Stored Engine Starting Question

7

77SSII

Member
Hey guys!
My Scout has a fresh 304 with maybe 2k miles on it. The truck has been sitting inside (climate controlled) for 7 months and I'm getting ready to take it out for the summer.
Do you think I should pull the distributor and prime the motor (oil pump) before I start it? It has fresh rotella t 15w-40 and a zinc additive.
I already marked the balancer for driver and passenger rocker assemblies and am paranoid about cam bearings.
Thanks,
 
Since you've mentioned that you're paranoid, I think you pretty much answered your own question. It doesn't really take that long to do. Are you clear on the whole distributor stab/#8 at top dead compression process? I'm no lubrication engineer, so definitely apply the requisite grain of salt...I'm thinking that there would still be an adequate lubrication film in place after a seven month hibernation. No one will fault you for taking the better safe than sorry approach though.
 
If you still have the mechanical fuel pump it will take a bit of cranking to get the fuel through. More people could probably chime in here, but at least mine always does after some storage, and likely other engines does as well... So that will get the oil flowing before starting anyway.

Remember the cam is intermittently providing oil to the valve assy, so only spinning the pump will not lube up the top end properly without the cam turning as well. If you really want to make sure - spin the pump with a drill first, assemble the distributor again and then run it several bursts of 10-15 sec on the starter with the coil feed disconnected. Then you should be all lubed up and ready to fire :)
 
The point of pre lubing is to provide an oil film for the bearings and lifters, also there in only minimal delay in the piston receiving splash from the rotating assembly at start up... Whirling the engine over is no better than dry starting it, unless the plugs are pulled and even then you still have potentially dry cam bearings with a lot of static load on them... Seems that the most common failure mode on these old engines is cam bearings.....

Mark, pre oil till you are happy. For long storage intervals a remote pre lube system is a good idea.
 
Thanks guys!
Robert, what would you recommend for a remote pre-lube system?
Would that be able to store potential energy for an unlimited amount of time without significant loss?
 
I just recently did a pre-oil on a 392 that has sat for 20 years. I was surprised how long the pump needed to be spun with a cordless drill to build pressure. Both valve covers leak so I guess the oil passages are open. Enjoy your ride!
 
77ssii said:
thanks guys!
Robert, what would you recommend for a remote pre-lube system?
Would that be able to store potential energy for an unlimited amount of time without significant loss?
Click to expand...

I was referring to a pump preoil system. Many around to chose from.
 
My thoughts on a pre-oil for a simple rig like an IH is that it ultimately reduces the reliability of the truck due to all the additional places to leak oil.

I've got a little honda ct90 with a china 140cc motor that has an external oil cooler. I was on a 15 mi trip and a cooler oil hose started a bad leak. The piston seized to the cylinder on the way home. And I thought have an oil cooler would make the engine bullet proof, not!
 
No insult on your install abilities, but a poorly crafted oiling system is not fair reason to preclude the benefits of pre-oiling...
It does indicate the importants of quality system design, components and workmanship... Many of the rodders in the east install pre oiling on their toys for the same reasons as Mark.


Remote external plumbing for oil systems is as common as a pb&j sandwich...
Pre-lube systems on all forms of diesel/industrial power plants are common place...
 
No insult taken, the failure was apparently due to the fact that the hoses were not compatible with synthetic oils. This was not documented in the non-existent manual, but found on the web.

I guess each owner will need to do their own risk vs. Benefit analysis. My rigs are pretty much daily drivers so they never sit more than 3 months between use. That said I have had 3 IH 345's with failed cam bearings. One I believe came that way, another was due low oil pressure due to not enough in the pan and false 1/4 scale reading on the gauge and the last was probably when I had a huge backfire while switching from an empty to full tank. The last one I think also damaged the timing gear as new noises were evident after the episode.

Robert kenney said:
no insult on your install abilities, but a poorly crafted oiling system is not fair reason to preclude the benefits of pre-oiling...
It does indicate the importants of quality system design, components and workmanship... Many of the rodders in the east install pre oiling on their toys for the same reasons as Mark.


Remote external plumbing for oil systems is as common as a pb&j sandwich...
Pre-lube systems on all forms of diesel/industrial power plants are common place...
Click to expand...
 
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