Priming a 351e v6 engine

[Jim A]

I guess I had in mind that he only had the rotor off and not the whole distributor.
I assume the hex drive for the oil pump fits inside the distributor drive, taking its spin to turn the pump.
A further probably dumb observation is that the direction (cw or ccw) the oil drive is turned makes a difference.

[AZKen]

Yes distributor has female hex. Not sure if both directions will work (probably not) but it's CW. There are no dumb questions here just sometimes dumb answers. (from me). Forums are for all levels of experience and knowledge. No one knows everything. Every one of us started with no knowledge. I try to be right, but sometimes slip up with bad memory, not thinking properly or wrong assessment. I change my posts allot until it reads what I wanted to say. I can't tell what it says until I see it posted and sometimes rethink it.(brain lock)
I hate to be wrong. But I love answering because I learn by it. Look it up, study it, check to see if my experience/memory is correct...and in the end read the correct answer from another member.

[triteddy57]

I need to correct that. I did put in 6 quarts. For some reason the larger containers of oil I had contained 5 quarts and my mind was automatically and lazily, subconsciously recalling most other things in bigger containers usually come in 4 quart/gallon sizes. I recall 1 container plus a quart from another, sorry.

I did look at that masterlube site which is interesting but no prices listed which throws up the "so overpriced salesman has to tell you how much" red flag signal.
About how much (ballpark) are they?

[Ed Snyder]

Originally Posted by triteddy57

I did look at that masterlube site which is interesting but no prices listed which throws up the "so overpriced salesman has to tell you how much" red flag signal.
About how much (ballpark) are they?

With options (chrome plating, larger size, longer hoses) I paid about $400 for mine.

[bigblockv6]

When priming my 478 I experienced the same situation of not getting oil in the rockers, the solution to that was just hand cranking the engine with a breaker bar in small increments and continuing the priming process and yes oil did come out of the rockers. It was that simple, otherwise I've got to say this whole issue on priming is getting blown out of proportion!!!

[AZKen]

It may seem blown out of proportion. It may seem like it's not rocket surgery. It is over explained, by me especially. When someone asks for help and they say they are inexperienced, I don't want them to damage their motor. I want to explain, suggest, advise, if they care. Experienced members can just ignore the repetitive, boring aspect, so that others can get help. Starting at a basic level of explanation. Let me know if I am right or wrong. I am new here also and don't want to cause headaches.
Priming is one thing but walking a possibly inexperienced person thru a 6 year dormant motor startup is another. Ed's post on primer was interesting. Had never heard of that. At this point, I would not advise that to the poster. That's for an already good runner as added protection. It costs more than a good running 305!.... (joke)...... (maybe).

[Ed Snyder]

Originally Posted by bigblockv6

When priming my 478 I experienced the same situation of not getting oil in the rockers, the solution to that was just hand cranking the engine with a breaker bar in small increments and continuing the priming process and yes oil did come out of the rockers.

Aren't there holes in the rocker arm shafts that have to be lined up with holes in the mounts before oil will flow? That won't happen with just spinning the oil pump.

[triteddy57]

Thanks everybody for advice. 1.

1. It never occurred to me that the rocker arm shafts had holes in them that should be lined up with holes in the mounts I will look at that.
2. I see the top of the oil filter housing has a small metal line (Probably about 1/3 the diameter of a air pressure nozzle on a tire) that works its way up into the dashboard. I am guessing it's the oil temperature sensor maybe? That's where I guess I will install an oil pressure gauge. (I certainly have a new and improved appreciation for mechanics because the small confines they have to work in is baffling.) But first I want to look into the rocker arm shaft suggestion.

I hope I am not causing anybody frustration do to Ignorance but a big part of the reason I am doing this myself is an exercise raising my mechanical IQ. And I do appreciate everybody's input.

[AZKen]

No frustration on my part. I'm learning from Ed like you are. Don't turn motor to check passage holes until you put the Dizzy back on or we will be explaining another procedure. When I did mine I did turn motor over with starter and I did see oil moving. Did not do the drill thing. I thought I remembered doing it on other motors with a drill and seeing oil. But as ED has pointed out, the drill on pump rod would be to prime pump and pressurize the system as seen by having a gauge hooked up. To see oil, I guess you need to rotate motor with hand or starter after priming. You probably already did prime. Seeing movement up in the rockers, you should be ready to start for a min or two. Use fresh gas from a fresh container, NOT from old tank. Or starter fluid only, to get a second or two of running. Wear safety glasses and keep an extinguisher handy. I would do it outside for safety and exhaust fumes.
You are correct, you have a mechanical oil gauge. The oil goes thru the line and the pressure is read by the dash gauge. On an electric oil gauge, there is a sensor on the motor. You can hook up gauge as I did in my pic above or if your dash gauge works, voila!

[Clyde]

When I managed a hi-performance automotive machine in the 70's we primed every engine that left the shop. On that note while priming whether by an auxiliary pressurized oil tank or spinning the oil pump, on certain engines you have to also rotate the engine by hand. The reason being, some engines feed oil to certain parts of the engine occasionally, so the camshaft might have a flat in a cam bearing journal, this is just one of several ways oil is fed to the top end of an engine.