initial startup from a fully rebuilt engine and oil pressure guages

[CorrupTTalon]

basically my engine died last year because of oil starvation. not sure what caused it but it had a new oil pump on it. regardless i just built a 5k engine and want to make sure its healthy and never thirsty for oil....

i read people gain the inital oil pressure before startup with a drill by spinning the oil gear on the front cover? does this need to be done? or will i be fine just cranking the thing over untill i see oil pressure, than starting it?

also i need a good guage. is it best to get a direct line guage? meaning not electronically read but via the actual oil pressure through a line? maybe both? i just want to know what is going on inside this motor at all time.. mostly oil of course.. what would be the best solution, it can be electrctronic, for monitoring my engine.. other than a 3k engine managment system

thanks

 

[nightspeed87]

only thing bad with a mechnical gauge were oil is directly through a line is that say it ever has a problem or a rupture that oil in the line may spray all over your dash or where ever you have it mounted. An electrical kind is a better choice even though a little more expensive . I see a lot of classic american muscles mount their mechnical gauges on the hood or cow of the outside of the car where they can still read it through their windshield so if perhaps the gauge sprays oil overwhere then it wont be inside the car. I hear if you want a little more oil pressure, removing your balance shafts will give you a little more pressure. ( Mines are coming off in the rebuild im doing right now. ) But I havent confirmed if this is true.

 

[timloomis]

Yea spin up the pump with the timing belt off and youll have oil as soon as you start it the first time.Taking out the shafts will make higher pressure,it did on mine,but my turbo feed line from the filter housing took it right back.A mechanical gauge is better,since your stocker is electrical,and the sending unit just measures resistance,not actual pressure.I've had a mechanical gauge in my pod for years now with zero problems.You'll have problems with oil in your face if you dont tighten it down or use thread sealant of some kind.Ill trust a mechanical gauge any day over an electrical one,since my stock oil pressure and coolant temp sensors are WAY off.Only deal with mounting the gauge on the cowl of a hood is that its easier to route the tubing.

 

[nightspeed87]

Yea spin up the pump with the timing belt off and youll have oil as soon as you start it the first time.Taking out the shafts will make higher pressure,it did on mine,but my turbo feed line from the filter housing took it right back.A mechanical gauge is better,since your stocker is electrical,and the sending unit just measures resistance,not actual pressure.I've had a mechanical gauge in my pod for years now with zero problems.You'll have problems with oil in your face if you dont tighten it down or use thread sealant of some kind.Ill trust a mechanical gauge any day over an electrical one,since my stock oil pressure and coolant temp sensors are WAY off.Only deal with mounting the gauge on the cowl of a hood is that its easier to route the tubing.

True. So i was right about the oil pressure raising from removal of balance shafts which is agood thing, but what did you mean by the turbo feed line just took it right back?
And I never was knocking a mechnical gauge because I have mechnical gauges I was just making a point of the negative side about them. Good idea with the sealant though ill have to go do that to mines. I just made sure mines were tight and I think I even throughly wrapped the line with some sort of tape as I recall.

 

[timloomis]

Well my oil line for the turbo is -4an,which is about the same size as the internal passages in the filter housing itself.So it just feeds the turbo then right back into the oil pan.It took a good 10 psi away when i installed it.

 

[CorrupTTalon]

thanks for the replies....

i definitely removed the b-shafts.

ill end up running both gauges probably, the live one with a braided line or copper line to make sure the whole spewing over the dash doesnt happen