new engine

[feadam]

what is the longest time that any of you let a new engine sit that was built before it was started?

[jmlay]

I'm at 26 years and counting... It will be torn down and refreshed before started.

[Rory428]

Both the 428 CJ in my 59. and the 347 SB Ford in my drag car , sat in the garage for 4-5 years before I ran them in my cars. Both were assembled with plenty of assembly lubed, and I squirted a bit of oil in each cylinder a couple of times while in storage. Also, before I even cranked either engine in a car, I thoroughly primed the oil pump and ensured that I had plenty of oil flowing thru the rockers or pushrods just before I installed the distributors and started the engines. The last thing that you want, is to crank the engine over with dry bearings.

[feadam]

built the engine for my cobra with bbm block and heads all new parts but then left for england for 2 years. motor has sat for 3 years hand turned by my brother while i was away. plan on priming it was well lubed while assembled, just a little worried about how long it sat,

[mummert]

  Its common to seal them up best you can fill with oil and rotate the whole engine over on the stand if they have been sitting.  Priming works well for bearings and valve train but not so much for pistons, cylinder walls and other non pressure fed things.

[blykins]

The longest I've had a customer wait is 11 years. 

This is one of my preaching points when I sell an engine.   A lot of guys will tell me that the car is still in the body shop, or on order, etc., and I always advise them to wait until the car is in hand and almost assembled. 

It's pretty hard on gaskets and seals for them to sit.  All it takes is a dry spot on a rear main seal for it to leak on fire up. 

As mummert says, the parts that don't get pressure fed oil are the ones you have to worry about.  If I know for a fact that an engine will sit, I will pour ATF down the carb on the dyno until it chokes the engine out.  That fogs the cylinders down pretty good and keeps them lubricated.  Still have to worry about the seals though.

[fryedaddy]

i have let them sit for 2 years or so,and were ok when i did fire them up.any longer and i might get worried

[Falcon67]

My 302 isn't new, but it has periods where it sits for a few years, since it's a backup engine.  Hasn't been opened since 2006, original build was 1996. I use a drill to circulate oil through it "every so often", so maybe once a winter or so.

[CV355]

My 5.4L sat for the better part of 2 years before we finally fired it up.  Trick Flow had just come out with the 2v mod motor heads and I was on the waiting list for the 1st batch they sent out.  Delayed us quite a bit. 

Our FE sat for about 1 year, but I was hand-cranking it now and then and I believe the cylinders were fogged.  I had the pan off back in February and the cylinders looked like they still had plenty of oil on them. 

[gt350hr]

  I had a 23 year old Ford "crate" engine ( NOS 351C "HO") that I used in '95 and it was fine. No leaks or issues. I do agree it's NOT the best thing to build them and let them set. Tough on valve springs too.