# Priming Oil System



## 68gtohawk8369 (Oct 26, 2009)

I used an old cut distributor without the gear on the end put it on a drill and down into the whole into the slot ran the drill for at least 2-3 minutes no oil came up to the passages in the heads my question is do you have to have the gear on the end to actually turn the engine over in order to prime or not if its ok the way I did it how long should it take for the oil to flow. The valve covers were in place and I didnt want to ruin the gaskets so I took the oil sending unit off I thought I would see oil coming out of the elbow am I wrong to expect this? when running the drill there was suction at the elbow ?? I could see through the breather with a flashlight no oil pumping any ideas ???


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Is it a new motor?.....You need to prime it for about 5-10 minutes...WITHOUT the gear. The gear is turned by the cam shaft when the engine is running. You would be trying to turn the whole engine with the drill if the gear was on the shaft. Also priming the motor dosen't always pump all the lifters up, the push rods don't spin SO...oil dosen't always come out everywhere it should. Do you have a drill that turns up some good RPM's ? Go prime it faster and for a longer time AND make sure you prime it in the proper direction (as the distributor turns) Eric:cheers


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

Eric Animal said:


> Is it a new motor?.....You need to prime it for about 5-10 minutes...WITHOUT the gear. The gear is turned by the cam shaft when the engine is running. You would be trying to turn the whole engine with the drill if the gear was on the shaft. Also priming the motor dosen't always pump all the lifters up, the push rods don't spin SO...oil dosen't always come out everywhere it should. Do you have a drill that turns up some good RPM's ? Go prime it faster and for a longer time AND make sure you prime it in the proper direction (as the distributor turns) Eric:cheers


counterclockwise (for us chevy guys):cheers


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## 68gtohawk8369 (Oct 26, 2009)

is it clockwise or counter clockwise?


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## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

pontiac= counterclockwise


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## jetstang (Nov 5, 2008)

Counter clockwise, I did the same thing on a new motor I got.


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Sorry, I should have put that in my post......How did you make out??


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## 68gtohawk8369 (Oct 26, 2009)

yes , this is a new engine and thanks for the info !!!!! counterclockwise did it its now primed although I will probably do it once more next weekend before I fire it up spent all day out in the garage I made significant progress only a few thing left to do starter, find tdc, plug wires and shroud also need fan belts and fuel pump will have both by next weekend I only have 1 problem after putting on the ram air exhaust manifolds I had to buy new down pipes they go all the way to the rear end they are a bigger diametor than the exhaust on the car. Are there reducers available the exhaust is solid on the car it would be a shame to junk it either way even if I do decide to replace the rest I still have to get the car to the exhaust shop


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## 646904GTO (Feb 10, 2008)

jetstang said:


> Counter clockwise, I did the same thing on a new motor I got.


Common mistake on the Pontiac engine


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## jetstang (Nov 5, 2008)

68gtohawk8369 said:


> yes , this is a new engine and thanks for the info !!!!! counterclockwise did it its now primed although I will probably do it once more next weekend before I fire it up spent all day out in the garage I made significant progress only a few thing left to do starter, find tdc, plug wires and shroud also need fan belts and fuel pump will have both by next weekend I only have 1 problem after putting on the ram air exhaust manifolds I had to buy new down pipes they go all the way to the rear end they are a bigger diametor than the exhaust on the car. Are there reducers available the exhaust is solid on the car it would be a shame to junk it either way even if I do decide to replace the rest I still have to get the car to the exhaust shop


You can buy down adapters at the local parts store for now, but would be better to match the exhaust to the current pipes later on. Good job, keep it up!!


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