engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

just a short story id like to share about this saturday. well anyway i was priming my fresh 350 with a drill driven tool i bought from lmc. I spun the tool over by hand just until i felt resistance from the oil, so then i took the drill and spun it slowly. well, didn't seem like much priming was being done, so i went balls to the wall with the drill, and about a half second later, about 60 psi of oil shot out of the port for the oil pressure gauge two- three foot high and all over my arm that was running the drill, all over my transmission, frame rails, everything, made a mess! well after taking off my oil soaked sleeve of my sweatshirt, i installed a guage and got a healthy max of 65 psi of oil pressure. well.. lesson learned here is that you should always put a oil pressure gauge or even a plug in your engine while you are priming it so you dont get a 2 foot oil geyser that makes a mess of your work like i did! well now that everything is cleaned up and pretty looking my motor is almost ready to fire off!!! well i guess this is part of the learning experience, wont make that mistake again, all in fun! like my dad always says, you can live and learn, but you still die dumb!

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Holy smackerel!

So no "balls to the wall with the drill." Good info to be aware of since I am in the process of redbuilding an engine and was going to do the same on it once I put it together.

btw: Hope that wasn't inside your garage.

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Hahahhahahah


Been there, done that :mm:

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Could have been worse. You could have actually started it before hooking up the oil pressure gauge. Now THAT will empty out your oil in great quantity and quick. Ask me how I know. lol

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

I did something similar once, I had stripped everything off my 69, inside and out in prep for a paint job. I left only what was needed to drive it to the shop, I even removed the gauge cluster. Got in and headed down the road when I felt my crotch getting warm, looked down to see oil shooting out of the dash, I forgot to plug the line for my oil pressure gauge. Had to drive three miles to a parts store on the way so I could buy a plug then another 15 to get to the paint shop. Walking around with an oil soaked crotch on a hot day really sucks!

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Did that about a month ago. Shot oil all over my garage wall. Your not alone my friend.

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Now you have a well oiled elbow.

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Not to mention looks real strange! :lol: I'm sure glad we can laugh at our mistakes.

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

You got lucky, I had my son's engine on the stand, forgot to plug the opening and when the oil hit the open hole, I painted the ceiling on my shop with oil. That ceiling is 12 feet high and the engine was sitting about 4 feet high at the top of the engine. Luckily the ceiling is metal and all I had to do was wipe it off, but at least I know the oil pump is good.

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

You got lucky, I had my son's engine on the stand, forgot to plug the opening and when the oil hit the open hole, I painted the ceiling on my shop with oil. That ceiling is 12 feet high and the engine was sitting about 4 feet high at the top of the engine. Luckily the ceiling is metal and all I had to do was wipe it off, but at least I know the oil pump is good.

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

well now the ceiling wont rust!

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

HA! classic! i think id be afraid to drive the truck that far with oil spewing out

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

it helps prevent arthiritis haha

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

We've all had some sort of adventure like this. Anyone that says they haven't has not been wrenching regularly! I took the instrument panel out of my '71 to replace the main wiring harness and forgot to hook up the line for the oil pressure gauge. I drove a ways before I realized it was oil peeing onto my boot :dohh:

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

After installing a new dash bezel I forgot to hook up the oil pressure gauge and "Painted" the underside of my dash with a fresh coat of oil. Not fun cleaning while standing on your head!:metal:

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

try priming oil on a big block and itll have a sideways stream of oil. ask me how i forgot it... hahaha

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Thanks for posting this reminder. I just installed my 396BB in my truck and was going to get ready to fire it up this weekend. I totally forgot about that orifice that needs to be capped...

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

You really brought out the elbow grease didn't cha? :)

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

ok, ill bite, how did you forget? lol

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

glad to know im not the only one who forgot to put the line on and blew oil everywhere, thats some relief! also good to know i helped people remember to put the line on before firing their new engine!

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

well i was in a bad mood after i noticed i forgot to put the timing tab on before the balancer and had to rent the puller/installer again. and decided id just get the priming done for now. shot oil half way across the garage.. i was basically foaming at the mouth at that point :lol:

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

I have a mechanical oil pressure gauge I added to the dash... I removed everything to repaint my dash after I cut it up for the A/C install... just wanted to move the truck out of the way for the night... Oil ALL OVER the floor... Luckily I had one of those thick rubber mats that caught most of it.

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Okay, I gotta throw this one in here. I was watching a friend working his new engine one time. When he got ready to prime the oil pump he also used a drill and a priming shaft. He must have spun it for a good 10 minutes and was getting more frustrated by the minute. When he went in the house to call the auto parts store to complain, I went over and pulled the dip stick..... YA!

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

Reminds me of when I 'tried' to check the PSI in the nitrogen shocks of my newly purchased sand rail project. The tire pressure gauge went Ka-BLAM!! I found out later it's about 400 psi..... :dohh:

Re: engine oil priming... dont do this!
 

I started a 283 I just took back out of my truck and didn't notice the front oil pressure hook up was un plugged.. Shot 8 feet out and hit an innocent bistander walking through the auto shop at school. We all laughed and he wasn't mad