3 cyl. Canister type oil filter

[Ultradog MN]

Engine has the old style canister filter.
I finally got around to spinning this fresh 201 over to bleed the pump and injectors.
Have a temporary oil pressure guage hooked up.
It did not register any pressure on the guage after about 30 seconds of cranking.
So I quit.
I'm not sure how these oil systems work.
Does the oil full flow through the filter before it gets to the rest of the engine?
Does the oil pump need to fill the filter/canister from empty before you get oil pressure each time you start it?
If so, how long should that take?
I let it set for a few days afterwards - busy with other stuff.
Pulled the filter back off without draining the canister first. Lost about a cup and a half of oil down the side of the block.
Checked to be sure I had installed the coupler between the cam gear and oil pump. All good there.
What are you guy's thoughts?

 

[JMOR]

"Does the oil full flow through the filter before it gets to the rest of the engine?
Does the oil pump need to fill the filter/canister from empty before you get oil pressure each time you start it? "
yes. Not each time you start it because filter or base generally have anti-drain back valves. However most I have seen are not very effective, so after sitting a long period they mostly drain back.
My answers based largely on prior gen Ford tractor engine, but doubt engineers would have regressed to bypass filtering.

 

[Bern]

"Does the oil full flow through the filter before it gets to the rest of the engine?" Yes

"Does the oil pump need to fill the filter/canister from empty before you get oil pressure each time you start it?" Yes, halfway, meaning a typical horizontally mounted oil filter will drain about halfway empty overnight.

"If so, how long should that take?" Depends on how fast the engine is cranking, however it will take several seconds if the engine does not fire right away. I hesitate to put a number on that.

If you're cranking the engine with a dry filter, it will of course take much longer. There's a good chance you were almost there after 30 seconds of cranking.

If you have any doubts, crank the engine with the filter off. You should get oil shooting out almost immediately, so be ready to catch it.

I always prelube my rebuilds with an external pressure source before I fire them off. I have a small pump attached to a drill motor. I stick the pump inlet in a fresh bucket of oil and inject the oil ahead of the filter. On the 201 that's the pipe plug nearest the oil filter.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Jmor, Bern,
Thanks!
Maybe I'll put the spin on conversion back on it for now till I learn to trust it.
Only about 1/3 of the volume to fill that way.

 

[Robert (ID)]

im a little late to this one...

But here is what we have done on fresh engines. We took a 5 gallon gear lube bucket pump and put a pipe nipple on the end. plumb the pipe nipple to the oil galley (usually oil sensor hole) and then hand pump the motor full.. 3 or 4 pumps then rotate the motor slightly 3-4 pumps rotate.... continue till full. I have even done this with valve covers off to ensure that oil is getting to the top of the valve train. It makes that initial start up less nerve wrecking when you know there is oil and it gets oil pressure quick..