pros/cons on oil system prelubers

jonahs_supra

Active Member
May 17, 2011
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as most know a engines wear accures the most at 1st start up(50-60% wear)
my thought was it would be nice to have my oiling system already prelubricated everytime i go to start up
well i did some searching around and came up with this:
http://www.accusump.com/

from what i read and understand when the oil system pressurizes the oil and is diverted into a accumulator
inside accumulator is a piston that sits to the bottom on accumulator at the oil feed/drain side
when engine is running...oil is diverted into accumulator which pushes piston upwards
behind piston is now pressurized air...at some point the oil psi and the air psi will equal out
the valve will close holding pressurised oil and air until released
so before starting engine the electric valve holding oil and its pressure will release thus priming the oil system for a better non dry condition
if for whatever reason while driving and the oil pressure drops below a certain pressure(depending on which automatic preset valve you buy) the accusump will supply some oil pressure to prevent wear and tear

i searched there accessories and found the lowest pressure valve which was 25 psi
since 7m's are low pressure this valve wouldnt work(for my engine 4psi hot idle)
so a electric shutoff valve or if you dont mind popping the hood everytime to open valve...start engine...then shutoff valve once oil has built back inside accumulator

at 1st i thought of a electric pump that got its supply from oil pan
then feed into a feed port somewhere on block or head
install toggle switch and soleniod to power pump
my thought on this is a decent size pump would be needed inorder to push the oil through
not to mention more wires in a already clustered engine bay
with a electric pump there is next to no extra oil needed to fill a resevior/accumulator

my thoughts on the accumulator would be if the accumulator or valve fails to take in oil then there is a extra 1-2qts of oil now in your engine(depending on which tank you buy)

any opinions on these setups on a 7m?
where would be the best oil feed to plumb to?
anybody using something like this?
which would be best?

thanks
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I ran an accumulator on my Mk3, using it to prelube was a Major PITA and just too much hassle so I just used it to protect the engine from starvation then set up my ECU so it would crank for xx seconds before firing the engine when below yy Oil Temp, rest of the time the antidrainback valve in the oil filter keeps enough oil in the system so you get pressure within milliseconds of startup.
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I come from a land down under
bhmsupra;1756365 said:
IJ, I like your thinking here... a lot.
Thanks, been doing this a looooong ass time so pick things up along the way!

jonahs_supra;1756367 said:
thanks IJ

what was some of the pros and cons you had when using it?

Pros: Never lost an engine to RK even at .95G sustained cornering

Cons: Weight and finding somewhere to mount it in a Mk3!
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I come from a land down under
I ran an electric valve hooked up to the engine management system, for a long time I ran no valve at all as for starvation protection it's not needed.

This way it always cycles all it's oil on each start up shut down but this will wear the piston seal after about 8 years ;)
 

jonahs_supra

Active Member
May 17, 2011
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my thought of my setup would be a toggle switch, relay and on/off electric valve
only to be used at 1st start up
about how long do you think it will take to fill a 2qt accumulator at 50psi cold idle?
did you tap into the oil sending unit with a t fitting or is the line needed to fill/drain accumulator needed to be bigger?

thanks again for the assistance
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I come from a land down under
I ran mine with -10 Lines T'd into my Filter/Cooler relocation setup.

The "problem" is on shut down you need to Rev the engine before shutting the valve to charge the accumulator to maximum pressure for the next cold start, this get's Old really quickly...

Next issue is on a cold start the Oil is thick and slow to flow out of the accumulator (this is why I mount mine in the bay so the oil stays warm and can flow if needed for starvation protection)

An electric pump makes much more sense if you want to prelube.

lsx176.jpg
 

jonahs_supra

Active Member
May 17, 2011
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well thanks again IJ
i will be going the electric pump route
going to be rebuilding a 7m over winter for next year to dd and track on weekends
just want to take extra precaution steps to help motor last a little longer lol