The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Engine preservation

Hi all,

My '54 235 engine was rebuilt over a year ago. The truck still has a long way to go before it hits the road. What should I be doing to keep everything lubed properly and kept in good condition? Also, once lubed should I be turning the crank by hand to keep things loose? Thank you.

If you can start the motor occasionally, that would be best. If you can't it's better to drain the crankcase so the oil doesn't gel up from sitting ,then pull the plugs and squirt WD40 or other oil in each cylinder and put the plugs back and then wrap the motor in plastic for dry storage.

Just to expand on Drews good advice.

Instead of WD40 , I suggest a product that has a longer life on the metal. example, LPS2 or LONGLIFE, both available in aerosol can.

Spray liberally down the spark plug holes, around the valve gear, and in the intake ports if possible . Replace spark plugs.

Blank off the inlet and exhaust ports and wrap the engine .

I have successfully stored an engine like this for 10yrs. I pulled the wrapping off at 5yrs, rotated the engine by hand, redid the spray and re-wrapped it.

The big deal seems to be stopping condensation forming , so if your shed is warm' all's well, otherwise more oil is necessary.

Thank you! Great advise that will give me a happy engine in the years to come.

If the engine is out of the vehicle, there's a simple trick that has allowed me to store engines for long periods of time with no deterioration. Drain as much oil out of the crankcase as will flow out in a few minutes, then replace the oil pan plug and turn the engine upside down. The residual oil in the crankcase will run into the cylinders, and keep the rings and combustion chambers oil-sealed for years. A wrecking yard across the street from my shop in California stored their take-out engines that way, and other than lots of smoke on the first startup, they never had any storage issues.
Jerry

Some more good tips for you Metricnut.All the posts have been great advice.....here are a couple more must do's !

So is this a brand new engine that has never been started?????
If so, it would have been assembled with running in lube on all the bearings, piston and rings should have been soaked in oil and the bores well oiled after honing and during assembly.Spinning over a brand new engine by hand over a period of time will do nothing more than wear all these coatings away, and if your valve gear is all torqued down, could damage your cam/lifters as these are yet to be run in......so I would'nt be turning the engine over at all if this is the case.
If this engine has been run-in or driven already.....no problems!

So here are a couple of more tips.
Be sure to back off the rocker gear, as this takes the load off your valve train components and closes the valves to stop any junk or moisture entering the inlet/exhaust ports.When refitting the spark plugs, be sure to leave them loose to allow the motor to breathe( a fully sealed motor is more inclined to condensate)
Another old trick....and it sounds like DUSTY would like this one !.... is to fill the sump with Auto transmission oil. This being a very light oil acts as a preservative as it will soak up any moisture that gets inside the sealed engine and on hot days it will partially "sweat" that leaves a coating over internal parts.
We use this method at work to protect hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rebuilt engines/gearboxes, large machinery etc. that is stored for long periods and works a treat.You can pull the dipstick at any time and check the level and condition of the oil.If after a year or so it starts to look milky, this means it has soaked up a large amount of moisture, and can be drained off and re-filled.
Best of luck.......Doc Bob.