Help with oil pump priming

[kdevore]

I've finished installing my longblock and just started to prime the oil pump. This is the first motor I've installed so I'm kinda freakin out cause I'm not sure if whats happening is right. I started spinning the pump and it spun easy and after about 5 or 10 seconds it bogged down major and and I stopped cause I didn't expect that. I thought it was locking up or something. I started again and it was the same thing only it got hard to turn real fast and I could hear oil running somewhere. When I pull the drill out I can see the pump slowly spinning backwards. Is this all normal? Also, I installed a new oil pressure guage and not sure it's working. Should I see any pressure when I'm priming? I'm not. If I take the valve cover off to see if oil is making it up there, does it just trickle in or what? Does oil splatter all over? Sorry for the stupid questions but I just want to be prepared. Thanks.

[dimension4]

I don't know if that's normal, somebody chime in here. To prime mine I just disconnected the coil wire and turned the starter for 10 secs. Then let her rip. I think the drill method is much safer though, but my buddy works at Mercedes and that's how they do it. Ja Shure Die Deutsch!

[pyagid]

yes when it bogs down that is perfectly normal, that is the oil starting to get sucked up and go through the pump. Are you using a priming tool? or just a long screwdriver. If you are using the tool I believe you will eventually see some pressure. Is the gauge electric or mechanical? if it is mechanical you may need to bleed the line while priming it ot see some pressure, if it is electric you wont see any reading if it does not have electric power going to it. You could remove the valve covers, it will not shoot all over the place, you could always just cover the surrounding areas with rags or something to be safe.

-Paul

[tufcj]

The oil pump will bog a drill. It should turn clockwise to pump normally. I usually run the pump 'till I have oil out of all of the pushrods. It will just dribble, not squirt. When I did my 390, my 1/2" drill started smoking because it was working so hard to turn the pump.

Bob
tufcj

[kdevore]

Thanks for the replies. I got it running but the guage (electrical) is reading zero. It's got oil pressure though. So, I think I got a guage problem. It's a new guage and sending unit. PO had it all hosed up so I'm not relly sure how it should go. I flopped the + & - and the guage pegs with the motor not even running so that's got to be wrong. I pulled the wire off the sending unit and read the resistance to ground with the motor shut down and it read like an open circuit. I would think it would read some resistance, not open. Anyone know the range for the sending unit or at least what 0 psi should be?

[JeepsAndGuns]

If I were you, I would install a good quality aftermarket mecincal oil pressure guage. I never have trusted electric ones. I mounted a sun pro one to the bottom of the dash on my Jeep cause I wasnt getting good reading from my stock guage, I figured I would put it in first before I got too worried, turnd out I have all kinds of oil pressure.

[kdevore]

If I were you, I would install a good quality aftermarket mecincal oil pressure guage.

That's exactly what I did. I got about 63 psi.