So Im finally at the point where i'm ready to start buttoning up the Merc flathead i just put in my roadster. The old motor was shot and this motor came along at a great price so i figured id take a chance on a quick upgrade. well, as i tidied the motor up a pulled the intake and the oil pan off and everything looks hunky-dory but before i go too far i want to make sure she's pumping lube good and strong. the motor is in the car with the starter hooked up and turning her over, oil filter is plumbed in exactly as it was when i got the motor....carbs and intake are just sat on top so its easy to look in the valley.... hopefully the experts of the HAMB can tell me a quick check, what should I be looking for?
make sure the oriface is in the oil line to the filter if it hasen't been converted to 95% filtering, leave the spark plugs out and crank her over, if you show any press you are good to try her out, on a stocker you don't need much pressure they will run if oil is moving............
If you want to build quick oil pressure take the plate off the oil pump and put some grease in the gears if the pump is old. Else as described. Should only take a moment to build up pressure when cranking with the plugs removed.
Thanks guys I'll give I. Shot, Carl, not quite sur what you mean by the Oriface. Motor hasn't been converted to 95%....as far as I'm aware it's stock....
on the stock filter there is a .060 oriface in the line usually in the intake side (the fitting itself) if you take the fittings off you can see it sometimes guys remove them as they think they don't belong there but the stock system just dumps the oil back into the pan and without the oriface or restriction in the line you loose pressure to the system...............
Oh right! I getcha, there is a fitting right next to the canister that has what looks like a vacuum diagram housing on it...wasn't sure what it was...could that be it? If I remove the filter from the canister and crank the engine over should I be able to see oil entering the canister? Or would that only really be visible with the motor running at idling rpm and above? Thanks for your help Carl, just want to be sure I'm in good shape before I get into the exciting bit...... Felix
Cannister fill will be slow because of the restrictor. Make sure plug at front of oil gallery, hidden behind cam gear, is there! That is a surprisingly frequent memory problem, and results in near zero pressure! Once you are ready to go, do 2 things: First, build a feeder can, coffee can or something, with a hose to 1/4 pipe fitting and hookitup to where the filter would hook up. Put in your last couple of quarts of oil through that (slow process!). This fills the galleries and will give you oil pressure IMMEDIATELY as soon as you hit the starter. Must be done right before start! Next, if you want a test before actual ignition, leave out sparkplugs and give your 6V starter a good spin on 12V...this will give you an excellent take on the state of your world. Good mechanical gauge, of couse. The "vac can" you found is probably the sender fo original electric oil gauge.
Ok, everything checks out. Oil flows in to the canister with good pressure, oil flows clearly down the intake line and I can prime like Bruce recommends but I do have a question, just so I know how this works. I assume the oil canister fills up and then overflows down the centre tube and into the oil feed line....but how does the oil get into the central tube when the bolt is sinched down? Ate there some holes in the centre tube I should b making sure are clear? What am I missing here?....
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