Loading an Accusump?

[260DET]

Is it possible to fill the accumulator with oil prior to starting up a new engine? There does not seem to be anything on this in the official Canton literature but prelubing a new engine immediately before startup seems like a good idea.

 

I'm thinking it may be possible by letting all the air pressure out then running oil in, hoping gravity will do the job. Don't have any facility to pressure load the oil, if thats what it takes.

[RB26powered74zcar]

If you are using a L6 Z car motor, just remove the distributor and make yourself up a tool that looks like a flat head screw driver about 12" long that you can insert into the hole where the distributor goes into, and engage the oil pump drive key way. Spin it in reverse with a power drill and it will prime your oil galleys / motor....

 

I spin it till I see the oil pressure gauge rise.

 

I hope my description of the home made drift tool with a flat tip makes sense to you.... lol. Good luck, it works!

[Tony D]

/Pet Peeve On Again/ Doesn't the oil pump drive spindle drop out the bottom on the L-Engine?

 

So drop the pump, remove the spindle, reinstall the pump and spin it to prime, charge the accumulator, drop the pump, reinstall the spindle and pump loosing prime to the pump again....

 

I mean, on a Chevy it's a piece of cake 'cause it comes out the top, but on the Datsun IMO its a bit PITA. /Pet Peeve Off/

 

Removing the plugs and cranking may be counterproductive to what you want to accomplish but here is another idea:

 

What we had made up overseas was an old Air Rechargable Water Fire Extinguisher. We would prefill the appropriate oil into the thing, pressurize it with air, hook the discharge hose to a fitting on the oil system. To discharge it you simply pushed down on the valve, priming the engine.

 

We did NOT prefill the sump, we put say 5 quarts of oil into the thing, and then filled the sump through pressurizing the oil stem through the oil pressure sender. This gave us plenty of prelube, including to the top end, as well as fully charging the engine's oil pan with the service amount of lubricant...

 

Then it's a matter of starting the engine, and activating the Accusump to get charged. You could do it while filling as above, just add more to the fire extinguisher.

 

Really, any pressure vessel with an easy open top and bottom suction hose for discharge would work. You could use one of those Harbor Freight Fluid Transfer Pumps and siphon it out of the oil cans, or a bucket and pressurize it externally that way as well.

 

Whatever you do, DON'T screw with the precharge on the Accusump! They are charged with dry nitrogen to prevent corrosion. If you fill with regular compressed air, the internal components likely will have moisture put to them and corrode in time.

 

If you can't find a small pump, your only alternative may be to simply crank the engine with the plugs out, or do as suggested above and drop the pump, make a spindle tool, and go through the whole rigamarole...

 

Cheers!

[RB26powered74zcar]

lol.... you got me Tony.... . I forgot I don't have to deal with that oil pump drive gear, as I didn't use the distributor when I had my L6 motor... (TEC2 on board )

 

Its been so long since I've had to deal with the removal of that gear, I plumb forgot about it.

[260DET]

Engine is a VG30DET, they have a crank concentric oil pump of course As the Accusump has to be plumbed in to the system before startup, it would be good if it could be preloaded.

[jt1]

You can fill the accusump with oil before you install it, and put the air in right before startup to prelube. No problem.

 

jt

[primadonna z]

I assume that you are using a shut off valve to the accusump so that you can shut the valve before shutting the engine off. Then open it prior to starting to pre lube.

If so, remove any air pressure from the accusump. Take a rod, or screwdriver and make sure that the piston is colapsed. Fill with oil, and reattach your hose, and valve assembly. Make sure that the valve is in the closed position and pressurize the sump. You ready to go.

Prior to start up open the valve.

[A. G. Olphart]

Like Tony's, my 'accusump' is nitrogen charged.

[260DET]

Good, thanks jt1 and pz, will have to look at the nitrogen aspsect but I was under the impression that they are normally charged with air ex factory. I guess if air is used then the air compartment could be drained occasionally.

[Cethern]

OPERATION & CARE / FINAL SETUP

SETTING THE PRE-CHARGE

Once the Accusump™ is mounted and the plumbing installed take some time to set the Accusump™'s precharge.

