Posted by Drew M. on December 09, 1999 at 08:32:33:
In Reply to: Priming engine posted by Drew M. on December 03, 1999 at 09:08:57:
Never primed a 230 w/o it running. Only primed a pump so it could draw oil initially.
I was thinking about the 230 oil pump design and my idea of an oil pump drive will not work as stated. Turning a flat edge ended rod in the dist. hole won't work b/c the flat end only will sit in the gear that runs off the camshaft. It won't turn (doing so would force the engine to spin but likely would break things first).
If the pump does not have a gear attached to it, then you can remove the gear drive that runs off the camshaft and insert a rod with a matching end as the gear drive end to prime the engine. On later Mopars, the geared shaft removes by spining it in the direction opposite of the gear teeth direction. This forces it up and you can wiggle it out. Also make sure the rod used to drive the oil pump has soft tape coating so the bushing holding the oil pump drive/gear is not damaged when you prime the engine.
If the pump has the gear attached to it directly to run off the camshaft, then there is no easy way to prime the engine.