Pre-oiler question

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Everyone that I've ever run into (engine builders, install shop, etc.) said it was superfluous.

... and RodKnock pisses away far more money than I.

[blykins]

Hope all of this helps you, Jeff.....

[DAVID GAGNARD]

My opinion is just that,my opinion, but it is based on what I've seen in the past, 2 instances come to mind:
#1:when I dirt track raced in the early 90's,at the end of the 7 month long season, I would pull the engine and go thru it,freshen it up for the upcoming season....one year I ended up running some races at other tracks after our season was over, by then hunting season had started so I parked the race car.4 months later I pulled the engine to freshen it,when I tore it down there was oil clinging/hanging on every part,it was literally dripping from the cam/rods/crank,basically everywhere.........Back then I used 10/30 Valvoline with a can of STP oil additive added in on every oil change, can't say the STP had anything to do with this, but it couldn't hurt...
#2: About that same time frame, I bought a 65 Mustang,289,2 barrell engine in it for parts,pulled the engine with unkown mileage and sat it under my shed. took the parts I needed off the car and put everything else up for sale...I know this engine had not been run in at least one year, probably longer...well, a guy comes by to buy it, he was checking it out and pulled the dipstick, it was full of jet black oil, then he wanted to pull a valve cover,I told him to have at it, then he wanted to turn the engine over to make sure it wasn't frozen, I got out a 1/2 drive rachet and the correct size socket for the crank bolt,the guy turned the engine over three times by hand and on the third rpm, there was oil coming out of the pushrods........I was suprised to say the least and he bought the engine right there.....

Putting in a pre-oiler is fine if one wants one,we're just saying it is not as needed as some may believe....how many cars are on the road today???? how many sit for weeks or months without being started???? How many come from the manufacter with a pre-oiler??????

David

[blykins]

When I mock up an engine to degree the cam, check piston/valve clearance, etc., etc., I'll use an old set of mock-up bearings and squirt some oil on both halves with an oil can, or rub on some assembly lube before I drop the crank in, and before I put the rods on the crank. You'll be surprised at how much oil flows out of the bearing and runs down the main cap, or flows out of the rod bearing. I have pulled those bearings back out with wipe marks on them....now mind you they weren't worn, but there was contact....and that was from a low number of revolutions, with no load. If there is no flow, there is no resulting load support.

After everything is cleaned, the crank is polished, and I go to fully assemble with the intended bearings, I will saturate the bearings with assembly lube (I use Royal Purple and it's very viscous), but I'm still shocked at how much squirts out and runs down the main caps when I'm rolling the engine over to do different things.

[mdross1]

Originally Posted by blykins

When I mock up an engine to degree the cam, check piston/valve clearance, etc., etc., I'll use an old set of mock-up bearings and squirt some oil on both halves with an oil can, or rub on some assembly lube before I drop the crank in, and before I put the rods on the crank. You'll be surprised at how much oil flows out of the bearing and runs down the main cap, or flows out of the rod bearing. I have pulled those bearings back out with wipe marks on them....now mind you they weren't worn, but there was contact....and that was from a low number of revolutions, with no load. If there is no flow, there is no resulting load support.

After everything is cleaned, the crank is polished, and I go to fully assemble with the intended bearings, I will saturate the bearings with assembly lube (I use Royal Purple and it's very viscous), but I'm still shocked at how much squirts out and runs down the main caps when I'm rolling the engine over to do different things.

Have always built all my motors and drive trains and like you anal about clearances,assembly lube and all that goes with making things right as they possibly can be.
For a long time considered the preoiler certainly can see the benefit if one was offered to use you know it would be plumbed up.
Again in all the years of pulling motors apart and knowing how some were cared for realize the preoilers are not needed for most.No doubt they have a place if I were road racing all the time would certainly have one in my car.

[blykins]

I will edit this post because it came across harsher than what I intended...

What I meant to say was that for a thread that would benefit from some detailed analysis and proof.....there wasn't much. It just seemed like everyone was fighting for their own opinion.

I hopped over to Speedtalk and did some searches to hear what some other builders were saying. The general consensus there was the same thing here: it certainly doesn't hurt anything and in high horsepower cars where acceleration and cornering is a concern, it can actually help. What really raised a flag was that Jeff told me that the car would possibly sit for months at a time. I've seen sticky cam lube fall off of parts in a couple weeks' time, so I know that oil will slide off easily. I'm not under the impression that you can walk away from a car, walk back in a season, and oil is just poised and waiting at the pushrod tips, lifters, bearings, etc.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by blykins

What I meant to say was that for a thread that would benefit from some detailed analysis and proof.....there wasn't much. It just seemed like everyone was fighting for their own opinion.

I hopped over to Speedtalk and did some searches to hear what some other builders were saying. The general consensus there was the same thing here: it certainly doesn't hurt anything and in high horsepower cars where acceleration and cornering is a concern, it can actually help.

Brent, another forum with engine builders isn't detailed analysis and proof. There is none available. The OP's original question will naturally have drawn opinions.

The part is cheap and the installation relatively simple, so Lippy, do it or don't it. You won't find proof here.

For me, my cars sit. You take the coil wire off and crank. Your preoiled, then start the car. With a preoiler, there's additional connections and something else to potentially go wrong.

I have an expensive engine, my engines have always sat for long periods and I'm not worried. But whatever.