Changing oil...Let it drain overnight ?

[Paul Workman]

Well, it takes a couple minutes - filling, waiting for the oil to pass through the filter to the fill the outer side of the filter media, then keep adding a little at a time until it is practically full.

Then, I hold the filter close to the threaded center 'post'. In one clean motion I turn it over and plant it on the threaded post and spin it on. Because of the rubber diaphragm (ZR-1 filters), oil doesn't come out of the periphery holes.

Y'all do whatcha want, but with minimal effort it is really not messy at all; save for maybe a few drops. (I figure if Lotus specified filters with the diaphragm valve in them as to minimize the wear until oil pressure builds up, then pre-filling the filter has to be a good thing.)

YMMV...

[Dynomite]

After you have filled that oil filter before installing and after you have practiced and accomplished the "one clean motion planting" to perfection you get your oil filter installed

Then you fire the LT5 up and get oil pressure a bit faster (if you fire the LT5 up within minutes of installing the oil filter). Then you let the LT5 sit overnight and you are exactly where I am the next morning after I install a dry filter or you may be just a tad ahead because your filter medium is wet (not a full oil filter).

So.....rather than have us practice the "one clean motion planting" why don't you just fill your oil filter the night before and then after a few minutes tip it over in a clean oil pan letting it drain exactly like I do by leaving it on the engine until the next morning. You can then pour that drained clean oil back into the empty oil quart. Then the next morning you remove your old oil filter and install your filter medium wet but drained oil filter which is exactly like the old oil filter you remove. NO MESS

If you really want to get a discussion......why not every morning before you fire up your LT5, remove the drained oil filter and fill it up with oil and then with the "one clean motion planting" install that oil filter (filled with oil) before you fire the LT5 up within minutes later. You could really get carried away and do that "trick" every time you turn the engine off for 30 minutes or more. I have never heard of anyone doing that (at least admitting they do that) on an LT5 before

Every engine drains back oil but every engine maintains plenty of undrained oil in the Main Bearings and Rod Bearings as well as the Camshaft Bearings to not have metal to metal contact within several seconds (even longer) of no oil pressure. The LT5 would be at say 5 seconds without oil pressure as the Oil Filter gets its supply of oil that drained back.

The Oil then runs through the crankshaft from front to back through each Rod Journal and associated Main Bearing with oil pressure building from front to back. At the same time the oil is flowing through the timing chain idler sprocket as well as upward through the oil port toward the front of each head (a hole about 3/8 inch diameter) feeding the camshaft journals and associated cams and lifters. All that journal oil is not drained while sitting without oil pressure but all the ports/paths to those locations does drain a bit and is replenished within a few seconds of start up. Now if you let an engine sit for months I think the situation is identical as cited above as the oil is maintained (not drained) from the various journals where you need oil on start up. Start Up Journal Loads are light as compared to driving journal loads so the coating of unpressurized oil does prevent metal to metal contact upon start up for several seconds and probably much longer.

And keep in mind the LT5 usually turns over several times before firing which that is usually within that time period that gets the oil filter filled. I know this because I have an LT5 engine upside down with oil pan off and heads off. If I fill the Oil Pick up port on bottom (top with engine upside down) with about a quart of oil (in steps while rotating the crankshaft clockwise) I get an empty oil filter filled and oil coming out of the crankshaft journals (two oil ports to heads blocked) within about 50 rotations of the crankshaft more or less.

The actual oil pump flow rate at Idle is 1.6 gpm (at say 850 rpm) which actually would mean the oil flow rate is .0075 quarts each revolution of the crankshaft.

When the engine fires up at 1,500 rpm you get 25 rotations of the crankshaft in one second. You would get one quart of oil in 133 revolutions of the crankshaft or about 5 seconds of idle at 1,500 rpm which is more than enough to fill the empty oil filter

Originally Posted by Paul Workman

Well, it takes a couple minutes - filling, waiting for the oil to pass through the filter to the fill the outer side of the filter media, then keep adding a little at a time until it is practically full.

