How to best store a complete motor?

[Doug S.]

Just totaled my 90 Crown Victoria, but the engine/transmission combo appear to be salvagable. I'm having it pulled this weekend from the wreckage and want to store it, perhaps for quite a while, inside a garage.

In the past I've always pulled the spark plugs and squirted light weight oil into the cylinders, then replaced the spark plugs.

Is this an OK way to preserve the cylinder walls, or is there something else that would be better? Should I drain the pan or store it with the pan full to keep the pump primed?

Thanks, guys!

BTW--I became a real believer in air bags as a result of this accident. The wrecker driver and witnesses couldn't believe I survived at all, much less walked away with minimal bruising on my forearms where the airbag inflated.

Hmmmmm---wonder if there's an aftermarket source of steering wheels with an airbag--on second thought, considering all the sensors, etc that it takes to make this system work, it would probably be too much trouble. But, believing as I do that the air bag saved my life, it might be worth consideration. That's a different thread, though.

Onward through the fog!

Doug

 

[Randy V]

HI Doug,

I prefer to "Pickle" an engine by using about 1/2 ounce of 2-Cycle oil in each cylinder (has great cling and will not leave excessive carbon deposits when it burns off).

Then I remove the rocker arms to close all the valves, spray more 2 cycle oil on the valve stems through the springs.

I also make sure I have at least a few quarts of oil in the oil pan to cover up the oil pump inlet screen.

Reinstall the spark plugs, tape off the intake manifold inlets for both vacuum and air (Throttle body in your case).

Tape off / plug exhaust ports / manifolds.

Reinstall valve covers leaving rocker arms loose - this will leave the springs in a relaxed state as well as removing tension from the push-rods / lifters etc. A side benefit will be even better sealing off of the cylinders from moisture.

Bag it up well with Poly along with a bag of desicant if you can find it..

You're done..

I hope this helps!

 

[Howard Jones]

Put it into a big plastic bag, throw in several desicants (sp?) and suck all the air out with a bag sealer like the wife uses for leftovers. I think a shop vac on suck would work. Seal it up and check for leaks from time to time.

If it is kept in a dry place it should be OK. I don't think the oil in the cylinder will hurt but it will drain downward over time.

In the end if you leave it for a number of years you will want to open it up to check it out before you run it anyway. Gaskets sets are cheap.

The one thing I would do for sure is loosein up the rocker arms so the valve springs are at minium pressure (valve closed). Holding a valve open for a long time tends to dammage the springs.

I would change them if I left a motor set for many years before I ran it. But then thats just me. I hate to repair things that shouldn't be dammaged in the first place. I do know of two motors that droped a valve within a few hours of being run for the first time after many years. One of them broke a perfectly good piston.

 

[Joey Dean]

What was written above, but mostly glad you OK.

 

[ArnieSmith]

You might want to use Engine Fogging Oil as a protection coating.

 

[Lynn Larsen]

[size=+1]Glad you are still YerDougliness!![/size]

Lynn

 

[roaldin]

Yeah, glad you're ok Doug.

Keep it off the ground is about all I'd add.

Tim.

 

[John Fitzpatrick]

The one thing I would do for sure is loosein up the rocker arms so the valve springs are at minium pressure (valve closed). Holding a valve open for a long time tends to dammage the springs.

Howard-
I've heard that too- do you know how that happens? I can see how aluminum might age-harden and weaken under strain, but what's the mechanism in steel? I've more than a passing interest since my SBF has been sitting for 7 years, never run, but I failed to loosen the valve springs.

Doug-
Glad you dodged the Reaper- welcome to the club!
John

 

[Lynn Larsen]

John,

Spring steels are made by hardening the steel (various process that include a combination of doping the crystal and quenching.) When held in shear long enough the forces, especially at the surface, can cause micro excursions beyond elastic strain into plastic strain (not recoverable). While the spring will still work as a spring, its resistive forces can be altered enough to no longer perform as designed.

Continued use can cause a snow ball effect starting at the microscopic level with plastic strain causing work hardening (brittle) leading to micro stress to failure -> more plastic strain -> more work hardening. Until this goes beyond the micro level and eventually the spring will break.

While this may be a bit of an over simplification and other things may be happening at the same time (seldom is only one process in play), I think it is sufficient to justify the statement that springs held in compression for years should be replaced. Springs do have a shelf life, as well, that may be shorter or longer depending on the type of steel they are made from and the environment in which they are stored.

Lynn

 

[johng]

All above are perfect. I fired up a SBC last summer that had been rebuilt in 1992 and than sat until 2005! 13 years, When I received the project I spent quite a few days priming the oil pumpand fogging the cylinders. Tightend the valves, installed the motor, and the thing fired almost immediatley! 2,000 miles later and it is still purring along.
If you can not keep it dry,change all fluids often after starting it back up. This motor shed rust scale into the coolant for awhile. BTW sorry to mention the term SBC, not something I usually work on.

 

[John Fitzpatrick]

So there's some sort of inelastic deformation going on at the grain bounderies then-- a long-term creep? Sorry, it's been 40 years since Materials Engineering, and I was not at the head of the class!

 

[Howard Jones]

I would like to see a spring from a full open valve compared to a full closed valve. I would especially be interested in the lengths. I think a compressed valve spring that was left that way for years would end up shorter. All kind of things go wrong with a short valve spring.

I'm not a materials person, my education is in electronics so I will defer to the others. The one spring I did look at had all the signs of a fatigue failure that started at the surface. They usually do.

What Lynn said.

 

[Mike from Vegas]

Doug, good to hear that you're alright.

Be sure that there is plenty of anti-freeze to prevent cracking of the block in cold weather. (Dunno if this is an issue on newer blocks, but is still probably a good idea.