Tech: Inside Peterson Fluid Systems’ Remote Primer And Filter Mount

Like living things and all forms of matter on our planet — by they a solid, a liquid, or a gas — an internal combustion engine and the vital fluids that are pushed through it are fully adherent to the laws of gravity.

You might be wondering what we’re getting at with that opening statement, but just consider the entry point and route of travel that the oil you put in your engine takes during a complete cycle.

We got our first look at Peterson’s new Filter Mount and Primer more than three years ago at the PRI show. The unique new piece from the oil system manufacturer delivers a whole new, simplified process for priming an engine that does away with much more time-consuming methods.

Your engine’s oil pump sends the oil, under pressure, to the the oil galleries in the engine block and cylinder heads, where it lubricates the camshaft, rockers, and lifters. Eventually it works its way down though the block by way of gravity, lubricating the rods, pistons, and crankshaft, along with all of the bearing surfaces, on its way back to the sump in the oil pan.

As long as you’re running your engine and running it regularly, oil is continually being cycled through as part of this process and present in all the cavities and components in the block, but what if the vehicle sits for days or weeks on end without being turned over? Well, gravity is still at work, trickling the oil from the top of the engine down to the oil pan, leaving the valvetrain in particular without adequate initial lubrication the next time you fire the engine.

This is sometimes referred to as ‘dry-start scuffing,’ and in a high-compression, high performance engine filled with expensive components with tight tolerances, it can be damaging to crank the engine over with dry (or more likely, just less than adequate) lubricated surfaces.

The Peterson unit works to prime the engine by simply spinning the unit with a 7/16-inch drill — a process that can done in your garage or even at the track with a cordless drill.

This is where priming, or pre-oiling, comes into use, and rudimentary methods have existed and continue to exist to accomplish this, often involving removal of the distributor to spin the pump with an electric drill, removing the belt on an external pump and spinning the pulley, or using an oil accumulator that pumps stored, pressurized oil into the engine before startup. But Peterson Fluid Systems, one of the leading manufacturers of oil system components for the performance and racing industry, developed a simpler solution that clearly reinvents the wheel in engine priming.

Peterson’s Oil Filter Mount and Primer does away with these difficult and timely steps to priming, offering an external “pump,” if you will, that simplifies operation and provides ease of access. Taking the concept of a remote oil filter mount a step further, Peterson has engineered it with a built-in primer that, when spun with a standard electric drill, will send pressurized oil through the engine before startup. There’s no removing the distributor, no leaning over the fenders to turn the pump — you simply mount it in a convenient location and spin it over before you tie a drive or prior to your first pass of the weekend at the track.

The reason we developed this Oil Filter Mount and Primer was because all of the existing methods for priming an engine were fairly clunky, time intensive, and in some cases, impossible. – Mike Morten

Simplifying The Unsimplified

Says Peterson’s Mike Morten, “The reason we developed this Oil Filter Mount and Primer was because all of the existing methods for priming an engine were fairly clunky, time intensive, and in some cases, impossible depending on the amount of space in the engine compartment. With this product, you can walk up to the car, put a drill on it, spin it over for 10 seconds, and you’ve got oil in the engine without the need for any of the previously necessary steps. It saves a lot of time for the racer.”

As Morten shared with us, many engine builders have sympathized with the customer, understanding the labor and time involved in priming an engine and why they simply skip it altogether, but each engine builder that Peterson has communicated with has, at the same time, expressed how much of a difference they can see in engines that are properly primed, rather than turned over dry week in and week out. “Priming the engine leads to less premature wear on the motor, without a doubt,” explains Morten.

An exploded view of the Filter Mount and Primer. The port on the side of the unit is the inlet from our dry sump oil reservoir. The port on the top right is the draw line from the oil pump mounted on the block, and the center port is the outlet that feeds to the block (or an oil cooler and then to the block, if you’re using one).

The Peterson Primer has a drive bolt that spins the internal rotors inside, using only a drill with a 7/16-inch socket. The process is both quick and simple — so simple, many will wonder how they ever did it any other way.

“All you need is an 18-volt cordless drill to operate the primer, and in under 10 seconds of operation you’ll have ample oil pressure in the engine,” says Morten. “By doing so, you can fire the motor and know that all your bearing surfaces and drivetrain components have seen oil.”

