Pre-oiler question

[Bill E]

Jerry ,

Being under the assumption that these units only work when the whole is lined up would assume that the bearing is so tight that it would actually cap off the wholes in the oil galleys. There is usually 2000ths clearance and the crank actually floats on a sheet of oil in the bearing. This is why diesel trucks with this unit lasts so long. You are right about it not lubing the cylinder wall, but the rings are a fairly low tension and the fuel does have some lubricating properties. I worked in the marine industry for many years and boats sit for extended periods of time. To fire up an engine that had been sitting we would pull the distributor, bring the oil up to pressure, and run outboard premixed fuel for the first 10 minutes.