Will forgetting to install the oil plunger feed the motor unfiltered oil?
06-23-2008, 06:08 PM
#1
Will forgetting to install the oil plunger feed the motor unfiltered oil? I figured my low oil pressure problem out. The rear oil plunger was not installed. I was looking at a schematic and it looks like it redirects oil flow down through the filter and then up to the top end/mains. I ran the motor for about a total of 45-60 seconds to wait for oil pressure to rise from the 15-20psi it was idling at. When it didn't I shut it off. This is a brand new motor, could I have fed the motor unfiltered oil? And should I be okay?
06-23-2008, 06:39 PM
#2
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the plunger is there as a restrictor to build pressure.... you may have hurt the bearing maybe a builder will chime in and let you know if there is a chance you hurt something.
06-23-2008, 07:03 PM
#4
Motor was revved ever so slightly (300-400RPM). Just to see if the oil pressure would respond. After that I clicked it off. Also, like I said, I only ran it for maybe 60 seconds. Valvetrain seemed noisy but so did the motor itself. Just sounded like more intense piston slap. It is a brand new valvetrain which I've read are noisy by nature (PRC double springs/7.350 pushrods) and forged pistons and rods which are also noisy until warmed up. I didn't notice any rattling.
06-23-2008, 07:16 PM
#6
Also, to specify, I'm not worried about oil starving the bearings because I did have a little pressure, as Randy said. I'm worried that because this is a new motor and the crosshatch is still on the cylinder walls that the metal shavings that are normally found in the motor during the first oil change or two may have found it's way past the filter and back into the bearings because that plunger was not there to direct the oil down into the filter and then back up to the galley. It looks like, in the schematic that I saw, that without the plunger oil will just skip right over top of the filter and travel up to the lifters.... that's what I'm worried about.
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06-24-2008, 12:55 AM
#8
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I'm assuming you're talking about this little guy here which is what my machine shop pulled out of mine. Truthfully, there are many guys running without the oil restrictor etc (especially those on turbos). If you only ran the engine for 60 seconds or so I seriously think you'll be fine. The cross hatch hone you're talking about does need to be broken in but it takes more than 60 seconds at 300 rpms to do that. You're looking in the neighborhood of a thousand miles if not more to really smoothe out the cylinder walls. Besides, I'm sure you had at least SOME residual oil left over from when you put the pistons in the block 
Either way thanks for the reminder 
Either way thanks for the reminder 
