engine rebuild help

I finally finished my 98 jgc rebuild from the short block up and ran into a little snafu. I did not prime my oil pump since I installed it while the engine block was upside down on a stand during that phase of the rebuild. It appears the thing won't prime itself and I am open to suggestions. Right now my thought is to hand-pump a quart through the opening where the sending unit attaches. On the up side, she cranked right up and purred but I only let it run for about 5 seconds when I realized the oil pressure wasn't there. I then removed the oil filter and it was dry. It's a side mount so I can't fill it before installation. Any thoughts on priming the oil pump are welcome. I am ready to get my family car up and running again. Even in Alabama people will look at you strange when you strap 2 little ones in the back of a mustang gt. (my work car) One more question: How much do I have to worry about 'breaking in' the new engine since it has moly rings? Do I still baby it for the first 500 miles or what?

Lessons learned:

1) Don't listen to your brother-in-law when he tells you it will be a sinch to mate the engine to the transmission verses removing and reinstalling everything as one unit. :screwy:
2) If you are dumb enough to make the first mistake, don't add to the mix by using one of the two main engine to bell housing bolts to attach the engine to the cherry picker chain. :eek:
3) If you don't have a covered garage, don't count on the drought to provide you with good daylight and weather to complete your project. It rained just about every bit of time I had off from work.
4) Don't trust your 3 and 5 year old boys to do anything but use your tools to dig in the dirt.

What if you pull the coil wire and let her crank for a good 30 seconds?

See if that puts some oil in your filter.

they have drill attachments that attach to the oil pump drive and you can prime your whole oiling system. i wouldn't crank the motor if there's no oil getting around even with the coil wire off unless you have that much faith in the assembly lube

Funny you should mention that... The answer to what happens if you try to prime it with the coil wire off is that the coil (which also had 280k) dies after about 30 seconds. Mental note to unplug the wires to the coil, not from... What I ended up doing after a run to the parts store for a nice new coil, was took a medium length, cheap screwdriver, beat the handle off, and chucked it into a drill. I then removed the distributor, inserted the drill, and gingerly spun it until I felt some torque on the drill. Then I pulled the pressure sensor off and gave it another lick on the drill and was very pleased to see amber shoot out of the hole. I put it all back together and she cranked right up. I drove it around the yard and let it idle a bit to make sure nothing vital would leak out and then actually drove it to the fireworks show tonight. So in short, after a few weeks, 1 wrong engine block, a few harsh words towards the jeep designers, and only one royal fit (my wife would probably use the word rampage...) , I am happy to report I have my jeep back.

LOL cheap a$$ pump priming solution good on ya

Rebuilt motor with a new coil.:cheers:

Ahh yes, it's the simple things in life. Momma always said nothins like a new coil to go with yer new engine... Tomorrow I have to replace the rack and pinion assy on my mustang but that shouldn't take long as i have been down that road before. Anything seems relatively calm and simple after finishing the jeep rebuild. :thumbsup: