Patent ID: 8122862

Claim:
A method of purging air from an oil passage in an engine assembly, the engine assembly including an engine structure defining the oil passage, a first cam lobe rotationally supported by the engine structure and including a base region and a lift region, a first lifter assembly supported by the engine structure and in fluid communication with the oil passage, and a first valve supported by the engine structure and displaceable from a seated position to a lift position by the first lifter assembly, the first lifter assembly being switched from an activated mode to a deactivated mode by pressurized oil provided to the oil passage by a pressurized oil source, the activated mode including the first valve being in the seated position when the base region engages the first lifter assembly and being displaced from the seated position by the first lifter assembly when the lift region engages the first lifter assembly, the deactivated mode including the first valve remaining in the seated position when the lift region of the first cam lobe engages the first lifter assembly, the method comprising: isolating the oil passage from the pressurized oil source while the first lifter assembly is engaged with the base region of the first cam lobe to operate the first lifter assembly in the activated mode; providing the pressurized oil to the first lifter assembly via the oil passage after the isolating when the first lifter assembly is engaged with the lift region of the cam lobe, the first lifter assembly maintained in the activated mode after the providing; and purging air from the oil passage based on the pressurized oil provided to the oil passage.