I store my car in my garage all winter...from late November to around March. Usually I don't start it up for long periods...a month or more.


I have a question for all the tech people out there...

• is there a fuse I can pull so that I can use the starter motor (as if I'm starting the car, and somehow kill the ignition or DFI system) to turn the engine over and prime the oiling system before finally starting the vehicle?

Thanks in advance for all the help...this forum is great.

 

FYI, most oil pumps are mechanical. It has been said that with everything being equal, most engine wear occur at startup since oil is almost non-existent.

 

The starter motor turns the engine at around 150 RPMs and the engine controller will let the engine make a couple of revs before it turns on the fuel and ignition.

Gear pumps prime right now and the oil flows very very quickly. The real danger is by cranking the engine for a while with the starter motor the residual oil will get used up so to speak and the pump will not spin fast enough to push the oil to replace the residual oil.

There is a reason why the engine revs to over 1000 RPMs upon every start. This gets oil to the various locations as quick as it can be gotten there.

 

Well said

 

I would not worry about one start like this per year.

 

The only thing that would help would be an external system that would allow you to pump oil to the cylinder heads before turning the motor over. Old tech motors used in severe cold climes sometimes had such features as I recall, often a manual pump or external electrical system. All you would accomplish by disconnecting the ignition and turning the motor over would be to exacerbate the problem. You might switch to a pure synth grade 5 5-40 oil (Motul or the like) if you are concerned. I use an additive that assists in eliminating dry starts but am in the minority. Search Militec-1 (and ONLY Militec) for more information if you are interested. No affiliation with this product on my part but it is well credentialed if you are inclined towards such things.