restart after winter hibernation

[sk47]

Hello; without taking a side on whether to prime a long sitting engine i do note some facts. A while back a thread on putting the gas pedal to the floor happened. A thing pointed out by some who do that was they indeed had oil pressure on the gauge when cranking with the gas pedal on the floor.
One of my long-held thoughts is even without pressure there ought to be some benefit from having oil coating every working surface before fire up.

Let me throw in another idea. my old car is now 25 years old. I do not drive it every day so it can sit a few days. Even in less than a week it will rattle briefly at start up. I assume it is valve assembly. Around three years ago I started adding Z-MAX at my yearly oil change ( I drive less than 3000 miles a year anymore) Seems to help with that rattle at least.

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[EFI]

How do you prevent the engine from starting when cranking?

Why do you need to do that? This isn't the olden days...just put your foot on the brake and hit the start button.

 

[EFI]

why doesnt priming it work?

Priming works, but not by cranking the engine. It doesn't spin fast enough to get oil up to the heads.

Now you could prime it manually by inserting an oil line into the side of the block and using air pressure to push oil through the galleries. I've seen people do that with a hand pump sprayer.

 

[blankman]

Back in the olden days, I would always crank over the engine after winter storage without starting it. It was easy - just pull the single coil lead from the distributor. Today --- no single coil lead, no distributor. How do you prevent the engine from starting when cranking?

Considering we are all different ages , what do you consider the olden days? Back in the late 90s and 2000s I would never manually prime my 5.0s after winter storage. Granted I was starting them every month or two just to make sure the battery wasnt dead. But I've never had an issue with bearings, cams or even the upper valve train when doing this. Always just start it and let it idle for 45 mins to an hour.

 

[Hack]

Start and drive away gently to get the vehicle warmed up.

Idling is really bad for engines. The rings see almost no load, so the cylinders can get glazed. This reduces the seal (compression) that the rings make. Extended idling leads to reduced power and increased oil burning.

 

[sk47]

they indeed had oil pressure on the gauge when cranking with the gas pedal on the floor.

It doesn't spin fast enough to get oil up to the heads.

Hello; been a while, decades, since i had an oil pump apart and for sure not a modern Mustang type. If the newer pumps are different somehow I do not have the experience to know. I do watch a lot of auto repair and engine building videos and the few I have seen seem similar in fundamental operation. They are mounted on the snout of the crankshaft is a noted difference.

I changed the oil pump on a 1963 Olds cutlass. The pump was accessible on the outside of the block. I added a bigger pump body with a bigger impeller to get more volume. Thing is there were springs I could change to change the oil pressure. I used a stock ratted spring. My point being the pump had to build enough pressure to overcome the spring before sending pressurized oil out. seems to me if a gauge is showing pressure when cranking the pump has pushed enough oil to get to the top of the engine???

 

[ihasnostang]

oil more important in the bottom end than the head, no?

 

[John S]

I just start it and go. Oil analysis continues to show all parameters at nominal readings.

Pre-oiling is overrated as the tribology studies don't back up the urban myths, it's the rings that suffer the most from start-up. Same goes with pre-filling oil filters, it can't hurt but the data doesn't support the benefit. If you're really worried after long term storage (years?) you can always remove the oil filter and send a charged load of oil into the engine through the inlet fitting. A cobbled piece of pressurized schedule 40 pipe, similar in concept to an accusump, will easily prime the oiling system.)

 

[exvette]

That's 11 blades..

That's 11 blades..

depends on how many blades on the prop. 2 bladed prop = 4 revolutions. 4 bladed prop = 2 revolutions. 11 blades = 5 1/2 revolutions? 2 3/4 revolutions?

 

[Mach 307]

A bit different of a question, but pertains I believe. My car has been stored on flat stoppers, with a ford performance battery tender, and a full fuel tank with stabil added. Pertaining to the stabil, do I just drive the car like normal on that first tank? Or I assume avoid spirited driving before that tank is clear of the car?

 

[diambo4life]

Add gas and start it up.

 

[Skye]

Pertaining to the stabil, do I just drive the car like normal on that first tank?

I do.

My first drive is something of a shakedown and checkout. I check this, operate that, while allowing everything to move around, fluids circulate, etc. About 45 mins to an hour. I drive "normally".

Afterwards, I drive like I always have. I generally re-up on fuel when I'm 1/2 down.

Stabil advertises it can keep fuel as-is for up to two years.

For those using E85, it's my understanding drivers do not store with that in the tank, as it is so moisture friendly. They switch to 93/91 before putting in storage, then switch back once driving again.

 

[Garfy]

Just always thought that the oil drains from top to bottom when not started for a long time. Concerned about OHC bearings, timing chains, crank bearings, etc. Guess it comes from eight blades for a radial engine. Afraid I am showing my age.

I think if you're using a high quality full synthetic oil, even after a few months the oil film will still remain on the surfaces so just start it up.

 

[Timbuck]

There is a lot of miss info about building oil pressure on the “flood mode” or holding your foot flat and cranking.
I installed an after market gauge to prove this , due to the fact I was building a sleeved / forged motor and on first start up I wanted to see oil pressure and with a gen 2 you only have yes or no.
I wanted to see a value.
i have a boundry pump and these pumps including the factory pump move fluid at 200 rpm. The starter can do anywhere from 200 to 250rpm.
i Have ZERO problems getting oil pressure on the starter with 5w30 oil. even On a dry engine the biggest thing you can hear is the chains and guides sound like an only diesel all the clunks and bangs and finally after 10 or 15 seconds the oil fed tensioners get pressure and start to quite down and tighten chains , after that cams finally get some oil and things get nicer to listen to.
I’ve just did this again to the same engine as I had to remove it from the car to change valve stem seals. It’s not about PSI it’s about flow. can literally hear parts of the engine settle once the oil gets there , also watch the heads get oil as the chains fill.
spend the 10 mins to remove the plugs and these engines spin like a top.

DO you need to NO !! But on my $20,000 AUD engine , taking an extra 30 seconds to hold your foot flat on a fresh / seasonal start up is a no brainer for me. It just gives a little time under ZERO load to get things moving If you can get a little oil everywhere before there is load that’s a win in my book. There is no right or wrong just each to their own.

 

[robvas]

so you turned the engine over dry instead of priming it with a pump like the manual tells you to do...

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