So I was having a conversation with my grandfather and somehow we started talking cars. He told me that every morning, when he starts his car up, he holds the throttle down (like on our cars) and cranks the engine for a couple of seconds before releasing the throttle and letting it fire up. According to him, it circulates the oil to aid in cold start lubrication. This seemed somewhat feasible to me I guess, so I want to know what you guys think. Could holding the throttle down on our cars (or any car for that matter) and cranking it a few seconds first before starting it really decrease cold start bearing wear?

 

It might save a little wear - it might also confuse the ECU.

 

Holding the pedal down while cranking will keep the car from starting. Oil would be circulated as well. Would that help? I dunno, as soon as you crank it normally oil is being pumped anyhow. I use a 0W oil so it flows plenty well when cold.

 

I realize it doesn't start when you hold the accelerator. My thoughts were that when you circulate the oil first by holding the accelerator, the engine is turning at a much lower rpm than at idle, so the oil is being circulated without the wear occurring..But I don't know lol. I was thinking about holding the accelerator down and cranking it for a few seconds before releasing it and allowing it to start. Also would be more wear on the starter though..

I might do it on those mornings that it's in the single digits outside. Couldn't hurt

 

Turn your key to the "ON" position and wait 2-4 seconds before cranking the engine over. The omp will inject a small amount of oil into the rotary chambers to aid in lubricating before start-up.

 

^ is that so..

 

I already fell for that once.

 

Source or it doesn't happen!
I haven't heard about that yet lol and I have done my fair share of reading.

 

Oil injected in the combustion chamber doesn't help the entire engine from cold start lubrication issues.

 

Is that so?

your grandpa should join the forum, he will fit right in with all the other mad scientists ...

but actually Mazda recommends this in a no-start/flooded situation because the latest flash kicks the OMP in high mode to "inject" oil at the maximum rate when the throttle is held WOT while the engine is cranked, not quite what Gramps had in mind though

the only way for the OMP to inject anything is for the engine to be turning over, which means it has to either be cranking or running


.

 

^This

I was talking about circulating the actual motor oil. I thought holding the throttle just cut fuel & spark. Didn't know it requested oil from the OMP
I may not even have the latest flash lol...I need to check about that. I haven't had the car that long

 

As a grandpa myself, I'm old enough to remember when you'd depress the throttle slightly as you cranked. And when you'd floor it once and release it in cold weather, to set the choke. Also when you'd rev the engine as you shut it off.

This is making me very nostalgic for carburetors. Now where did I put that Jiffy kit?

Ken

 

My family owned quite a few antiques as I grew up, from a '71 Lincoln Continental Mark III to a '38 Cadillac Series 75 Convertible to a '71 Land Rover 88 Series II. And now owning a '64 T-Bird myself, I'm actually very familiar with carburetors
Pumping the accelerator before you crank it on cold mornings...and yeah bumping the throttle to lower the idle and shut the choke off. My t-bird only has 51k original miles on the clock! I wish I had the funds to get my T-Bird running again

The pictures are from last February, the last day the t-bird ran, I believe..

 

What about after you turn the engine off--Immediately hold the throttle down and turn it over a few times to clear it out while it is setting?
I dont do that but I know of someone that does and he swears his sparkplugs come out much much cleaner? I dont know..but it is interesting to think about.

 

Seems like that would be counterproductive, since apparently it injects oil into the combustion chambers when doing this. Wouldn't really be clearing it out

 

As soon as you turn the engine over, cold start wear will happen either way. Might as well get things warmed up as quickly as possible.

 

Sigh... if only our 8's had fuel injection.

 

Yeah I get what you mean

 

Ikr..seems like Mazda wouldn't be so behind the times. I also really hate having to go to the front of the car and hand crank the damn thing every time I want to go somewhere. They were going to have electric start, but Mazda had problems with the starters being too weak and didn't want to make such a dependable vehicle any less dependable.