Long term engine storage. (1 Viewer)

[sogncab]

Looking for long term storage thoughts

I have the 2F that came out of my 76 FJ40.
It's going to be wrapped in plastic, strapped to a pallet with a cradle of some sort, and then put somewhere in my cabinet shop. It'll be warm, dry, and safe up on a rack or above my office.
It was running fine, (weak, but fine), when pulled. I was going to pull the spark plugs and pour a generous amount of ATF down each hole and reinstall the plugs. Probably down the carb as well.

Should the engine be clocked to a certain position? Is there a position that all the valves are closed at the same time? Probably easy enough to pull the valve cover and see that as well. If all the tappets are loose, there's my answer....
Should the exhaust be plugged? I'm not concerned about rodents or moisture short of biblical apocalypse, or a tornado ripping the roof off..


I don't know what I'm going to do with it, if anything. My plan was/is it will stay with the vehicle. To the best of my knowledge, it has not been replaced, and it is original. Otherwise I would just sell it.
Whether I own it for the next five years, or the rest of my life, my thoughts are the next owner might appreciate having it. Completely depends on the buyer there too I guess.
I've also kicked around rebuilding it as a project, but those efforts are likely best put somewhere else. I also don't like the idea of rebuilding an engine, and then it not being used. Though it would be a fun project.


Thoughts are appreciated.

 

[middlecalf]

I’ve often wondered how to long term store a motor with empty water jacket. After (and still) dealing with the rust et al in my motor that sat empty for some unknown amount of time it’s clear that these cast iron buckets will rust, and come apart later.

 

[SergP]

Looking for long term storage thoughts

I have the 2F that came out of my 76 FJ40.
It's going to be wrapped in plastic, strapped to a pallet with a cradle of some sort, and then put somewhere in my cabinet shop. It'll be warm, dry, and safe up on a rack or above my office.
It was running fine, (weak, but fine), when pulled. I was going to pull the spark plugs and pour a generous amount of ATF down each hole and reinstall the plugs. Probably down the carb as well.

Should the engine be clocked to a certain position? Is there a position that all the valves are closed at the same time? Probably easy enough to pull the valve cover and see that as well. If all the tappets are loose, there's my answer....
Should the exhaust be plugged? I'm not concerned about rodents or moisture short of biblical apocalypse, or a tornado ripping the roof off..


I don't know what I'm going to do with it, if anything. My plan was/is it will stay with the vehicle. To the best of my knowledge, it has not been replaced, and it is original. Otherwise I would just sell it.
Whether I own it for the next five years, or the rest of my life, my thoughts are the next owner might appreciate having it. Completely depends on the buyer there too I guess.
I've also kicked around rebuilding it as a project, but those efforts are likely best put somewhere else. I also don't like the idea of rebuilding an engine, and then it not being used. Though it would be a fun project.


Thoughts are appreciated.

In a warm and dry environment, this engine will stay longer than we are...
just add ATF and rotate.. annually

 

[rainingagain]

You want to "pickle" your engine but everyone has their own formula. My formula is basically pull the valve cover and back off the rockers, fog the cylinders with some sort of upper cylinder lubricant (or ATF) and put the plugs back, plug up any open ports and passages, bag it and forget about it. If the oil is old, I'd drain it as the contaminants will eat at your bearings. Some people drain the oil, pull the pan, and hose everything down with a preservation lubricant. If you have a stand, rotate it around and get all of the coolant out.

 

[pb4ugo]

You want to "pickle" your engine but everyone has their own formula. My formula is basically pull the valve cover and back off the rockers, fog the cylinders with some sort of upper cylinder lubricant (or ATF) and put the plugs back, plug up any open ports and passages, bag it and forget about it. If the oil is old, I'd drain it as the contaminants will eat at your bearings. Some people drain the oil, pull the pan, and hose everything down with a preservation lubricant. If you have a stand, rotate it around and get all of the coolant out.

^^^^^^This^^^^

I probably wouldn't pull the pan though. I'd also disconnect the fuel supply and run the engine to empty carb. Recently I started backing off the rockers so all the valves are closed. I'd pull the water jacket drains to drain the blk. You can rotate the engine to TDC on the compression now or later. If its been mothballed for yrs, I would pull the dist and and prime the oil pump to get oil thru out the bearings b4 starting. You'll also want TDC so you can readjust the valves b4 start up.