Thread: New Engine Start Up

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:L AM OL: HEY OUT THERE AM STARTING A 34 COUPE FULL FENDERED.I BOUGHT A 400 SBC PERFORMANCE ENGINE BUILT 5 YRS. AGO AND HAS NEVER BEEN RUN. I REMOVED ALL COVERS AND PANS ,IT APPEARS TO STILL HAVE THE ASSY.GREASE ALL OVER THE ENGINE . ANY SUGGESTIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE START UP? ROLLERS THROUGHOUT.

THANKS

DON DALTON

Dry starts are the leading cause of engine failure....

You need to prime the engine using a priming tool and drill motor to turn the oil pump while slowly rotating the engine with a wrench on the front pully (you must remove the distributor to install the priming tool.)

This will force oil into the top end of the engine. Continue with this until pressure is indicated on the guage and oil is visable at the rocker arms. Be sure to install a new oil filter and gasket, prefilling the filter will decrease the time needed to prime.

Good Luck!

JC


p.s. you can buy a priming tool at most auto supply shops

Everybody makes everything so complicated. Assemble your engine with everything but fuel lines and spark plugs. Roll it over with the starter until you have oil pressure. Install spark plugs and connect fuel lines. Start the engine. Dry starts are the leading cause of engine wear, not failure. Anyways, having the plugs out means there is no compression or vacuum so there will be minimal load on the bearings as the engine rolls over. Having the fuel lines disconnected means your engine wont be flooded when you are really ready to start it.

Originally posted by 76GMC1500
Everybody makes everything so complicated. Assemble your engine with everything but fuel lines and spark plugs. Roll it over with the starter until you have oil pressure. Install spark plugs and connect fuel lines. Start the engine. Dry starts are the leading cause of engine wear, not failure. Anyways, having the plugs out means there is no compression or vacuum so there will be minimal load on the bearings as the engine rolls over. Having the fuel lines disconnected means your engine wont be flooded when you are really ready to start it.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???BUY A $15 PRIMEING TOOL. TAKE THE DISTRIBUTOR OUT,GET A REALLY GOOD DRILL.INSTALL THE TOOL IN THE DRILL.SPIN THE TOOL THE SAME WAY THE DISTRIBUTOR SPINS.DO THIS UNTIL YOU SEE OIL AT ALL THE ROCKER ARMS.THIS WILL TAKE A LOT OF TIME SO BE PATIENT.THIS IS THE ONLY CORRECT WAY TO DO THIS.IF YOU SPIN IT OVER WITH THE STARTER YOU WILL NOT ONLY HAVE AN ENGINE THAT IS NOT PRIMED YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO REPLACE YOUR STARTER.

IT'S GOOD TO GET THIS INFO. AS IT'S BEEN A FEW YEARS SINCE I WAS WORKING ON RODS.GOOD TO BE BACK.

THANKS
DON