Topic: oil priming idea... bad or good?

[Elan]

750k.

So after my rebuild, I put the oil pump in dry. oops. I read on here about filling the side galley plug above the the points, and pouring some oil into the tappet area. did it and still not getting pressure. I want to avoid pulling out the pump and submerging now that the sump is filled with oil.

so, I read about adding some air pressure.  My idea is to cut a section of bicycle tube, the section with the valve. Clamp this over the opening of the oil tank. Now I can add steady pressure and hold it there.  I heard 2-3 psi but I was thinking more like 30- isnt that the pressure that the engine would make?  I wouldnt want to inflate my engine and have it blow away.

[bollingball]

It may work however this is no time to experiment. clean all the outside and you can reuse the oil drain it into a pan large enough to hold the pump and prime it.Wont take a few minutes to do it right. But it is your bike

                           Ken

[Bankerdanny]

$12 worth of lost oil vs hundreds of dollars in damaged engine. You make the call.

[splitt]

750k.

 I heard 2-3 psi but I was thinking more like 30- isnt that the pressure that the engine would make?  I wouldnt want to inflate my engine and have it blow away.

30 psi is a common pressure for the oil passages and at the galley plug. But you have to remember that the rest of the system is a low pressure return system. The oil tank itself is only tested for about 5 psi. The engine seals are probably only good for 2 to 3 psi. If you fill the tank with 30 psi of air, you'll probably blow oil out your engine seals.

The idea is to use the low pressure to push the oil from the sump, through the pump and into the oil galley. It will stop pushing the oil when the pressure equalizes.

[trueblue]

750k.

 I heard 2-3 psi but I was thinking more like 30- isnt that the pressure that the engine would make?  I wouldnt want to inflate my engine and have it blow away.

30 psi is a common pressure for the oil passages and at the galley plug. But you have to remember that the rest of the system is a low pressure return system. The oil tank itself is only tested for about 5 psi. The engine seals are probably only good for 2 to 3 psi. If you fill the tank with 30 psi of air, you'll probably blow oil out your engine seals.

The idea is to use the low pressure to push the oil from the sump, through the pump and into the oil galley. It will stop pushing the oil when the pressure equalizes.

I wouldn't be so much worried about the seals as I would be about blowing the ar$# out of the oil tank, they are only very light guage metal and there are a lot of square inches inside them, remember 30 psi is 30 pounds per square inch, for instance 30 psi on 100 sq inches is 3000lbs pressure, remembering that 100 sq inches is only 10 x 10 inches. Your call but I would be dropping the sump.

[Toxic]

Is proper oil priming technique described in the manual or is there a link on here to it?
I'm not finding it.

[wrenchmuch]

I primed my pump by using a air chuck . Just covered the oil tank fill with my hand and put the chuck between my fingers . Put in some air , cranked the engine , more air and I had pressure . Air will leak out around your fingers but there is more than enough pressure . Don't forget to plug the tank vent . No ill effects .

[Toxic]

I primed my pump by using a air chuck . Just covered the oil tank fill with my hand and put the chuck between my fingers . Put in some air , cranked the engine , more air and I had pressure . Air will leak out around your fingers but there is more than enough pressure . Don't forget to plug the tank vent . No ill effects .

So you did this while cranking the engine until the oil pressure light went out???
That's when you knew you had primed the oil pump successfully?

[wrenchmuch]

Put in air , stopped . Cranked . Put in more air , stopped . Cranked . Got pressure . Its good to crank with plugs out . I cranked  for about 5 sec. each time .

[Toxic]

Holy Cow, thanks Wrench, the air presure trick worked.

It didn't take much to get my oil light to go out.

[Elan]

ok verdict is...Bad idea!

But ill try your way wrenchmuch first before making a mess. thanks.

[Elan]

ok I've dropped the oil pump twice now. Submerged it and spun the gears till no bubbles. reinstalled. opened the relief valve and turned the engine until oil came out the valve. closed the valve. turned the engine until oil poured out the side galley hole. closed that. turned the engine and saw streams of oil in the head. Good news right? well my damn oil light just wont go out!  I did about 10 more ten second intervals of starter motor and no luck...

What gives?

[trueblue]

are you sure your switch is working? unscrew the oil pressure switch and screw a guage in, that won't lie to you.

[pat english]

are you sure your switch is working? unscrew the oil pressure switch and screw a guage in, that won't lie to you.

sorry to high jack,but where would i get one of these "screw in"guages?

[trueblue]

what I was talking about was a guage for diagnostic purposes only, you can get them from most auto parts stores, hell even a guage off of an air compressor will do for this job.

[pat english]

oh i see.

[WarwickE36]

+1 for a gauge...

Idiot lights either work or don't, and there's no way for you to know for sure what the pressure is without a gauge.

I'd hook up a gauge, turn the kill switch to off, crank that hoebag over and read the pressure, if its coming up at all I would replace the switch or pull it out and throw it against the wall a few times to try and unstick it, then pop er back in and see what happens. Still no go, get a new switch.  Never had on apart but my guess is its a ball and spring switch and with old crudded up oil from being sitting while you rebuilt your motor, the ball is probably stuck.

[Elan]

alright i'll let you know what happens, thanks guys

[cookindaddy]

I blew air into the oil tank filler while trying to cover the rest of the opening with my hand. I had not primed the oil pump. In spite of the air rushing out between my fingers, enough pressure was created in the tank to get oil to the lifters while cranking the engine. It did not take long, maybe 10-15 seconds. It worked for me.

[Elan]

I blew air into the oil tank filler while trying to cover the rest of the opening with my hand. I had not primed the oil pump. In spite of the air rushing out between my fingers, enough pressure was created in the tank to get oil to the lifters while cranking the engine. It did not take long, maybe 10-15 seconds. It worked for me.

yup did that too. Oil is getting up there, the pump is primed, my light just wont go out.

[cookindaddy]

I am not sure that my oil light goes off until the engine actually starts ie - it stays on while cranking. Maybe others can chime in?

[trueblue]

I know my 650 turns the light off by just cranking