dohc v6 Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 i am putting in a new engine and the engine needs to be primed to start it. how do you guys do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybe2fast Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 prime the fuel pump by turning the key to the on position for about 20 sec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal_GS_1989 Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 You should actually turn the key on for a few seconds, then turn it off. then you rep[eat this a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 You two are dumbasses. Priming a motor you do with oil, not fuel. Priming the 3.4L TDC is a bitch. Period. If you want to do it right, there is only one choice. You need to use a vacuum pump to circulate the oil through the motor, using the oil cooler as the entrance. I won't og into detail, as this is a pain. Traditionally you just use a air gun with a geared bit on the end(the bit is liek that of a distributor), to turn the intermediate shaft, which in turn turns the oil pump, and builds pressure. However GM was nice enough to not only block this with a piece that is sure to leak, but also to make the cyl head cover the opening. Therefore, this can't be done. So how you prime the motor is you crank it over. Becuz of the high quality oil pumps on the LQ1, oil pressure will build fast. PULL ALL 6 plug wires to prevent the car from starting, and crank it over. Crank it for 3 turns, then let it sit for a few seconds. Then crank it 3-4 more times, and let it sit for a few seconds again. Do this until your oil rpessure gauge reads normal(about 1/4 to halfway). Then you can plug all 6 wires back in, and start it. Although this isn't the best way to do it, its the only way. And you will not hurt the motor becuz the 3.4 builds oil pressure so fast. This is how I did mine. Just one thing, DO NOT USE SYNTHETIC OIL. Prime the car with 5W-30 NON-SYNTHETIC(I used Castrol). Then change that after you break in the cams(20 min of running at 2-3k rpm). Chaneg it again to 5W-30 NON-SYNTHETIC. After 500 miles on the non-synthetic 5w-30, you are done with your break in. Change the oil to 5w-30 full synthetic(I use Mobil 1), and then change that every 3-4,000 miles. THis will ensure your 3.4 will have a long and good life. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canada Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Aaron is 100% correct. Just trying to get some oil up into those lifters and the rest of the motor. Just disable the motors running ability somehow........be it plug wires.....or unplugging the crank sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 proper priming requires getting oil to the motor WITHOUT spinning it over - so no using the starter here. the oil pump drive needs to come out and a priming tool(or an old distributor with the cam gear removed) is used to spin the oil pump. this MUST BE DONE THIS WAY BECAUSE the distributor completes the oil passages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 proper priming requires getting oil to the motor WITHOUT spinning it over - so no using the starter here. the oil pump drive needs to come out and a priming tool(or an old distributor with the cam gear removed) is used to spin the oil pump. this MUST BE DONE THIS WAY BECAUSE the distributor completes the oil passages. This is impossible as I said above :read: The motor not only has the cap covering that hole, but if you remove the cap you are asking for leaks for the rest of your motor's life. And also, the cylinder head was casted COVERING it. So what, remove the head and then prime it? THE ONLY WAY is to use a pump and go through the oil cooler, but this is a pain in the ass, trust me I tried it. SO I go to the local GM dealer, and this is what the service guy, who'd worked there for 36 years, told me to do. He said how they did it when they got the cars new, was they just cranked them after pulling the plug wires. Since the oil pump is so good, it builds oil pressure near instantly. Also, the 3.4 should have enough assembly lube on the valvetrain to stay alive for 1.3 seconds. How about you go build a 3.4 or 2 before telling other people how to. Becuz I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFromColorado Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 when priming a motor that you don't have easy access to the pump (thru the infamous oil pump drive) I always recomend pulling not only the plug wires, but the plugs too - it allows the engine to turn faster, which will spin the oil pump faster. Also, without the plugs in the engine, you'll have no compression in the cylinders, it'll put less load on the rod bearings. --Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loominaz34 Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Wait a minute.... doesn't DIS stand for distributorless ignititon system? is there some other distributor you guys are talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 How about you go build a 3.4 or 2 before telling other people how