Small Block & Big Block Chevy Specific - Priming the oil pump...

How much oil should be coming up thru the pushrods when priming the pump?
I am using a milwaukee 1/2 hole shooter thats rated for 5.5A and 850 rpms.
A little background...... I put the motor(LT1) together last year and never got enough time to work on it because of my job. I primed it with the generic oil shaft and didn't get much oil coming out. I had a little bit make its way out the lifter so I figured good enough, well it wasn't. Anyhow, this spring I went and fired it up and heard some noise under the passenger side valve cover. Opened it up and no oil on the top end. I decided to pull it back out . I bought the correct primingtool. Before turning I removed 2 lifters and pushrods to confirm they were clean and the pushrods were not blocked with junk. I then reinstalled them and adjusted the rockers. Spun the shaft and got nothing. When I adjusted the valve, I only gave the LS7 lifters a 1/4 turn, as I had set up the last set up with comp r's and used even less preload than this time around.Just thinking looser is better than too tight.
I gave the lifter an additional 3/4 turn and then I got some oil out but it took forever to get oil to just trickle out of the rockerarm/pushrod. Can a loose adjustement actually cause the oil to not travel up the pushrod?
I have always used the base circle of the cam to adjust the valves. Pull up and down on the pushrod till slight resistence is felt and the rod no longer moves up and down. Then give it whatever preload at that point. I now have some Morels in hand, so they'll be going in this time. Not saying anything is wrong with the ls7 lifter, but these are what I wanted to use the first time around and the budget wasn't there then but it is now( Along with my Dana s60 and chromemoly driveshaft I need to pick up from Strange on Monday)
Any thoughts.......

my friends motor did the same thing, we noticed it after putting on some new heads it would just have a lil oil trickle down the rocker arm,it read about 60 psi on the oil gauge, he put some new lifters on it and nothing, so we tore the motor apart and it had a spun cam barring there is a hole in the barring that has to line up with the one in the block if it doesnt it will still show that you have good oil psi but it wont get oil to the lifters. i hope thats not whats wrong with yours but it might be a possibilty

i have always primed mine with a drill very similar to that and never had any trouble with oiling issues. you will never be blowing oil out the the pushrods when priming cause the oil galley is blocked partially by the lifters until they move up and down passing the oil into the lifter.

agreed with previous post. I have always used the method of priming it and then turning it 90 degrees and priming it again and then repeating. You can never be to careful with the oiling system.

I will try rotating the assembly when I prime it.
I am glad I did decide to pull the motor out cause the oil pump drive shaft/gear tab was broke. It wasn't completely broke but the tab has a major crack in it. I am looking into a billet housing to replace the plastic one. A little pricey but it shouldn't be an issue again. Plastic doesn't belong on the inside of an engine. I like having peace of mind:nod:

it had a spun cam barring there is a hole in the barring that has to line up with the one in the block if it doesnt it will still show that you have good oil psi but it wont get oil to the lifters.

I don't know about lt1's, but i'm pretty sure all sbc's made after 1957 or so do not require any holes to be lined up between the bearing and block, because the boss in the block that accepts the cam bearing has a groove cut all the way around it so you don't have to put the bearing in any specific way. if the engine is showing good pressure but has a bad bearing, i would venture to say that the groove in the block (or oil feed hole) is full of debris, thus allowing it to retain oil pressure and prohibit oil from flowing to the bearing itself.

remember, oil isn't going to shoot out in a solid stream, especially when you're priming it with a drill. also don't forget that you need to use the correct priming tool (i use an old distributor with the teeth ground off of the gear) because the distributor housing has a groove in it that completes the circuit for the two oil galleys that go to the lifters. hope this helps a little.

I don't know about lt1's, but i'm pretty sure all sbc's made after 1957 or so do not require any holes to be lined up between the bearing and block, because the boss in the block that accepts the cam bearing has a groove cut all the way around it so you don't have to put the bearing in any specific way. if the engine is showing good pressure but has a bad bearing, i would venture to say that the groove in the block (or oil feed hole) is full of debris, thus allowing it to retain oil pressure and prohibit oil from flowing to the bearing itself.

remember, oil isn't going to shoot out in a solid stream, especially when you're priming it with a drill. also don't forget that you need to use the correct priming tool (i use an old distributor with the teeth ground off of the gear) because the distributor housing has a groove in it that completes the circuit for the two oil galleys that go to the lifters. hope this helps a little.
There is an orientation to the cam bearings being installed on the LT1.Mine are fine.
I used the wrong priming tool the first time but have the correct tool that slides into the hole. I have primed it since and have oil trickling out of the rockers. Since it is apart , I will put the Morels in and ditch the LS7 lifters. I just need to get a new oil pump drive shaft. My tab is cracked.
That was my main concern ,as to how much oil should be coming out of the holes when priming. Thanks for the info.

There is an orientation to the cam bearings being installed on the LT1.


aha, nice to know incase i ever venture into lt1 territory.

Yes actually cam Bearing clock is important. 1 at 1 and 5. 2,3,4 at 5 and5at 12 o clock. Not that this hAs anything to do with the prime. As long as u have soil through the motor even if it's just trickling out ur fine. Once it starts and the cam is spinning the oil pump ur golden.