Rebuild then storing engine for a while?

wangie46 · Post by **wangie46** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 5:59 pm

Hope you guys can give me some advice

I'm rebuilding a 3.9 with my we lad to go in our 90, but once rebuilt will be stored for a while prob a few months, until we fit it in place of the old oil burner and fit ms, obviously I'm going to use plenty of lube on all bearing surfaces and such, but should I oil the bores when rebuilding to stop any rusting? Also any other advice for storing would be gratefully received.

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 8:06 pm

Get yourself a tube of ARP assembly lube or a tub of Comp Cams lube or even a tube of graphogen. All of these items are greasy pastes as opposed to a runny oily substance.

I've normally found that lubing the big ends and main bearings and also front and rear crank seals with 20/50 mineral oil has been fine for many months of storage before fitting as they are enclosed when fitted and do not allow the oil to seep out.

But I like to lube the cam lobes and lifter sleeves and rocker gear including a dab between rocker tip and valve stem tops with the above lubes as they are not runny and will stay there until you run the engine.

Re the bores:
I make sure they all have a good squirt of oil which I wipe around the bores before the heads go back on. Use whatever oil you will be using in the engine. I only said 20/50 because thats what I use. When the engine is on the stand I rotate it so one set of bores is vertical. Then I use an oil can to put the oil in and smear a good few squirts around the edge of the piston crown. then I turn the engine by hand to make sure it gets spread around the bores.
To be honest, the oil i put in the bores before I shove the pistons back in should be fine for a good while, but I'm a bit anal when I know the engine will be stood for a while. The main thing is to make sure that all of the bores have a film of oil in them. If you have extra oil laying around the piston and the engine is standing for months you can just turn it over by hand every few weeks to make sure it gets moved around the bores again. Just make sure you dont have a puddle of oil in the piston tops.

Perry

unstable load · Post by **unstable load** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 5:39 am

If you have just rebuilt it and it's going to stand for a few months, I would leave it with a dab of something on the exposed bits like Perry says and then make sure ALL the ports are sealed off with tape that is impervious to water, ie. NOT masking tape.
If you really feel strongly about it, then get hold of some dessicant bags and a giant plastic bag and seal the engine in that.
You can also spray the outside of the engine with WD-40, but that is getting extreme because if the car stood for a few months you probably wouldn't do anything to it.........

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 6:25 am

Hi
I pretty well agree with everything said by Perry and Mr Unstable apart form the the bit about the bores. I always thoroughly wipe the bores with automatic transmission fluid and paper towel. When I say wipe, I give them a thorough going over for 4 or 5 minutes each bore until the paper towel comes clean, you would not believe how much metal and grindstone crud is in the surface and this takes a lot of removing. When that is done I wipe the surface with ATF, just a light film, before putting in the pistons and closing up the engine give them a final wipe of ATF on a cloth. When I come to start the engine after storage I pull the plugs out, and using a 3:1 mix of petrol to 2 stroke oil in a plant sprayer bottle spray a thin film into the bores, turn the engine a bit between spraying so all the bores get a good covering.
Best regards
Mike

unstable load · Post by **unstable load** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 12:14 pm

Mike, very good practice there, I fully agree with your points.

As an aside, if you mix ATF and Thinners at 50:50 it makes a brilliant penetrating oil for recalcitrant fasteners.

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 1:26 pm

Hi John
ATF is great stuff for cleaning steel generally, and yes thinned it is also very handy, apparently it is loaded with detergents which is why it is so good at getting crud out of machined surfaces. I also have found that Slick shift is a really good aluminium cutting oil that keeps files, saws and files clean of swarf build up.
Best regards
Mike

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 1:33 pm

"" if you mix ATF and Thinners at 50:50 it makes a brilliant penetrating oil for recalcitrant fasteners.""

Thats useful info

bigaldart · Post by **bigaldart** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 5:59 pm

I will be trying this stuff over the winter, is even a starting fluid so will burn off excess on start up. Friends who have used it say it keeps bare chrome moly chassis rust free and no sticky residue to gather dust.

http://www.gibbsbrandlubricant.com/

Expensive compared to WD40, but cheap compared to engine parts. Available in the UK as well.

Alan

Post by **Rossco** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 9:39 pm

Diesel and fertilizer makes a great cleaning agent.......if not a bit on the harsh side.

Personally I opt for the dish washer when the missus is out

unstable load · Post by **unstable load** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:10 am

Alan, the Gibbs is great, but this stuff is also really amazing...
http://www.mr-mckenic.com/#page=page-1
I watched a bloke spray this into the motor of an electric drill while it was running and then dunk it still running in a bucket of water, without gloves... He also sprayed it into a light socket, fitted the lamp and turned it upside down into the water and it stayed on.

Rossco, I took an opportunity to snaffle Madame's dishwasher when it had a minor snag and rush it into the garage

She got a shiny new one to make her feel better...