Have just finished putting back together my engine and it's hopefully put together correctly (first time rebuilding).

My question is I am trying to test for oil pressure before putting it back in. What is the best way to do this? I don't have a jump pack and only a 3A battery charger.

I tried hooked the battery to the starter motor and letting it crank for 3-4 seconds but didn't want to drain the battery. Also the sparks were a bit concerning.

How long would it normally take to achieve oil pressure from a fresh rebuild?

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1965 Morris Mini Deluxe - 998cc SC12

with the spark plugs out,,, Kicking it over for about 20 to 30 secs should do it

don`t be scared tho,,, kick it over for as long as it takes,,,, if all is good it shouldn`t take long at all tho

you should hear the engine "slow" with the creation of oil pressure,,, it will be either that or your battery dieing

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Yeah I had the spark plugs out

Had it cranking off the battery, +ve connected to the starter and -ve to the body of the starter.
The battery was struggling after 4 seconds.
Also the leads I was using were slightly warm. So wasn't sure how safe it was to hook the starter directly to the battery.

Might need to hunt around for a jump pack

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1965 Morris Mini Deluxe - 998cc SC12

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Have a Nice Day.
If already having a nice day please disregard.

Might be worth hunting for a better set of leads. Many leads on sale these days aren't really up to the job of jumping a car with a flat battery, the wire isn't thick enough. The fact they are heating up tells you they are struggling with the current.

I have a few really old sets of leads and they are great. I have some home made leads with welding cable and they are great too.

Pete

These leads are old, very old lol.
Might grab a thicker gauge on the way home today.

So the way I hooked it up is correct then?
Positive first to battery, then to the starter, connect negative to starter body then to battery?

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1965 Morris Mini Deluxe - 998cc SC12

yeah that`s fine, it sounds like you have either a flat battery or a sad starter motor, (or both)

with the plugs out there is very little force required to turn the engine over & a decent battery & starter package should be able to spin it over consistanly fast for about 20mins

not that you should need to but that`s what a good "set-up" will do,,, so you have (in my opinion) more than just crook leads

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Thread hijack.... Put my motor back together and gets around 20psi at idle and ~ 70 when running, what's normal, OK and bad?

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

Safety Tip: the last connection should never be at the battery.
Make it at the starter (reduces chance of exploding batteries)

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Perfectly safe, but 20psi at idle seems a little low for a newly rebuilt motor to me. Is that HOT (including emphasis ) or cold?

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

A trick I've been told is to loosen the bolt where the oil line goes from the block to the oil filter head. Wind it over and if oil comes out you'll have pressure.
If not you will need to reverse prime the pump by taking that bolt out and pouring oil down the hole in the block and then wind over the motor in reverse and repeat a few times and that will prime the pump. I had to do that the last time as I'd filled the spin on filter with oil and it created an air lock. It worked a treat and another thanks to the good ol Dr Mini for shring the knowledge.

If still no oil pressure then you've got bigger problems, or you forgot to put oil in the motor

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Hmmm, was a recon, just changed the head, cam, timing chain to a belt, oil and oil filter. What should it be at idle?

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

I get no less than 40psi idling at ~1000rpm hot, perhaps as low as 30psi if it's REALLY hot. This with KMX oil and the ball bearing relief valve mod tuned for 80psi max cold, on an 8 year old engine.

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

I agree, I have virtually the same oil pressure as SGC with the same modified releif valve. Might be worth you doing the valve mod if you haven't already Dave.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Hmmm, I might have to finally drop your stuff back to you Simon so you can show me how to do this.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...