I think my brain stopped working for a bit because this is what i did. I was changing the oil on our dodge ram 5.7 and once the oil had drained i needed to move it. I figured it would be fine to run it with no oil for 20 seconds.

Now that im ready to fill the oil and button her up, i just remembered that last time i changed an oil pump on my 2nd gen it needed to be filled(primed) before starting. Need some good solid knowledge here as its a nice truck im working on here.

 

The BEEEZE in your name must be blowin through your ears if you cranked that truck up with no oil!! If you only had to run it for 20 seconds couldn't you have pushed it???For you to take a chance like that just don't make no sence to me, but thats me, I'M CRAZY!!!

 

Thanks for the insult, any helpful criticism?

 

im with bear on this one ...bad move to start her up with no oil hope you didnt dammage anything

 

There can't be anything damaged from 20 seconds of no oil, do you know how long it takes for oil to reach the top of an engine during cold start up? What happens when a oil pump fails, does the motor seize immediately? Does damage occur as soon as the failure? It takes time and heat with no lube to damage an engine, not 20 seconds of runtime.

Lets take a breath and get back to the original topic, do i need to prime the oil pump?

 

Uhhhm

While I totally agree with the other 2 guys, you'de be hard pressed to prime the oil pump since I do believe its crankshaft driven, fire it up and hope for the best---
if the bearings are scored, its already a done deal.

I really doubt that they are, but I wouldn't do that again---soft bearing material just doesn't take """DRY RUBBING""" too well.

 

'Bout all you can do is fire it up. Don't know how you'd prime the pump, since it's down low in the crankcase. If it were true about your cold-start theory, these engines would have no oil pressure at that point. I can assure you mine does.

 

Well, filled the filter and crankcase then started it up. Got oil pressure per gauge immediately. I know it wasn't the brightest idea ive ever had but thanks for the help to get me through it.

My above post is not above oil pressure in the crankcase but throughout the entire engine. What engine builders and mechanics have told me is that it takes that long to circulate throughout the ENTIRE motor. Ive sat next to an new engine with the valve covers off and they let it run for over about 45 seconds before shutting it down and i didnt see a drop of oil. So I guess im generalizing a little and saying that engine parts do run dry for short periods of time everyday.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a certified mechanic by any means, this is all experience and common sense Im going off here so give me a break