Ok, I found a complete engine for a good deal, but I wont be able to have the car put all together and running for a while. How long will the engine be able tod sit without being run. I dont want it to sit too long and then have a ton of problems with it when i first crank it. Thanks.
How long can an engine sit?
- Thread starter notch22
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Original Owner
New Member
My 5.0 sat for over a year while I was involved with other car projects. Assuming there is and has been oil in the engine, I'd say you're safe to sit for at least 18 months if it is kept indoors. If you know that a synthetic oil has been in the engine, it could sit longer due to the "sticking" properties of the oil. My 5.0 had about 50K miles at the time of "storage" and after I put it back on the road, I had no leaks from engine seals nor other engine issues. Hope this was a source of hope or help for you. good luck.
Storing it indoors is key. Also making sure there is oil on the cylinder walls and other moving parts is important, as said above.
Original Owner
New Member
Absolutely. If you can circulate oil through the system (you'll have to spin the lube element fairly quickly to do this - let me know how you intend to do this - I'm curious) it would keep the internals coated.
Bill88Stang
Founding Member
my 351w in my mustang right now say for id say around 7 years. thast right a fireind of mine had built it for his brother in his f150. his brother drove it for like 2 years and was called over to germany in teh army for liek 6 years. i bought the motor from the truck since the truck started to rot from sitting. store the motor on a engine stand with a tarp wrapped around it outside on teh side of my house four 2 years through ny winters! while i gathered up remaing parts to swap it in. drained oil, pulled plugs put some wd40 donw cylinders to lube them. installe dmotor in car tunr key on first try started right up and idled. so i might have the record here lol. it honestly wasnt started and ran for 6 or 7 years in the elements under a hood and under a tarp until it found its way under my hood and takes daily beatings and runs like a scalded dog. so i say dont worry about letting it sit, the hibernation just makes it run harder once they wake up lol good luck
I read an article in Hotrod recently about this huge horde of rare hotrod parts (some of you might remember it). Anyways, the guy stored his engines FILLED with oil....not a bad idea it would seem, you just have to drain it out and refill it to the proper level.
85_SS_302_Coupe said:
I've heard of people doing that. If i was sure a car's engine was leak free..i would do the same.
Before doing that though, squirt some oil into each cylinder and turn the motor by hand to give the walls a good coating. Then put the plugs back in.
Next up, seal the motor up. Tape the TB shut and the tailpipes. I also tape up the oil filler hole and any other place air can get into the engine. The goal is to keep humidity and moisture out.
I have also had a bare short block with no oil pan open to air for over a year, installed it and it's been working fine.
fidstang
New Member
I agree with sealing up the motor. The trick is not to let air into the engine. Air carries moisture and that causes rust and corrosion.Mustang5L5 said:
Also, before you start the motor, get an old distributor shaft and put it in a electric drill. Then spin the drill counter clockwise(reverse) to prime the oiling system before startup.
RacEoHolic330 said:
No this was some guy who spent pretty much his whole life stocking up on really hard to find and mostly GM parts and something like 15 cars....a bunch of old rare-code Vettes and even a Yenko Camaro....over 100 engines and just about any part you can imagine. He passed away without warning and his nephews inherited all his stuff. The guy had everything packed away inside semi trailers....he would back them together with the doors facing eachother and weld the doors shut, then flatten the tires so nobody could steal his stuff. It was probably the most amazing car thing i've ever read. It couldn't have been 3 months ago.
feifong said:
They might have run it too but this was def. Hotrod. The guy would get cars and pull their original engines out and swap in ordinary truck engines to drive or move them around, then store the original engine. They said the guy was quoted once about pulling the Yenko Camaro's 427, saying "I don't see what the big deal is anyways, it's just a POS Camaro with a big engine" lol
90_Red_LX
Member
85_SS_302_Coupe said:
Yeah I remember seeing that article in hotrod. I was like holy *****, theres no telling what kinda money you would have if you turned all them cars to original and sold everything else seperately. Original parts from muscle cars = $$
PR_wingman
New Member
Original Owner said:
Summit sells a rod so you can lube the motor, you have to remove the distributer insert the rod and use a drill to spin the rod, oil will circulate around the motor thats it
Mavrick
Founding Member
A motor can sit for years.. don't worry about it. Keep it covered from rain and out of the snow. You'll be fine. Before you turn it over, squirt some oil into each cylinder.
It's not a bad idea to prime the motor before firing it (years from now). It is easy.. remove the distributor and use a 1/4" socket on a strong drill to spin the oil pump driveshaft.
It's not a bad idea to prime the motor before firing it (years from now). It is easy.. remove the distributor and use a 1/4" socket on a strong drill to spin the oil pump driveshaft.
