Since the plan is still to replace the VHPD with a more powerful unit by the end of the year, I’d appreciate advice on how to store the unused engine.
Don’t think it’s worth selling for �1-2k so how can I store it so it doesn’t turn to scrap in 5 years?
Put some toughened glass on top & place in the centre of the living room. V8 coffee table stylee
Not many people will be doing this, but the military do it all the time with reserve stock and have various levels of preservation.
Search some of the military sites and you will come up with some manuals that give all the details.
Generally speaking air and moisture are you real enemies, together with any nasties left in your engine from running it - old oil, coolant and fuel residues.
You could try this site for tips:
web page especially their petrol engine lay-up kits
The biggest problem is moisture - so the place where you store it should be free from dramatic temperature changes that cause condensation - ie not a shed
I would take the spark plugs out and put some rust inhibiting oil down to hopefully cover the bores a bit.
I would try and locate some plugs that are specially made for this with a desiccant in them to absorb the moisture from the bore.
I would also stuff a bag of desiccant in the inlet box and exhaust ports.
Then spray the whole engine with wd40 or some similar and wrap the whole lot in cling film.
The desiccant will need changing every now and then.
If your keeping the gearbox as well I would do a similar thing with that.
The one thing that bothers me with storing is what happens to the valve springs that are under compression - and the seats that are exposed. Maybe DVA can answer that one …
My idea would be to rebuild the damn thing after the store anyways if I was putting it back in … not that I’ve thought about this you understand …
Fair play Andy, that certainly seems like the belt and braces approach. I have fitted a cosworth engine that had been shelved for 18 months with no precautions at all (yes it had been kept in a dry workshop, but that was it) and it started first time and is still running fine in the car to this day, well over a year on.
I think as long as you do your best to keep it dry and if you can WD40 the whole thing every now and then, I reckon it should be fine.
I personally wouldn’t block up all of the holes, as these will let it breath a bit, unless you can get some of those cool sounding things that Andy has mentioned above.
Spinning the engine over with a spanner on the crank pulley bolt every time you spray the WD40 on it, wouldn’t go a miss either. This would get round the problem Andy mentioned about the valve springs being constantly compressed.
Andy, the cling film just sounds down right kinky!!! Are you sure you were thinking engines there mate!!
I personally wouldn’t block up all of the holes, as these will let it breath a bit
Sean - these bits are easily available, so it should not be necessary to “let it breath” which is only necessary to let moisture out if its still in but will equally let moisture in if its already out!
Thinking off the top of my head, and ignoring any pracitalities, I would strip off any ancillaries, and just submerge the whole engine in a drum of fresh oil.
I saw an old 1600 twin cam engine stripped a few years ago that had been stored for well over 20 years, it was brimming with a brown liquid - it turned out to be coca cola! The internals were immaculate.
When you think about it though, filling an engine with a mildly acidic liquid that will firstly displace any air present and then secondly eat at any crud in there and thirdly turn pretty much pH neutral afterwards seems quite a good idea.
Maybe we could do the worlds first ‘which soft drink is best for engine storage?’ test.
No? Oh well please yourselves…
Jesus, I’m suprised it hadn’t disolved the whole engine in that time. Cool man!!
Jesus, I’m suprised it hadn’t disolved the whole engine in that time. Cool man!!
Surely that would only be if it was made out of teeth!
it was brimming with a brown liquid - it turned out to be coca cola! The internals were immaculate.
Brings a different meaning to de-coking an engine
it was brimming with a brown liquid - it turned out to be coca cola! The internals were immaculate.
Brings a different meaning to de-coking an engine
Ba-dum Tish!
Top pun that man!
Tea bags make good dessicants (along wtih silica gel of course).
A squirt of WD40 in each cylinder, plus a regular light turnover will help.
Dave
Tea, coca cola and WD40! Magnificent!
I say we put a little umbrella and a cherry in it and name this cocktail the exige!
I thought WD40 wasn’t recommended as it’s slightly acidic?
Tea, coca cola and WD40! Magnificent!
I say we put a little umbrella and a cherry in it and name this cocktail the exige!
LOL!
I thought WD40 wasn’t recommended as it’s slightly acidic?
And Coke isn’t!?!!
Yeah, but I wasn’t about to store an engine covered in coke, considering what it did to one of my teeth when I was young.
Th contaminants in your engine oil pretty sonn turn it acidic…
Dave
That brings us back to what Steve Green said early on in the thread about definately not leaving old oil in there.
OK next bizarre idea. Maybe it was pepsi in the engine! Because wasn’t pepsi developed from a stomach acid calming remedy and therefore would it help neutralize any acidity in the engine.
Right, I’m going to leave it there before anyone fills thier engine with pepto bismol and rennies.
as coincidences go, I have just been passed a document at work today regarding the preservation of parts & spares for use in the offshore gas industry - makes lots of reference to proprietary products…but forgot to bring it home to research the products. Will try and remember tomorrow.
Here’s an idea; since corrosion is the primary consideration how about this:
- Drain all the fluids
- Place the engine in a heavy duty plastic bag
- Place copious amounts of anhydrous material in the bag
- Evacuate the air with a vacuum pump.
- Seal bag and store in a safe warm and dry place.
The military way is possible the best approach, but it would cost more to carry out then the cost of a replacement engine.