F-134 priming questions

I just pumped 1qt. of 10w/30 oil into my newly rebuilt F-134 thru the oil pressure sending unit hole.
I have some questions for you that know more than me, which is practically everyone.
Is 10w/30 the proper weight oil?
How much oil is enough to properly prime a new engine?
How do I know if the oil got to the right places?
The engine was put together with liberal amounts of assembly lube. The oil pump was filled with oil prior to installation but I'm sure most of the oil was lost during assembly. After pumping the quart of oil into the engine I noticed oil was 1/2 way up in the canister filter.
Comments will be greatly appreciated.
Tommy

 

It sounds like you've done everything right so it should be primed enough to crank over. What I did on mine was install an auxiliary oil pressure gauge with plastic tubing. I did this because I didn't know if the original idiot light would work and also because I could see the oil being pumped through the plastic tubing. If you don't have one, I highly recommend picking one up at your FLAPS (only about $20.) I left the coil unplugged and started cranking the engine until I saw oil being pumped up the plastic tubing to the pressure gauge. Then I started it.

10W-30 is the proper oil but 10W-40 works too.

 

Just before you crack it over you can ether make a rod or maybe buy one to stick down the dist. Hole to the oil pump and prime with a drill slowly. Or at least on most motors. Thats what I do. Makes sure oil is everywhere before you crack. My two cents. I have Never worked on a 134 though.

 

Hi Tommy,
Advice on what oil to run on your f-head varies greatly. Here is my two cents for what its worth. Because of the attempt to increase the life of modern catalytic converters , oil has been stripped of some additives that are highly beneficial to older engines. Namely zinc and manganese. Because of this, I run 15w40 diesel oil in my f-head, it still has those additives. My Jeep is my daily driver and weekend warrior. I live in Phoenix where the temperature routinely gets above 110 degrees F. and 15w40 works great. I dont know how it would do in colder climates though.

 

Good to know thanks.

 

because the pump runs off of the camshaft on the F and L head engines, then you do what you did to get oil into most of the passages, then put the tranny in neutral and and remove the distributor cap and spin the engine up with the starter motor.

 

Thanks for all of the advice.
I won't be able to start it until I get the frame ready. looks like that will be after this next duck season so I think I'll pump another quart in it and then fill it with oil and spin it a few revs with the starter before I set it aside and start on the frame.
Does this sound like a viable plan?
Thanks again,
Tommy

 

I like to pack the oil pump with Vaseline when an engine will sit for long periods. If that is not viable and you can't spin the oil pump with a drill then a simple garden sprayer with oil can be used to pressurize the oil system before startup. I'm not a fan of just using the starter to crank it over. If the oil pump doesn't pick up immediately you can damage the engine bearings. Seen it happen many times when I worked at a custom engine build shop and customers let the engine sit for years before startup and didn't prime the oiling system.


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