to. Pat has forgotten more about cars than you will ever know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 i failed to read the screen name and equate that with he probably built a dohc. 9pm is late for me to be thinking at all let alone making connections between a username and a post that doesnt ask about a specific engine. aaron, you come here and lay 800 sq ft of laminate hardwood flooring over an uneven basement floor by yourself, and come home from working on that and lay new carpet in your own house, then try and read a message board and function properly at 9pm for priming pushrod fwd engines with DIS you do pull the oil pump drive plug, and you can make the priming tool from a rwd 2.8/3.1 distributor. ive got one modified just for that, and ive used it on everything from replacing the oil pumps in 2.8's to my newest project 3400. oh yeah, belittling the 2 guys who posted above you calling them dumbasses cause the original post wasnt clear to 100% of the people who read it whether he was priming oil, fuel, or even the coolant system, was totally uncalled for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I thought it was pretty obvious what he meant. People don't prime their fuel system anymore, that is becuz we have fuel injection. And I guess, if you were, by priming the oil you are priming the fuel system... What he was trying to say is on the 60* V6s, there is a cap on the back of the block(driver's side), kinda below the water outlet. This is there from when the old 2.8s had a distributor. And since GM wanted to change as little as possible to cast the blocks, they just put a cap there. But we can use this hole to get an old distributor from a 2.8 down there, and use that to turn the intermediate shaft(or cam) thereby turning the oil pump and building oil pressure. But becuz fo the bulk of the DOHC heads, they were cast with a piece that covers that hole. So we can't prime them like you can the pushrods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skalor Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Why don't you just pull the ECM fuse, and then just crank it for a while. I always pull the ECM fuse when I installing new memcals in my TGP, and once I forgot to put the fuse back in. I just sat there and cranked it for a couple minutes, thinking 'WTF'. Then I remembered that I didn't put the fuse back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 That'd work too, but I just pulled the wires. Its easy, plus if you forget, you have 6 bright red spark plug wires staring at you unplugged... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPXSS Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Guys there is another way, one that doesnt require cranking, or even pulling the dist drive cap. This will cost you upwards of $40 This one I got at Lowes, comes with a fitting you hook to a garden hose to pressurize it (for use with water diluted mixtures). All I did was get the proper fittings and adaptors to connect this to my shop compressor. The wand end has a 3/8" fitting that screws in place of the oil pressure sensor. Fill with oil, close the lid, and either pump away or turn on the air. Viola, you just forced up to 2 gallons of oil through your engine. Id suggest mixing in some marvel mystery oil. For best results, pull the ECM fuse and have someone crank it over a few times while you pressurize the system.. this will make sure oil gets through the crank and to all the rods. If maybe you doubt this actually works, I used this contraption to free up an almost seized 3.4 dohc which had sat for 2 years, and had been spun over with no oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Yah I also mentioned doing that. The best way with that is through the oil cooler/filter adapter, but it is a pain and costs money. Really, it will not hurt your engine any by just cranking it. The 3.4 builds to proper oil pressure damn fast. After like 3 cranks, its full. And considering your valvetrain will have assembly lube on it anyway, it will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybe2fast Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 like Aaron said, as long as there is assembly grease on all the moving parts 3 cranks will not hurt it. I would change your oil on your new motor after 500 miles. I work at an autoshop and we do a free oil change on any motors we do after 500 miles. gets rid of any break in metal. Good luck with this engine...no more 7500 revs please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 A stock 3.4 won't rev past 7200, the intake and cam timing prevent it. However I will be seeing 8k in less than a year How I did mine. Used Castrol NON-SYNTHETIC for the cam break in(20min at 2500rpm or so). Then I changed that and ran another run of Catrol NON-SYNTHETIC for the 500 mile break in. Then i swithced over to Mobil 1 Fully-synthetic, and I change that every 3k. It is very important not to break in your cams or your motor on fully synthetic motor oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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