Commissioning after engine overhaul
10
Pressurisation
It is extremely important for internal combustion engines (following the completion of repair work, i.e. in
their dry state) to be pressurised with lube oil before being recommissioned. This procedure can also be
used for ascertaining damage and its causes.
If engines are not pressurised, the risk of premature damage to bearing surfaces is very high because it
takes a relatively long period of time for the lube oil drawn in from the oil pan via the oil pump to reach the
individual bearings.
Such incipient damage need not necessarily lead to immediate bearing failure, but may impair the proper
functioning of the bearings and reduce their service lives.
Schematic diagram of the flow of oil in non-pressurised engines (source: MIBA)