Peterson advertises the primer as capable of delivering 20 psi within that 10 second range, but we’ve personally seen over 35 psi on our BlownZ Camaro, and Morten shared that customers have approached 80 psi on their particular applications.

Peterson’s Primer In-Depth

Will My Oil Work?

After some initial fine-tuning by their engineering department, virtually any viscosity grade of oil can be run through the Peterson primer, meaning compatibility is almost an assurance. “We began testing it with two-weight oil and went up from there, so it will work with virtually anything. The only thing we haven’t tried it with yet is water,” Morten told us.

Featuring billet aluminum construction, the Remote Filter Mount and Primer features Peterson’s own patented R4 roots rotor design, which is found in many of their popular oil pumps, and is manufactured in a variety of configurations, including small or large (Fram HP6 and similar filters, often used in racing applications) filter sizes and inlet and outlet locations situated left-to-right or right-to-left on the small model.

Posts are also available in Ford or Chevy versions in the small unit, and in 1-1/2”-12 and 1-1/2”-16 variants in the large, all of which have left side primer inlets. The unit is set up with either -10 or -12 AN port fittings, depending on the oil volume one is running, and can be had in either a tube (chassis) or firewall mount so you can situate it wherever is most convenient under the hood.

According to Morten, in order to use the Primer with a wet sump oiling system — with either an internal or external oil pump — all that’s necessary is plumbing a -10 AN fitting and line into your oil pan to cycle the oil to the Primer. In a dry sump setup like we have on BlownZ, the Remote Primer will draw directly from the oil tank/reservoir, which does the job of drawing the oil from the pan.

Here you can see where we’ve positioned the Primer in our Camaro, giving us easy access (with the front clip removed) to prime the engine before each and every pass down the track. A short 10-second spin with the drill and the engine cavities and valvetrain are lubricated and ready to be spun over.

Inside the unit is a one-way valve, and as oil is drawn from the pan or reservoir with the turn of the rotors, the oil is sent down through the filter and out through the hoses to the engine. The internal rotor assembly is equipped with a return spring that keeps this valve closed off when not in operation, effectively bypassing the oil through the oil filter and back to the engine when the engine running.

“The way we set up the one-way valve, there’s no way that it can open because the pressure in the oil flow that the engine itself is creating pushes on the backside of the valve and keeps it shut,” says Morten.

This is all it takes to get the Primer spinning before a pass or a cruise down the local car show.

On our car, the Primer has been mounted on the passenger side framerail, near the front of the engine bay, to provide easy access with the front clip removed. The Primer then pulls from the external dry sump oil reservoir and the oil pump via dedicated lines, and feeds into the engine block. It then completes the cycle by returning via the oil pan to the pump and reservoir to the Primer as the drill continues to spin. Once the Primer is at rest, the internal ports are closed, and the oil system can cycle as normal with the engine running.

The oil filter simply spins on the underside of the Filter Mount and Primer, giving you easy access to it for servicing, as well. Peterson has small and large versions of the unit, depending on the post size you need for your oil pump(s) of choice.

This product, although a valuable asset to the racer, is one that’s suitable from the upper echelons of drag racing, to dirt track racing (a venue that helped drive its development) to the enthusiast just taking their muscle cars out for a Sunday drive.

Anybody whose vehicle sits for long periods of time, that oil eventually finds its way down to the oil pan and comes off the bearing surfaces, and this would be a great asset for them to protect their engines. – Mike Morten

Continued Morten, “A guy who’s got an old Camaro or something and lets it sit over the winter, or only takes it out to cruise in it every other weekend — this is a great product for them. Anybody whose vehicle sits for long periods of time, that oil eventually finds its way down to the oil pan and comes off the bearing surfaces, and this would be a great asset for them to protect their engines.”

Protection, of course, is what Peterson’s Remote Oil Filter Mount and Primer is all about, bringing about an extra layer of defense, if you will, in keeping the internal components of your engine healthy and in tip-top shape, without the hassle of time-consuming, back-breaking methods far beyond their time. Unless you’re driving your car ever day — and for racers, that’s certainly not the case — there’s no reason not to be protecting your investment. After it all, it only takes 10 seconds of your time.

About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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