engine oil priming... dont do this! - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

c20pickup · 04-07-2014, 01:50 PM

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!

68gmsee · 04-07-2014, 01:55 PM

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.

Bigdav160 · 04-07-2014, 03:18 PM

Hahahhahahah

Been there, done that

**Tom Vogel** · 04-07-2014, 03:32 PM

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

AirSpeed · 04-07-2014, 04:48 PM

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!

Bishops Trucks · 04-07-2014, 05:06 PM

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

**67 cst swb** · 04-07-2014, 05:10 PM

Now you have a well oiled elbow.

yuccales · 04-07-2014, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirSpeed

Walking around with an oil soaked crotch on a hot day really sucks!

Not to mention looks real strange!

I'm sure glad we can laugh at our mistakes.

piecesparts · 04-07-2014, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c20pickup

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!

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.

piecesparts · 04-07-2014, 09:52 PM

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.

c20pickup · 04-08-2014, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piecesparts

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.

well now the ceiling wont rust!

c20pickup · 04-08-2014, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirSpeed

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!

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

c20pickup · 04-08-2014, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 67 cst swb

Now you have a well oiled elbow.

it helps prevent arthiritis haha

Bears63 · 04-08-2014, 10:51 AM

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

Savidio44 · 04-08-2014, 10:57 AM

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!

72chevyk10 · 04-08-2014, 11:02 AM

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

alsriv2 · 04-08-2014, 11:41 AM

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...

Artikgrau325is · 04-08-2014, 09:58 PM

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

c20pickup · 04-09-2014, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 72chevyk10

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

ok, ill bite, how did you forget? lol

c20pickup · 04-09-2014, 09:40 AM

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!

72chevyk10 · 04-09-2014, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c20pickup

ok, ill bite, how did you forget? lol

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

67ChevyRedneck · 04-09-2014, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Vogel

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

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.

BADAZ chevy guy · 04-09-2014, 02:14 PM

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!

stomper · 04-09-2014, 02:33 PM

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.....

dakattack7 · 04-09-2014, 03:21 PM

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

04-07-2014, 01:50 PM	#1
c20pickup Registered User Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Brighton, WI Posts: 504	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!

04-07-2014, 01:55 PM	#2
68gmsee Active Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Centrally located between Houston, Austin and Waco. BCS area. Posts: 7,947	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. __________________ 68 GMC 250/3 speed Saginaw p/b p/s 69 Chevy 350/350 currently in pieces still lookin for a cab 06 Trailblazer I just want a vehicle that I can work on, that won't talk to me, leave error msgs or keep track of how I drive...

04-07-2014, 03:18 PM	#3
Bigdav160 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Klein Texas Posts: 3,852	Re: engine oil priming... dont do this! Hahahhahahah Been there, done that __________________ My Classics: '72 K20 Suburban + '65 Dodge Town Wagon '72 Corvette Roadster +'67 Corvette Roadster '73 Z-28 Camaro '63 Ford SWB Uni Pickup '50 Ford Coupe

04-07-2014, 03:32 PM	#4
Tom Vogel 2WD Jimmy Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Davis County, Utah Posts: 2,563	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

04-07-2014, 04:48 PM	#5
AirSpeed Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Fall River California Posts: 2,026	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! __________________ http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v655/aaronhero/

04-07-2014, 05:06 PM	#6
Bishops Trucks KEEP ON TRUCKIN' Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Sterling, Va. Posts: 5,731	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. __________________ JIM '97 GMC Sierra K1500 '95 Chevy Silverado C1500 '71 Cheyenne Z71 / LT1 & 4-Speed SWB K/10 Father/Son Project http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l689JKXPnA http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/payments.php "LIVIN' FREE FOREVER"

04-07-2014, 05:10 PM	#7
67 cst swb Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Rapid City, SD Posts: 2,281	Re: engine oil priming... dont do this! Now you have a well oiled elbow. __________________ My Trucks: 1967 Chevrolet Short Wide Box 327 TH350 9" w/3.90 gears paint will be White - Current Project 1967 Chevrolet Custom LWB 283 TH400 3.73 Posi, no-AC, no-PS, no-PB, bench-seat, small-window - mostly orig driver 1967 Chevrolet CST LWB originally a 327 TH400 3.73 Posi AC PS PB, had Buddy Buckets, Small Window - parts truck 1967 Chevrolet CST LWB, 283 MT 3.73 had Buddy Buckets, Panoramic Window - parts truck 2001 Chevrolet 3500 2WD Crew Cab Dually 8.1L Allison White

04-07-2014, 09:52 PM	#10
piecesparts Parts and more parts Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Lebo, Kansas (middle of nowhere Posts: 6,821	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. __________________ Frank

04-08-2014, 10:51 AM	#14
Bears63 ...just another truck junkie.. Join Date: May 2009 Location: Watertown, SD Posts: 698	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 __________________ Mike "Bear" Shea Last edited by Bears63; 04-08-2014 at 10:52 AM. Reason: grammar, spelling, the usual....

04-08-2014, 10:57 AM	#15
Savidio44 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Chapin South Carolina Posts: 66	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!

04-08-2014, 11:41 AM	#17
alsriv2 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Formerly MD and San Diego, now loving life in Arizona Posts: 1,636	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... __________________ Alan 2012 Ram 3500 Dually Crew Cab 6.7 Cummins 2014 Palomino Columbus 340RK 5th wheel '69 Chevy C10 396BB

04-08-2014, 09:58 PM	#18
Artikgrau325is Registered User Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 88	Re: engine oil priming... dont do this! You really brought out the elbow grease didn't cha?

04-09-2014, 09:40 AM	#20
c20pickup Registered User Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Brighton, WI Posts: 504	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!

04-09-2014, 02:14 PM	#23
BADAZ chevy guy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Clearfield Utah Posts: 638	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! __________________ My build thread. 1977 C10 short box. >>>> http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=624182 700R4 build thread. >>> http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...36#post6740236

04-09-2014, 02:33 PM	#24
stomper Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 1,700	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..... __________________ "I was patina when patina wasn't cool." 1973 Cheyenne SWB Sunset Gold / Frost White / Saddle



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04-09-2014, 03:21 PM	#25
dakattack7 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: az Posts: 177	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

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