Offline engine storage & preservation

[James Sewell]

Last fall I finished a complete rebuild of a spare 69 912 engine for my 59 356A. The Super 90 engine in the car was finished a couple of years ago and will probably outlive me. My question is what should I do to preserve the offline engine. It stays on a rotator stand in my garage in middle Tennessee, covered with a plastic drape. Should I put oil in the case? Oil in the cylinders via the plug holes? Turn the engine occasionally? Anything else?

[Jerry Henning]

For engines I have stored, and for ones that I plan on storing for extended periods of time, here is what I would do:

Use an aviation preservation oil in the crankcase. I would use Shell AeroShell Fluid 2F which is called a preservation and 'fly-away' oil for extended storage of aircraft engines. Phillips 66 makes a similar product called an AntiRust Oil. These are available from small aviation supply houses. The instructions indicate to run the engine for a while with this oil in the crankcase prior to shutdown and storage. This distributes the oil to all the working parts of the engine.
http://www-static.shell.com/static/can- ... s/5-03.pdf
http://www-static.shell.com/static/can- ... s/5-03.pdf

For upper end protection, upon shutdown I would fog the cylinders with fogging oil spray - available from a variety of vendors and marine supply houses.
http://www.mil-specproducts.com/Documen ... _PDS12.pdf

Then I would install dehydrator preservation plug inserts instead of the spark plugs. These will dry out the insides of the cylinders to further prevent rust. They use a moisture indicating desiccant in a clear plastic body that indicates if they need to be re-activated. This can sometimes be done in a low heat oven. Check with the manufacturer for instructions on re-activation.
http://www.aerocad.com/dehydratorplugs.aspx

I would also seal all possible entrances of moisture to the engine - exhaust and intake ports, or if fully assembled, carburetor inlets and muffler outlets. Don't forget to plug the fuel inlet line with a plastic cap, and seal the crankcase ventilation port(s).

External items subject to corrosion should also get attention, particularly such items as the flywheel - coat with something like spray on Cosmoline Rust-Veto® 342 or other waxy protectant. Just be sure to remove all traces when you re-activate the engine for service....
http://www.cosmolinedirect.com/?gclid=C ... 4AodHyRIjw

You may want to consider removing the clutch pressure plate and disk. Mark or index the plate to the flywheel for correct re-assembly. The reason I mention this is because I hear of many problems after long term storage where the clutch disk is stuck to the flywheel, making it difficult or impossible to disengage the clutch. Probably because moisture is attracted to the clutch disk material.

Then store the engine in a protected area of low humidity and small temperature swings. Check the engine from time to time for the status of the dehydrator plugs, and re-activate them if required.

You can store an engine a long time just like this, with no turning over.

However, if you really feel the need to turn over the engine, I would recommend storing the engine on an engine stand with a starter motor. You can make one out of a cheap HF engine stand and a VW transmission bellhousing. This will allow you to turn over the engine with sufficient speed and time to produce oil pressure and flow, so that fresh oil can be distributed inside the engine. To do this, you must unseal the engine, and remove the spark plug dehydrators. Don't forget this, ask me how I know. . . lots of small desiccant beads projected all over the shop from the compression of the engine.... Then turn over the engine for a while with the starter motor to re-distribute the anti-corrosion oil. Afterwards, re-fog the upper cylinder areas, re-install freshly activated spark plug dehydrators, and re-seal the engine ports again. (Turning over the engine rather than starting and running it will prevent corrosive moisture and gasses from the combustion process.)

These steps should protect you for a long time.

(Disclaimer: the website and product info links shown above are only suggestions and examples, and in no way imply endorsement of the specific sites or products).

[Tom Perazzo]

Don't forget about the fuel system. My engine is at a storage facility and I visit it once a month with fresh gas and let it run for a few minutes. This splashes and circulates oil throughout the engine and seals. I let the carbs run dry because I'm not supposed to store flammables in the storage unit.

