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Build and hang engine, then it?ll sit... advice?

rmartingt

rmartingt

Well Known Member
My build is getting closer to the point where I?m going to need to build my engine up and hang it on the mount so I can start routing accessories, doing cowl work, and so on. I?m thinking this will happen sometime 4th quarter this year. However, at the pace I?m able to build right now, the engine will probably be sitting like that for at least two years and maybe three. I?m looking for ideas on preserving an engine that is mounted on the airframe. Currently the parts I do have are sealed in bags with dessicant and/or a nice thick oil coating.

My thinking is to build it up with thick preservative oil inside (to be drained before first cranking). Dessicant plugs and bags where possible and an air dryer setup pushing through the breather. The engine will be sitting in a climate-controlled shop (well, once the AC gets fixed in a couple weeks).

Any other suggestions on this? I?d like to do this quickly rather than draw it out but marathon building sessions aren?t in the cards right now with a three year old who wants daddy time.
 
Its been my experience that building the engine with the proper lubricants, according to the OH manual is good enough to store the engine on the plane while you build. However, do not turn the crank while it is stored or you might wear some of it off. If you are building the engine, you can also put a little extra on the cam shaft and followers knowing it will be sitting. I also put desiccant plugs in the top spark plug holes and put covers on any holes not being used, like exhaust, carb, etc. until you get to that part of the process. You can make these yourself out of some aluminum for this purpose. You could also put a desiccant bag on the breather outlet.
The cylinder type should be considered. If they are steel, you need to keep an eye on them and keep a film of something on them to prevent corrosion. CermiNil, chrome and the like not so much, but I do squirt some oil/STP mixture on them though the spark plug holes occasionally.
This has worked out for me over more than a few engine builds, so take it for what its worth.
A side note that I have noticed is that if your engine sits on the mounts for a long time during the build, it seems to have less tendency to sag when you start flying. Again, just my observation.
 
fill the engine completely with engine oil, slap full, fill the cylinders with oil or auto trans fluid

you won't be able to turn things over this way, and you'll have to go through a procedure to drain it when the day/time comes
 
Lyco

sf3543 said:
Its been my experience that building the engine with the proper lubricants, according to the OH manual is good enough to store the engine on the plane while you build. However, do not turn the crank while it is stored or you might wear some of it off. If you are building the engine, you can also put a little extra on the cam shaft and followers knowing it will be sitting. I also put desiccant plugs in the top spark plug holes and put covers on any holes not being used, like exhaust, carb, etc. until you get to that part of the process. You can make these yourself out of some aluminum for this purpose. You could also put a desiccant bag on the breather outlet.
The cylinder type should be considered. If they are steel, you need to keep an eye on them and keep a film of something on them to prevent corrosion. CermiNil, chrome and the like not so much, but I do squirt some oil/STP mixture on them though the spark plug holes occasionally.
This has worked out for me over more than a few engine builds, so take it for what its worth.
A side note that I have noticed is that if your engine sits on the mounts for a long time during the build, it seems to have less tendency to sag when you start flying. Again, just my observation.
Click to expand...

I agree. If it's new Lyco, don't turn it over. Install desiccant plugs. Mike Bush hosted an excellent EAA Webinar on first start after storage. Worth a watch.
 
If it were mine, the one thing I *might* consider doing is releasing the rocker arms, to take the pressure off the cam lobes. I've seen wheel bearings eventually press the lube from between the rollers & races, and have a vague memory of reading that cams/lifters can be vulnerable to the same thing.

Charlie
 
Interesting ideas, thanks! I?m going to be building the engine up myself (well, with the help of an A&P I work with) so I?ll be able to add extra to the internals. I don?t see why I?d need to turn it over until it comes time to do the spinner and prop and get the crank sensors set up.

My dad?s engine sat pickled and dessicated for a few years in a hangar before he pulled it out to install so my shop should be better than that.
 
It seems to be not a whole of work you are aiming to accomplish after the engine is hung. Is there any other parts that you can work on and leave the engine as it is? Two or three years would be too long for me for the engine to sit.
 
Bavafa said:
It seems to be not a whole of work you are aiming to accomplish after the engine is hung. Is there any other parts that you can work on and leave the engine as it is? Two or three years would be too long for me for the engine to sit.
Click to expand...

I'll need it hung to do all the FWF installs (decidedly non-standard there with SDS EFI) plus the cowl and all that. I'll be able to do a lot of the electrical aft of the firewall as well, but I want the engine there before doing the batteries so I can make sure I have room for them. And again, right now I'm working pretty slow and in a bunch of short periods (45min to an hour) and what seems like "not a whole lot of work" can still drag out for a while calendar-wise.

There are some miscellaneous fiberglass tasks I could probably busy myself with, assuming I can get an extended time to do some of them, but other than that I can't think of major tasks that I'm ready to do yet. I don't think I'd be ready to do the canopy before things cool off and I'd like to leave the front top skin off a little longer anyway while I'm trying to get some of the systems routed.

Finally, I'm on the "pay as you go" plan and don't have wads of cash to drop on avionics, which would be the other thing I could entertain myself with, unless I break with the general rule of "buy avionics as late as possible" or stumble across someone who's upgrading and is selling their system.
 
So I'm in the middle of this, but getting close to first flight. I got my engine about 3 yrs ago, pickled with the proper preservation oil, but was a used engine so nothing on the cylinder walls etc. I've put on and taken off my engine at least a dozen times (gotten good at it - 20 min one-man job now) while doing cowl work, wiring, exhaust, firewall work etc etc. When its hung I have desiccant plugs in the cylinders that I bake out when the color changes and fog the cylinders (fogging oil from Autozone). When the engine is off, I roll it upside down to get the preservation oil sloshed all around and back up on the cam. I have the crank set at a good position for the prop (which has also been on and off a good number of times) and try not to turn the crank at all (except when I have it upside down).

BL: you dont have to keep it on the plane when you hang it the first time. Consider it just another part that needs tweaking. There are threads to modify an auto engine stand and that is well worth the effort to make.
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