Then, I hold the filter close to the threaded center 'post'. In one clean motion I turn it over and plant it on the threaded post and spin it on. Because of the rubber diaphragm (ZR-1 filters), oil doesn't come out of the periphery holes.

Y'all do whatcha want, but with minimal effort it is really not messy at all; save for maybe a few drops. (I figure if Lotus specified filters with the diaphragm valve in them as to minimize the wear until oil pressure builds up, then pre-filling the filter has to be a good thing.)

YMMV...

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

After you have filled that oil filter before installing and after you have practiced and accomplished the "one clean motion planting" to perfection you get your oil filter installed

Then you fire the LT5 up and get oil pressure a bit faster (if you fire the LT5 up within minutes of installing the oil filter). Then you let the LT5 sit overnight and you are exactly where I am the next morning after I install a dry filter or you may be just a tad ahead because your filter medium is wet (not a full oil filter).

So.....rather than have us practice the "one clean motion planting" why don't you just fill your oil filter the night before and then after a few minutes tip it over in a clean oil pan letting it drain exactly like I do by leaving it on the engine until the next morning. You can then pour that drained clean oil back into the empty oil quart. Then the next morning you remove your old oil filter and install your filter medium wet but drained oil filter which is exactly like the old oil filter you remove. NO MESS

If you really want to get a discussion......why not every morning before you fire up your LT5, remove the drained oil filter and fill it up with oil and then with the "one clean motion planting" install that oil filter (filled with oil) before you fire the LT5 up within minutes later. You could really get carried away and do that "trick" every time you turn the engine off for 30 minutes or more. I have never heard of anyone doing that (at least admitting they do that) on an LT5 before

Cliff... Don't confuse me with the facts - I'VE ALREADY MADE UP MY MIND!

I guess this all started with leaving the drain plug out over nite so as to get that last drop out...seems rather moot when it still retains a quart or more in the cooler and other places, no? I don't see what difference a few drops would make against a quart+ that remains in there: left over nite or not? I don't think it does. Besides... 10+ quarts of fresh SYNTHETIC oil mixed with a quart+ of slightly used SYNTHETIC oil doesn't seem worth all the fuss, no?

OMG...!! We've forgotten the perpetuation of diminishing proportions aspect! Think about it: Somewhere in that crank case there is some of the original oil still running around!

[Hog]

I remember reading the service instructions for the 3.8L turbo Buicks. After an oil drain/refill and filter change, the tech was to disable the ignition and turn the engine over until oil pressure is attained.

Could probably be done with the LT5 as well.

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by Hog

I remember reading the service instructions for the 3.8L turbo Buicks. After an oil drain/refill and filter change, the tech was to disable the ignition and turn the engine over until oil pressure is attained.

Could probably be done with the LT5 as well.

THAT makes sense (to me)! As we've been tossing this around, that occurred to me as well.

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by Paul Workman

Cliff... Don't confuse me with the facts - I'VE ALREADY MADE UP MY MIND!

I guess this all started with leaving the drain plug out over nite so as to get that last drop out...seems rather moot when it still retains a quart or more in the cooler and other places, no? I don't see what's difference a few drops leaving it drip over nite would make against a quart+ that remains in there: left over nite or not? I don't think it does. Besides... 10+ quarts of fresh SYNTHETIC oil mixed with a quart+ of slightly used SYNTHETIC oil doesn't seem worth all the fuss, no?

OMG...!! We've forgotten the perpetuation of diminishing proportions aspect! Think about it: Somewhere in that crank case there is some of the original oil still running around!

You guys always get me calculating

Originally Posted by Hog

I remember reading the service instructions for the 3.8L turbo Buicks. After an oil drain/refill and filter change, the tech was to disable the ignition and turn the engine over until oil pressure is attained.

Could probably be done with the LT5 as well.

