 

alright thanks guys..i just finished puttin in the new prothane motor mounts and i'm gonna grab the engine right now and go throw it in...i was thinking about too, if all that shaft is for is priming the pump, and i still managed to get a little bit of oil through one side of the rockers, i figured its more than good...so i'll continue on and thanks for the moral booster guys....