Improper pre-charge can result in many problems. To ensure your Accusump™ will work correctly follow

the steps listed here.

With the valve in the open position (electric units energized) and the engine not running; pressurize the

Accusump™ to 60 psi. This will ensure all the oil is out of the unit and the piston is all the way to the oil end. While

the Accusump™ is pressurized to 60 psi check all the fittings (gauges and lines) for leaks. Apply soapy water to each

area and check for bubbles. If possible, wait overnight to ensure there is no loss of pressure. For the unit to operate

correctly there cannot be any leaks in the air side. Temperature change will affect pressure.

Once you are sure there are no leaks, bleed down the air pre-charge to between 7 and 10 psi. Now when you

start the engine and open or energize the valve, the pressure in the air side of the Accusump™ should increase to

approximately that of your engine oil pressure. After you close the valve and shut your engine off, check your oil

level. Add oil as required to compensate for the oil being held in the Accusump™.

Under normal conditions the pre-charge should not need resetting after the initial set up. However, if a leak occurs

or if the unit's pre-charge seems to have changed you may need to reset your pre-charge to ensure your Accusump™

performs correctly. To reset your pre-charge, set the valve to the open position (electric units energized) while the

engine is not running; and pressurize the Accusump™ to 60 psi. Next bleed down the air pre-charge to between 7

and 10 psi.

Under no circumstances should the safety valve be removed, as this will void the warranty. If oil leaks from the

safety valve, be sure that it is sealed with Teflon tape and tightened; the safety valve is hand tight when delivered and

requires final tightening after installation of the Accusump™ valve. If oil still leaks from the safety valve, there is a

problem in the installation. These valves are very reliable and are set to open at 175 PSI, which is far above the

pressure the unit would see if installed correctly.

[jt1]

All the accusumps I've seen used air, but that's been several years ago. Nitrogen would keep the moisture down for sure, if you had a source to fill it and adjust pressure. Probably some welding stores could supply it, or race teams that use N in their tires.

 

John

[A. G. Olphart]

All the accusumps I've seen used air, but that's been several years ago. Nitrogen would keep the moisture down for sure, if you had a source to fill it and adjust pressure. Probably some welding stores could supply it, or race teams that use N in their tires.

 

John

 

Mine was rebuilt and precharged by a hydraulic shop; nitrogen is SOP there in accumulators as a safety measure, to avoid possible fires/explosions in case of a failure. I doubt if engine oil at under 100 PSI carries much risk... but I don't know at what pressure engine oil will diesel. Perhaps we have an engineer who can tell us what the critical pressure range may be?

 

 

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[Tony D]

lol.... you got me Tony.... . I forgot I don't have to deal with that oil pump drive gear, as I didn't use the distributor when I had my L6 motor... (TEC2 on board )

 

Its been so long since I've had to deal with the removal of that gear, I plumb forgot about it.

 

 

No bag on you, dude, I'm seriously peeved that you can't lube it that way! Having the TEC in our Bonneville car driven off the Crank Trigger in the Dizzy (small wheel setup) instead of truly on the pulley, I never considered the thought we COULD have primed the engine like that before a startup. 14.75:1 CR would have liked some prelube...

 

I swapped in an LD28 Oil Pump Drive spindle when we did the conversion so ne need to support that upper end.

 

I digress, but it still peeves me that I can't lube it like my old Corvair or SBC!

 

I WISH it was that easy.

 

As for N2, I've used that for years, comes from charging similar accumulators in Military Aircraft. You can get a small bottle of N2 and 2-Stage Regulator (Like for welding) pretty cheap. Easily charges tires (which also run N2)---you will be amazed how many tires you can fill off a small container charged fully to 3500 and regulated down to 32psi! Also, the Accumulators on the turbocompressors I service now also spec out N2 for their equipment for the same corrosion concerns---untreated mild steel thinwalled pressure vessels like a pumps' water bladder. Rust through in about three years using utility air. Last 20+ years using N2.

 

Cheap insurance if nothing else. The aluminum accumulators on military equipment all use N2 for moisture prevention. Airplanes and race cars go hand in hand IMO. Goose/Gander comparo!