Got the tool and drill to prime the engine oil in my v6. Should I spin it clockwise or counterclockwise?

Clockwise like the rotor.

That's what I thought, but when I did that oil burped up outta the distributor hole, and I never did see oil come to the rockers

Thats because the dist HOUSING is what "seals" that cavity, half the oil that would ordinarily go through the oil passages is being lost. you need to use an old dist OR a proper device, ya can't use JUST the hex shaft. have you got a mechanical oil pressure GAUGE hooked up ? You CAN prime it enough without the oil coming out the lifters.

An oring or two will help a bit. There will be some oil no matter what. And Lou is right.

The important part is to get the oil into the pump and the oil passages in the crankcase. The assembly lube will keep the engine from melting down while the rest of the oiling system fills up.

If you don't have access to a modified distributer, you can do this instead: pull out all the spark plugs, and disable the fuel system. Then crank the engine until you see the oil pressure start to rise on the gauge. With the plugs removed and the relatively slow cranking speed, the load on the engine internals will be very light. And if you used assembly lube properly, there will be no harm to the engine.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 03-17-2013).]

quote Originally posted by Blacktree: The important part is to get the oil into the pump and the oil passages in the crankcase. The assembly lube will keep the engine from melting down while the rest of the oiling system fills up. If you don't have access to a modified distributer, you can do this instead: pull out all the spark plugs, and disable the fuel system. Then crank the engine until you see the oil pressure start to rise on the gauge. With the plugs removed and the relatively slow cranking speed, the load on the engine internals will be very light. And if you used assembly lube properly, there will be no harm to the engine.

thanks, this sounds like the way to go. it wasnt rebuilt, i just did the headgaskets and its sat for a long time, wanted to pump up the lifetes before starting it up. they were all collapsed

shouldn't a person be able to use a washer that's a little larger than the hole and bolt it down with the stock hold down and spin the hex shaft with a drill without having oil flying all over?

They stayed all collapsed after you took the pushrods out ???

Yeah, the engine had been sitting at least 3 years. When I tightened the rockers the push rods pressed the center of the lifters down

quote Originally posted by Mr.Goodwrench: ... when I did that oil burped up outta the distributor hole ...

As others have indicated, one of the lifter oil galleries intersects the distributor well, and that's where the oil you saw was coming from. I used a smooth extension shaft to spin the oil pump with a hand drill, and there was enough room for me to close off the oil gallery with a fingertip and operate the drill motor (slowly and carefully) with my other hand. Go slow ... you don't have to do it all at once ... and after about 30 seconds oil will begin oozing out around the pushrod sockets in the rocker arms. At that point the oil system is fully primed. As also pointed out, good assembly lube will help protect the engine for the first few seconds after a fresh startup.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 03-18-2013).]

Hopefully this will pump up the lifters too

Oil has to pass through the lifters and up the pushrods to get to the rockers. If you have oil bleeding out at the pushrod sockets on the rocker arms, the lifters will have been bled. Those lifters positioned on the toe of cam lobes when you prime the oil system will not fully "pump up" until the engine is running; this is normal for any engine that has been sitting for a few hours.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 03-18-2013).]

If you fill the oil filter before installation it will make priming much faster and easier. I primed an engine with just a long extension and had no problems at startup. Any lifters not primed will pump up quickly, but you can just leave the coil wire disconnected until you have oil pressure.

Grantman, on your suggestion of using a big washer--the base of the distributor is maybe 1/2 inch deep. The O-ring at the top keeps the oil from leaving the engine. The side of the base helps to seal the oil galley passage and any excess oil goes back down into the sump. A washer wouldn't have enough side surface area to seal that area.

I should be able to make something using the distributor from the duke, I assume they are same diameter