Re: Restarting Unused 5I Engine

[OorQue@aol.com]

> The accusump uses your system pump to pressurize the accumulator. Catch 22.

True but only to a point.  The Accusump reservoir is divided into two 
separate pressurized chambers -- one for air and the other for oil -- by a 
sliding piston.  By sliding one way or the other, the piston changes the 
relative size of the chambers based upon the difference in pressure between 
them.  One chamber holds pressurized air, which is used to set the minimum 
pressure for the oiling system, and the other holds several quarts of oil, 
which is forced out of the chamber and into the engine whenever the oil 
pressure falls below the preset air pressure.
 
By increasing the amount of oil present in the system, oil pressure is thus 
restored.  And, of course, when the oil pressure is greater than the air 
pressure in the reservoir, the extra oil is pumped back into the reservoir 
and stays there because of the pressure difference between the oil and air.  
On most installations, there is also a valve that can be closed while the 
engine's running to keep the oil in the reservoir under pressure after the 
engine has been turned off.  Before the engine is started next time, this 
valve is opened and the pressurized oil is released into the engine bringing 
it up operating pressure (or very nearly so) before the engine is fired up.  
Of course, it's not nearly as elegant a solution as a proper dry-sump system 
-- done correctly, they not only keep the bearings nicely oiled but can add a 
few horsepower to the engine's output as well --  but on anything other than 
an all-out racecar, they work as well for a fraction of the cost and 
installation headaches.

That said, I've successfully pressurized the oil in an engine before starting 
by using a setup similar to a pressure bleeder for the brakes.  In this case, 
I took a two-gallon plastic gas can, drilled a hole near the cap for a tire 
valve and filled it with oil.  I then modified the cap to take a brass 
fitting, to which I attached one of the rubber oil cooler lines (if you're 
using the factory oil cooler with threaded fittings, this step will require 
more work), and then routed the other line into my waste-oil container.  I 
next closed off this line with a C-clamp, filled the gas can with oil and 
slowly pressurized the container with air from a blow-gun on a handy air hose 
... voila!

You'll need to watch out for leaks and I wouldn't recommend using too much 
air pressure since gas cans are not designed for this purpose -- as I recall, 
I only ran it up to 20psi or so -- and when the time comes to depressurize 
the system so you can start the car, open the C-clamp slowly so the 
pressurized oil doesn't spray everywhere -- I learned this lesson the hard 
way, of course -- then reattach the oil cooler lines.

While this is obviously not the ideal approach, it did let me make sure that 
oil was present throughout the engine before I started it after four years of 
sitting in storage and it cost me only $3 or so for the gas can as I 
scrounged everything else from around the garage.

JG