Oil pressurization before 1st start

[Mark H.]

Hello,

I'm getting ready to start my '65 small block after a rebuild. I was priming the motor via the oil pump with a drill/tool to get the oil pressure up and was concerned about how quickly the pressure gauge inside the car approached 60 psi. It did this after only a few seconds of v e r y slow turning of the pump/drill. I don't want to blow the oil guage up so I'm wondering if I should remove the oil pickup line from the block and plug it up (or put a gauge there). I also noticed that after the 10 or so seconds of slowly turning the oil pump, the pump was much harder to turn (you could turn it with your fingers, but not real easily).

Any concerns here ?

Thanks,
Mark

[Ken A.]

Re: Oil pressurization before 1st start

You're ok, fire it up!

[Joe L.]

Re: Oil pressurization before 1st start

Hello,

I'm getting ready to start my '65 small block after a rebuild. I was priming the motor via the oil pump with a drill/tool to get the oil pressure up and was concerned about how quickly the pressure gauge inside the car approached 60 psi. It did this after only a few seconds of v e r y slow turning of the pump/drill. I don't want to blow the oil guage up so I'm wondering if I should remove the oil pickup line from the block and plug it up (or put a gauge there). I also noticed that after the 10 or so seconds of slowly turning the oil pump, the pump was much harder to turn (you could turn it with your fingers, but not real easily).

Any concerns here ?

Thanks,
Mark

Mark-----


There's no way you can "blow up the gauge". The oil pump will not deliver pressure higher than the relief spring allows. The reason that the pressure is going on the high end right now is that the oil is cold.

The reason that the oil pump becomes harder to turn after several seconds of rotation is that's what it takes to "fill the system" and fully prime the pump.

[Mark L.]

Re: Oil pressurization before 1st start

Mark,

Sounds like the oil pump is doing what it should.

Joe is right about cold oil. Oil pressure gauge will read high and/or peg.

You need to have the fuel, cooling and charging systems ready to go. The engine should run 2000 RPM for at least ten minutes at operating temp (minimum 20 minutes) at first fire. Once it starts let run!