That is exactly like my experiment where I find the oil filter is filled in about 50 revolutions of the crankshaft with NO rod pressure on the rod journals (cranking the engine by hand). Yes...that does make sense but then again.....I think there is the majority of LT5s that have been fired up with drained back oil filters for years and with well over 100,000 miles on the engines with NO noticeable adverse wear on the Rod or Main bearings from what we would call a potential dry start up. I surmise from that the oil maintained on the journals is plenty to prevent metal to metal contact of the rod bearings/journals for a short period of no oil pressure. I further suggest that this oil maintained on the journals resides there for a very long period of time (months if not years).

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

You guys always get me calculating


That is exactly like my experiment where I find the oil filter is filled in about 50 revolutions of the crankshaft with NO rod pressure on the rod journals (cranking the engine by hand). Yes...that does make sense but then again.....I think there is the majority of LT5s that have been fired up with drained back oil filters for years and with well over 100,000 miles on the engines with NO noticeable adverse wear on the Rod or Main bearings from what we would call a potential dry start up. I surmise from that the oil maintained on the journals is plenty to prevent metal to metal contact of the rod bearings/journals for a short period of no oil pressure. I further suggest that this oil maintained on the journals resides there for a very long period of time (months if not years).

Yeah-but...think on how much of the wear in to total X miles occurred during the engine's life of cold start-up/NO oil pressure, Huh? Is it .0000009% or 90% or somewhere in between? (That'll keep ya bizzy for a while!)

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by Paul Workman

Yeah-but...think on how much of the wear in to total X miles occurred during the engine's life of cold start-up/NO oil pressure, Huh? Is it .0000009% or 90% or somewhere in between? (That'll keep ya bizzy for a while!)

OK...OK....OK.....I am going to design an electric auxiliary oil pump that I just flip a switch (with key on) before firing up the LT5. I run this auxiliary oil pump for a few seconds until the dash oil gauge reads good oil pressure. Then turn off the auxiliary and fire up the LT5.

I will install a pressure switch on the auxiliary intake side that is closed when there is no oil pressure and opens at say 50 psi oil pressure with key on (the auxiliary gets 12 volts available when key is on at the pressure switch). Just in case your mechanical oil pump fails this auxiliary will also function as an emergency back up for a failed Oil Pump.....

Or even more simple.......a push button that hot wires the Starter Solenoid hot wire (just run a wire from battery to switch to Starter Solenoid Wire). You get in the ZR1 and push the Starter Solenoid button with key off and the engine turns over until you get oil pressure (check with key on). But.....I think with key on if you hot wire the Solenoid the LT5 will fire up so you have to not push Starter Solenoid button and key on at the same time which may take some practice like the "one clean motion planting" of the oil filter takes practice

How about them apples

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

OK...OK....OK.....I am going to design an electric auxiliary oil pump that I just flip a switch (with key on) before firing up the LT5. I run this auxiliary oil pump for a few seconds until the dash oil gauge reads good oil pressure. Then turn off the auxiliary and fire up the LT5.

I will install a pressure switch on the auxiliary intake side that is closed when there is no oil pressure and opens at say 50 psi oil pressure with key on (the auxiliary gets 12 volts available when key is on at the pressure switch). Just in case your mechanical oil pump fails this auxiliary will also function as an emergency back up for a failed Oil Pump.....

Or even more simple.......a push button that hot wires the Starter Solenoid hot wire (just run a wire from battery to switch to Starter Solenoid Wire). You get in the ZR1 and push the Starter Solenoid button with key off and the engine turns over until you get oil pressure (check with key on). But.....I think with key on if you hot wire the Solenoid the LT5 will fire up so you have to not push Starter Solenoid button and key on at the same time which may take some practice like the "one clean motion planting" of the oil filter takes practice

How about them apples

I realize we're just having a bit o' esoteric fun here (and everyone else left to go have a beer while we two idiots argue in the parking lot!), but truth be known, IIRC some aircraft engines in fact DO have a pre-oiler, just for the reason we're kickin' around here. So there!!

[XfireZ51]

I just take advantage of the long starting cycle for the LT-5 and run the starter a few times just before the engine catches.