Preservative Oil When Installing a New Lycoming?

I've done some forum searches on this issue, but I can't seem to find a consensus on what would seem to be a fairly common problem for RV builders.

We're at the point of installing our brand-new, out-of-the-crate IO-360. The plastic wrap and desiccant bags have been removed, the spark plugs are installed (from the factory, rather than desiccant plugs), and of course the engine is full of preservative oil, which the manual instructs us to remove before installation.

We've hung the engine on the airframe, but haven't touched the preservative oil. So, what next?

How do we go about installing all the oil lines, fuel lines, prop governor, etc., without removing the oil? And if we do remove the oil, do we need to re-pickle the engine over the (most likely) 1+ years we'll be doing the electronics, interior, etc. before first flight?

Just curious how most people handle this little Catch-22?

No problems mate.

From what you are saying I take it you would like to keep the pickle juice in till you are ready for first start. If that is the case drain it into a clean container, make your hoses fittings and piping what-ever, then poor the pickle juice back in through a good filter and you are good till you have to take it back out for first start. You really should have no big problems even if you leave it out if you are going to have your first start in 6 month to a year anyway, but that's just me talking. It is your engine and I understand the concern as it will be the hart of your beasty. Hope this will help and happy Holidays to all. Yours as always. R.E.A. III # 80888

I would tend to leave it as is. There should be no or minimal loss of oil when you pull plug(s) out to install fittings and hoses. Now if it appears a large quantity of oil is going to come out of the connection where you just removed the plug, put the plug back in, drain and reuse.

One of the engine builders that build more engines that I do may have better advice that mine.

Thanks for the input guys!

Oil

All the oil is in the sump. The only time loss of oil would be a factor is when installing an inverted oil kit.
Having said that the only time the preservative oil would be any benefit is if the engine were on a rotating stand where the entire engine could be rotted allowing the oil to flow around most of the internal parts.

RV6_flyer said:

I would tend to leave it as is. There should be no or minimal loss of oil when you pull plug(s) out to install fittings and hoses. Now if it appears a large quantity of oil is going to come out of the connection where you just removed the plug, put the plug back in, drain and reuse.

One of the engine builders that build more engines that I do may have better advice that mine.

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Ditto. I was concerned about this as well and found little info to help me out. After some research, I decided to leave the pickling oil in and plumb the engine as needed. Very little oil loss was involved. I left in the lower plugs until I was close to engine start and used the desiccant plugs on top only. The most significant loss of oil was when I removed the metal plug to convert my IO-540 to a constant speed prop. Hope this helps.

I was researching this subject as well. I bought my engine in 2009 and installed within couple months. Then I had to rotate the crankshaft to adjust spinner so I drained the oil and replaced it with mineral. Two years later I started it and flew.

Guess you could say I was worried

Since I built slowly, I was very concerned about this issue. I drained the factory preservative oil, made my connections, then reinstalled mineral oil with Lycoming approved Cortec VpCI-326 corrosion inhibitor mixed in. I sprayed the same mixture into the cylinders every three months or so. Additionally, I installed desiccant plugs in the top cylinder holes and bought and ran an engine dryer (more desiccant), which lowered the humidity in the engine to about 10%.

Merrill

Tell me if I'm wrong about this. If you just pour preservative oil or any oil for that matter into a Lycoming it goes straight to the oil sump. Without spinning the engine over, nothing gets to the camshaft, crank, or the accessory gears on the backside of the engine. I know this because my 400 hr. 0-320 that set up for about 10 years is in the process of a major overhaul due to a badly pitted/corroded cam and all the gears on the backside. The stuff up top was bone dry after we tore it down. Not to mention all the cylinders wound up being sent off for overhaul for the same reason.
Like Jim said in post #5

acam37 said:

Tell me if I'm wrong about this. If you just pour preservative oil or any oil for that matter into a Lycoming it goes straight to the oil sump. Without spinning the engine over, nothing gets to the camshaft, crank, or the accessory gears on the backside of the engine. I know this because my 400 hr. 0-320 that set up for about 10 years is in the process of a major overhaul due to a badly pitted/corroded cam and all the gears on the backside. The stuff up top was bone dry after we tore it down. Not to mention all the cylinders wound up being sent off for overhaul for the same reason.
Like Jim said in post #5

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Yes, in most cases this is true and in some where the engine is stored for a long time in a damp place with out any drying agent you can get rust and corrosion of the metal inside the engine. That is why most military engines are stored in an air sealed casket and the air is purged with nitrogen. You can store one totally full of fluid in the crankcase and cylinders, but you need to understand that hydrolock is easy to have happen and you must be careful with the engine and bringing it back out of storage. I don't advise this for every one to do. I have found that most people after spending a lot on a good engine will try hard to keep it stored in a clean dry spot in their car closet, say next to the hot water heater or put a dryer element or light bulb in or under it. What I have done down through the years with my personal engines is mix up a 3 part pickle juice. Phillups 20w-50, STP, and LPS-3. Then paint every last inch inside the engine as it go's together. In some places two and three coats. Yes we put all the regular lubes in the right places too. But this being said, very few can do this as a practical matter.
Production engines on production aircraft get put together and run in a very sort amount of time so they get to be run quickly and often after being put together. We have to be more careful about our long time line between engines being put together and the time they get to run. In the end you do the best you can, but rebuilding and repairs are a part of having a good engine on the nose. Have you ever looked at how much longer with less wear and how much cleaner a school aircraft engine will be as apposed to one that is only run sparingly and not pulled through much. Hope this helps. Yours as always R.E.A. III #80888