What is your engine prep for a long sitting engine?

[cleandan]

I'll jump right in and get to the point.
I have a 428 that was rebuilt nicely and then only received about 1,000 miles of driving before being stagnant for a long.....long time.

Boy time flies when you don't look at the clock.

There was nothing wrong with this engine, as a matter of fact it worked great.

I'm working on getting it running again and I would like your opinions about what prudent steps I should take prior to firing things up.

I have my own ideas, thoughts and methods but I also value other input to be used to help me get there the best I can.

What would you do prior to firing up an otherwise good engine that has been sitting for a long time.
Oh, it has been sitting in a heated garage this whole time....no A/C in the warmer months, but heated and relatively consistent temps.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

[427mach1]

I used an engine pre-luber to circulate oil before firing the engine up.  It looks like a propane tank; put a quart of oil in it, add some compressed air, and hook it up to one of the oil pressure ports.  Open the valve to get the oil going, then spin the engine over by hand.  All of this is after making sure the fuel tank has good gas in it.

[1964Fastback]

I would take the plugs out and use an oil can to put about 1-2 tablespoons of Marvel Mystery Oil down each cylinder and crank over by hand.  If it feels okay, I'd put the plugs back in and hook up the wires.  Make sure the battery is good - maybe even hook up jumper cables to a nearby car if it's convenient.

But the main thing (for me) would be trying to get as much of the old gas out as I could.  Not sure of the best way of getting it out of the lines and pump, but at minimum pull a lower screw on each float bowl to drain out any that's in there.  Easier if you just have one carb.    Might want to consider rebuilding the carb(s).  Then put some fresh gas in each bowl through the vent for an easier start.  I found a clear ketchup-type squeeze bottle at Harbor Freight, I think, that I keep a small amount of gas in for this purpose.

After it's been driven a few miles or so to make sure all the old gas is gone, I'd change the fuel filter just in case.

Pat

[Rory428]

Is the engine in a vehicle, or out? How was it prepared for storage, or was it just set aside with no preparation? Assuming it was oil stalled, or fogged before storage, and in a dry location, may not require much, but at a minimum, I would remove all the spark plugs, and take a close look at the pistons and cylinder walls, preferably with a borescope. If it looks OK, squirt a bit of either Marvel Mystery oil, or a light engine oil in each cylinder, change the oil and filter, and remove the distributor and valve covers, and prime the oil pump until a steady stream of fresh oil is dripping past all the rocker arms, and only then, rotate the crankshaft a couple of revolutions, while still priming the oil pump. Check to make sure that all the valves are opening and closing properly (not stuck or sticking). If the engine is in a vehicle, I would swap on a known good carb, and run a hose from the fuel pump into a fresh jug of gas, install the distributor, and fire it up. Obviously make sure the cooling system is full and bled, everything is attached and snug, and an air cleaner is on. A back fire from the carb, or sucking in a bunch of dust, rust, or other crap from the fan blowing stuff around, and into the carb is not a good thing.

[cleandan]

Great answers so far, and thank you.
The engine is in a car.
No fuel in the car for a long time...actually no gas tank at all right now.
The gas tank will be new when things get fired up again.

Unfortunately I don't remember if I fogged the engine or not....I think I did.

I plan on looking around with a bore scope prior to any crankshaft motions.
I plan on removing the valve covers to look at the valve springs...looking for and signs of rust.
I plan on priming the oil system prior to turning the crank, then running the oil primer while turning the crank and getting all valvetrain parts lubed well.

I am actually thinking about pulling the intake, then installing all the valvetrain again, then priming to see how things look, but this might be a bit excessive.

Still, a few hundred in gaskets and time is nothing compared to rebuilding an FE again.

The carb (735cfm Ford Holley) has been dry and will get a rebuild prior to the fire up.

I may even go so far as to pull the C6 to install a new seal so the trans does not leak upon startup....but I might wait to see how that goes too.

Please keep the ideas coming, and if you have any reasons for a certain thing to do please explain them so I know why I am doing instead of just doing.

Thanks again and have a great day.

[1964Fastback]

Priming with the oil pump and removing the valve covers so you can check valve action sounds good, and going through the carb.  I don't think I'd recommend pulling the intake if it was running fine before.  It might just introduce leaks without a real benefit.

Good luck with your fire up!

Pat

[fryedaddy]

my truck sat 14 years and i got it running with no problems,no way would i pull the intake or trans unless i had too,but i would pull the valve covers and make sure nothing is stuck.if the intake has a good seal there is no way i would mess with it.

[Rory428]

IF this was a new, never fired engine, with a flat tapper cam, I absolutely would remove the intake manifold, and the lifters, so I could add fresh cam assembly lube to the bottom of the lifters, and drible some onto the cam lobes. But since this engine already has 1000 miles on it, the cam break in procedure has already been done, so no need to do that.

[cleandan]

Thanks again....I really do appreciate your input.

[machoneman]

Due to the design of the FE intake/head (open areas to the lifter bosses) one can grab a squirt can oiler and hit the lifters and lobes as well before fire up. Still need to spin over the oil pump as noted. I'd not remove the intake.

[dozz302]

First question > How long is a long time? 5 years or 40 years?

[Heo]

I can tell you a story about an engine sitting for 5-6 years if i remember right.
I have a female friend that did a beautyful restoration of a 67 Camaro RS SS
Full rebuilt 327 never started for 5-6 years since rebuild stored in heated garage
She gave me a call and asked if i could come by. They had some problem adjusting
the valves after they had broke in the cam
I Went there and found out it was solid lifters on a hydraulic cam! Kit from Comp Cams
So she removed the intake to change lifters, the liftervalley was covered in real coarse rust,
the oil was full with rustflakes like a coarse sand, oilpump was shot the bearings was junk
That was an engine never started before the camebreak in so probably was no oilcoat inside
But stored in a garage with 20 degres celsius the whole time,no water in the cooling system
So i would atleast lift the intake and have a look

[machoneman]

Really odd Heo that much rust had formed. Even junkyard engines, 20+ years sitting outside in cold suburban Chicago winters, never had such damage. I do wonder if she or someone else rebuilt the engine.

Point being: was a shop's negligence or a bait and switch deal the real cause? Btw, true that had it been run, oil spray on the internals may have prevented all or some of that rust. I'll add that parking your daily driver in a heated garage after running through road salt all Winter long is known to be asking for rust trouble under the car. Best bet is to wash the underside but that's not really possible on your driveway when it's below freezing. 

[Heo]

She rebuilt the engine herself so no switch or nothing like that. just sitting assembled in a heated garage
in the car and to top that of we have realy low humidity here. Some way condensation must have gathered
under the intake and rusted the unoiled castiron

[dozz302]

Something doesn't sound right. Somehow water got in the engine. For that much rust had to have been exposed to high humidity or water. I have bare blocks that have been in my garage for 25 plus years only very light rust on cylinder bores.