How to Prime a Gen 3 6.4

retroron said

So, theoretically speaking, using an external oil pump along with rotating the engine would be similar to pressure priming don't you think? My engine was a factory line engine (gen 3 6.4) and came with oil in the pan, but since I had to change the pick up I'm leery of just cranking it and hoping for the best. I'd be interested in you opinion.

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I would think any engine shop would have a pressure tank at their disposal, but i suppose cranking a SBC oil pump with a drill, in a bucket, and attaching it to the oil port would be the same thing. You'd be forcing oil into orifices of the engine, and coating the bearing surfaces. You don't have to hand crank the engine continuously while also running the drill. You just want to spin it several times so you get oil to all cam journals. remember the oil holes aren't lined up 100% of the time.

with the valve covers off, and running that "priming tool" you should (after probably 15-20 mins) be able to see oil flowing through all of the rocker arms. At that point, you're pretty much done.

As a final step, before starting it. Remove the SBC apparatus and re-plug the port. Then crank the engine over with the actual starter motor (and no spark plugs in it) for a few 20 second intervals to ensure the pickup tube is full. You're beyond good to go at that point.