Shameless plug: I sell the engine test stand package below that has everything you need to run a motor offline. It's compact, easy, stable and turn-key (except we utilize a starter button)

http://www.zalexindustries.com

IMG_0930_trimmed_copy_with_ctrl_box.jpg (22.91 KiB) Viewed 2766 times

[Jan Balder]

let it run for a few minutes.

http://www.zalexindustries.com

IMG_0930_trimmed_copy_with_ctrl_box.jpg

This is about the worst thing you can do to an "in storage" engine.

Jan.

[Tom Perazzo]

Uh oh. What do you suggest I do? Drain the oil? I assume your concern is about water vapor?
Thanks,
Tom

[Geoff Fleming]

Tom:
The easiest and best thing to do, since you have that nice engine stand, is to remove the sparkplugs and crank the engine over without starting it, ( remove coil wire ). This will provide oil circulation throughout without causing any condensation due to combustion.
Several long cranks should get the oil flowing through all passageways and keep things lubricated. Removing the sparkplugs will allow the engine to spin easily and you can even inject some light oil into each plug hole to lubricate the cylinder walls. Don't over-do it though and replace the sparkplugs afterwards.
This topic came up at the ECH in Cleveland. Many experts, such as Chuck Stoddard reccomended simply not doing anything at all when storing the car for the winter.
Some mentioned using a fuel stabilizer but it was agreed by all that starting the engine for brief periods does more harm than good. Chuck even mentioned how his cars are pushed from one location to another, rather than started, only to be driven a few feet. Short running periods, particularly in cold weather, causes condensation in the engine and the muffler.
I think many owners of vintage cars worry too much about storage and how it affects the engines. Even if an engine is stored for many years there is little to worry about.
I would be more concerned about sealing off any openings, such as muffler pipes, carbs and the oil filler to prevent the possibility of debris entering the engine...also small animals like to nest inside unused mufflers, so seal off the exhaust pipes.

[Vic Skirmants]

"small animals in mufflers"
Anyone catch last weeks "Chasing Classic Cars" on HDTV? They finally fired up a Ferrari Dino, and half a bushel of acorns flew out of the exhaust.

[Geoff Fleming]

I had a similar experience when I finished my C coupe a dozen years ago...I used a muffler that had sat for a long while and upon start up a couple of desicated mouse carcasses came flying out along with an assortment of vegetable matter. This was after I had given the muffler a good shaking out to get rid of anything inside. Must be something fascinating about those mufflers that only rodents know about.

[Tom Perazzo]

Thank you to all regarding storage procedures. What is the preferred recommendation for the fuel system? The main reason I was starting every so often was to keep the carbs from being gummed up. This happened to this engine when I let the engine sit with fuel stabilizer for about a year. I had to clean out the accelerator circuit and idle circuit. Look forward to more input.
Thanks,
Tom

[Geoff Fleming]

Tom:
You could clean out the carbs with denatured alchohol prior to storage. Even filling the floats and letting it sit inside will eliminate the 'varnish' that is left by the gasoline.
After a short while, the alcohol will evaporate but will have done its job of cleaning out the various passageways, jets, etc.
Best to remove the carbs and do this off the engine, so no alcohol will be taken down the manifolds. It does effectively clean out the old varnish.

[David Ramatowski]

Thank you to all regarding storage procedures. What is the preferred recommendation for the fuel system? The main reason I was starting every so often was to keep the carbs from being gummed up. This happened to this engine when I let the engine sit with fuel stabilizer for about a year. I had to clean out the accelerator circuit and idle circuit. Look forward to more input.
Thanks,
Tom

Jerry Henning is on the beam when it comes to storing your engine.
If you wish to leave the fuel system intact and start it occasionally, I would use Startron to protect it. It is an enzyme based fuel treatment. Good stuff, much better than other products. Best advice would be to run the system dry, clean the carbs out with some plain old brake kleen or carb cleaner, and store it using Jerry's method. My .02.

http://mystarbrite.com/startron/

[Adam Wright]

"small animals in mufflers"
Anyone catch last weeks "Chasing Classic Cars" on HDTV? They finally fired up a Ferrari Dino, and half a bushel of acorns flew out of the exhaust.

I had that happen with a barn engine running on the stand, the only problem was the acorns were waist high, so it was like a shotgun blast to the junk!