Van's Air Force
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Preserving an engine
- Thread starter Abraham
- Start date
For Lycoming at least, this is the reference:
http://www.lycoming.com/Portals/0/t...eservation for Active and Stored Aircraft.pdf
Here's what I do - plug or cap all openings, exhaust ports, etc. be sure to use gaskets on the exhaust port and carburetor openings Drain all old oil preferably hot right after you have run it is best. Remove top and bottom spark plugs. Spray the cylinders through both the top and bottom spark plug holes with LPS 3 or preservative oil. Install the bottom spark plugs and dehydrator plugs in the top spark plug holes. Go to WalMart and buy 4 gallons of cheap oil and fill the engine all the way up. Check the desiccant and recharge every few months. Come back in 12 years drain everything, uncap everything, remove the spark plugs and wash the cylinders and engine down with solvent, spray a bit of LPS2 in the cylinders, add new oil and spark plugs and fire that baby right up.
If you open it up it will look just like it did the day you put it away.
If you open it up it will look just like it did the day you put it away.
Wow, I hope so. I noticed in the Lycoming bulletin, it lists an active and an inactive engine. For the inactive engine, it says to run the engine until operating temp is reached. After my Engine is built how does one normally run it without the airplane?
I would think that without sealing the intake and exhaust ports oil would eventually leak past the rings and leak out of an open valve.
If I were to fill the engine completely full of oil, I would make some fairly thick blanking plates for the intake and exhaust ports. Install the blanking plates with some gasket paper with a thin coat of RTV to make sure the cylinders will not leak oil. After filling the crank case I would remove the top plugs and fill the cylinders with oil, then reinstall the top plugs.
If you build the engine, and do not run it prior to preservation/storage, then it will not have and corrosive combustion by products or moisture in the oil.
If you buy a new engine it will have been dyno run then run again after adding preservative oil that will coat the internal surfaces of the engine.
KatanaPilot
Well Known Member
What about a crate motor?
So if you have a new crate motor from the factory, what would be the recommended pickling procedure for a couple of years storage (beyond what they do at Lycoming)?
So if you have a new crate motor from the factory, what would be the recommended pickling procedure for a couple of years storage (beyond what they do at Lycoming)?
New engines in crates should pickled for long term storage and you shouldn't have to worry about it. If in doubt contact the seller to make sure.
Can be a good idea to get in writing on your invoice too, I've heard of at least one story where the engine was supposed to be pickled, but it turns out wasn't ... bad surprise when you open up your brand new engine, only to find it corroded and useless!
My Plan:
I just secured my IO540, so I want to send everything out piece by piece and basically have everything ready for assembly in 13+/- months. However still freshly machined parts would still rust, right?
BillL
Well Known Member
Absolutely will. Still needs some protection.
Here is what I did...... Removed intake tubes and made covers for intake and exhaust ports out of plywood and sheet rubber gasket. I then filled the crankcase with cheap 30wt oil. I removed the top spark plug and filled each cyl full of the same oil. The motor is mounted on a Harbor Freight motor stand so I inverted it so the cam is sure to be under the oil. If there is an air pocket it is in the sump. Everything is covered with oil..... no air, no rust.
The crank was not moved from the factory shipping position.
These parts should come back from the shop with a coat of cosmoline on them, and in plastic bags. Just put them in a closet in the house.
You do like I did...you don't touch the engine....you just tell the wife that that new crate from Lycoming is going between the table and the wall in the dining room that we never use. Pickled...and airconditioned
Not so fast on factory new engine storage
A quick look turned up 1481B, which stated lycoming ships from factory, engines warranted for 60 or 180 days of storage, and marks the package. (Won't swear it is latest and active)
That is my recollection from when I got my engine a few years ago.
Don't assume factory fresh means leave untouched, uninspected, in a corner for a few years. ...But better have preservative, oil and dessicant when you open it up.
A quick look turned up 1481B, which stated lycoming ships from factory, engines warranted for 60 or 180 days of storage, and marks the package. (Won't swear it is latest and active)
That is my recollection from when I got my engine a few years ago.
Don't assume factory fresh means leave untouched, uninspected, in a corner for a few years. ...But better have preservative, oil and dessicant when you open it up.
I talked with Lycoming regarding storage time for a factory preserved engine. The key word in 1481B is "warranty". Lycoming warrants an engine to be free of internal corrosion for 180 days with no stipulation on where it is stored as long as the packaging and preservation measures are intact. If stored in a temperature controlled environment you will be fine for a long time.
az_gila
Well Known Member
That's what I did with an O-320 core for 10 years, stored a mile from the ocean in CA.
The only extra items were -
1. Store it upside down so all of that cheap oil is surrounding the camshaft and lifters. Sitting on an old auto tire works well.
2. Wrap the whole thing tightly in 6 mil plastic sheet. When some of the oil leaks out it will be contained, and also it will create an oily atmosphere inside the plastic wrapping.
The core finally was sold - I bought an O-360
- and when it was rebuilt the crank just needed polishing and the cam and lifters were re-furbished, not scrapped.
