I'm a rookie.
About to fire up a rebuilt 1965 361.
I am ready to prime the oil pump and my understanding is this is done by rotating the shaft that extends from the distributor shaft down to the oil pump with an electric drill.

So I have the distributor pulled up out of the way and I see the slot where the distrib shaft matches up.

The distirb shaft slot is surrounded by a gear that is engaged to the gear on the cam (and the gears are 90 degress offset).

I can't rotate the slot with the gears engaged.

I assume I must disengage the gears - do I lift the distrib shaft gear off the cam gear somehow?
Thanks, -Art

You need to pull that gear/shaft up out and use a priming tool that will go down through that hole into the oil pump. Drill is run counter clockwise.

While you're turning the pump you need to slowly turn the crankshaft at least two full revolutions to get oil to the top end.

OK thanks,
Any advice on method to pull that shaft up? No room for fingers, but I can fab a grabbing tweezer thing from some sheetmetal I have and grab the backside of the gear and pull.

I'll have to put it back in the same synch with the cam gear.

Otherwise - I have the hex shaft, CCW rotation, and I can pull the crank around easily (sparkplugs are out). Now I just need an extra pair of hands.

on the steel ones I use a long flat tip screw driver and twist it and the gear will ride up off the cam and then I use a long magnet tool i have to grab it and pull it up out.

Thanks, I got it out by turning it loose with a long screwdriver and reaching behind the gear with a 1/2" strip of .030 steel bent at the end.

I hand rotated the hex shaft and I can hear it pulling oil. After dinner I'll have a helper to prime while I turn the crank around and back to TDC - two full 360 rotations to bring me back to the the same firing position, right? Yeah, I marked the orientation of the slot, rotor and distrib housing before removal, so I can check alignment when I put it all back in.

And wouldn't you know I found a coolant leak from one of the exhaust manifold studs. But that'll be tomorrow's thread.
Thanks again guys.

One more very important note here...rotate the priming shaft Counter Clockwise on Big Blocks and Clockwise on Small Blocks. 361's are considered Big Blocks....

Put electrical tape around the body of the hex driver to protect the distributor bronze bushing from getting chewed up.

logan426

when installing have #1 at TDC the slot should be horozontal at 9 and 3 oclock . then the rotor will point to 5 o clock

You should do this right before you start the engine. When the oil pressure builds the drill will be slowed down and working hard, check your gauge or dash light operation so you know it is working normal. I like to hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge and leave it on the car while driving on a new engine to make sure the pressure is up and not changing like its eating a bearing. Fun times ahead.

Hey John, thanks, I'm all set. And thanks everyone for the comments.

I got a long hex shaft and worked it CCW last night, enjoyed the faint sound of gurgling oil. Tonight I'll start rotating the crank around to TDC while pumping, just to get all the journals, galleries, etc. Should I pull a valve cover just to check it's getting up top?

Also: I just got the latest issue of Mopar Action. Tech Topics p.94 has a diagram of firing order, cylinder #'s, the distributor slot orientation at #1 TDC, rotor orientation at TDC and CCW rotation. Talk about serendipity!

I've kept the hex shaft away from the brass bushing but will add some el.tape, thanks.

My helpers went to Tae Kwon Do class, so I'll pull the crank around a little at a time and pump in between each pull until I get back to TDC.

First I gotta pull the pass side exh manifold to seal a coolant leak at the rear stud. Think red hitemp silicone on the stud threads will do the trick?
-Art