Engine Storage

[ChrisCairns]

Last night I went out to grab something off of just a bare block except I'd loosly bolted on a pair of heads. Nothing else. It was sitting upright. I turned it over to get at what I needed and saw some cylinders had surface rust on their sides. It had been covered in a plastic bag for 6 months on an engine stand. It was also sitting on a concrete floor inside my shop with lots of air circulation.

My worry.....

I've had last winter's project engine completely finished and under plastic since then. And I mean complete even with oil in it. Since the bare block now has surface rust and was sitting beside the finished engine, I wondered if the complete engine should NOT have been covered in plastic.

My question to those who've stored engines for any length of time...

Should I NOT have it covered with plastic and will there be any "rusting" starting inside the cylinders.

Thanks.

 

[Phatman]

I'm curious????

Could be worse Chris, you could be down here if Florida. Anything that sits in the shop more than a couple of months gets the funk.

 

[ChrisCairns]

I'm curious????

Could be worse Chris, you could be down here if Florida. Anything that sits in the shop more than a couple of months gets the funk.

You live in God's country. (Except during hurricanes.... )

We drove through Florida earlier this year....and I loved it. I wanted to move there but my wife said it would be either Florida or her. (I'm still trying to decide.) The love bugs would turn me off, so would the beauty? of the snake infested rest stops. Pics attached.

We even spoke to a woman who lived there and said every day before she swam in her pool she had to skim it for snakes. I wouldn't like that. But with every good comes a bad and I think you guy have many more goods than bads. Especially the road vittles.

So ya think my engine is full of rust? We're on the dry side of WA state, not the fish and gills side.:tongue:

 

[chopped39]

Last night I went out to grab something off of just a bare block except I'd loosly bolted on a pair of heads. Nothing else. It was sitting upright. I turned it over to get at what I needed and saw some cylinders had surface rust on their sides. It had been covered in a plastic bag for 6 months on an engine stand. It was also sitting on a concrete floor inside my shop with lots of air circulation.

My worry.....

I've had last winter's project engine completely finished and under plastic since then. And I mean complete even with oil in it. Since the bare block now has surface rust and was sitting beside the finished engine, I wondered if the complete engine should NOT have been covered in plastic.

My question to those who've stored engines for any length of time...

Should I NOT have it covered with plastic and will there be any "rusting" starting inside the cylinders.

Thanks.

I put it in a sealed bag with a couple of Drierite desiccant bags. keeps moisture out. I got this stuff from a friend. there is a tag on box W.A. HAMMOND DRIERITE COMPANY 138 DAYTON AVE XENIA OHIO 45385 PHONE 937-376-2927

 

[JDEstill]

A friend told me a good source for dessicants was a marine supply store, said boat owners will use it to keep things dry during storage.

John

 

[ChrisCairns]

Thanks gentlemen. That's a good idea. I'll try out local boat shops first, then try your place Chopped39.

In the mean time....anyone know if rust would have formed already? Or am I just worrying over nuttin'?

 

[idaho gn]

I have always been told that you should use some type of oil product like marvel mystery oil and wipe down cylinders ect and maybe use wd40 type spray on the rest.It keeps the air from freshly machined surfaces so that it cant oxidize, as well as the un machined surfaces, they are slower to rust. Desiccant bags would be ok except sitting on the floor (concrete) the moisture from the floor would wick up to the metal object. Another thing you can do is get some kitty litter, I think its tidy cat or some thing that looks like little round beads not the clay type.Put like a cup in the bag & the kitty liter will absorb any excess moisture, that is unless you live in a high humidity area.



ps ive seen rust from on fresh machined cyls in a couple of hours on my syclone blocks.....not bad mind you but its still rust

 

[ChrisCairns]

Hey Shawn,

I used motor oil when I put the pistons in but I think that gradually the oil will run off. Dunno if the oil will leave enough residual to protect the cylinders.

And with temp changes the air in the engine will keep expanding and contracting so I'll get new air and moisture into the block continually. At least those are my thoughts.

Hence my question to anyone who knows for certain.

 

[idaho gn]

yeah i know what you mean ......my engine builder was @ the house last week and told me to use marvel in the cyls for winter storage.......my block is aluminum so there a whole bunch of issues there.

 

[rking]

Petroleum Jelly and dont let anything sit on the floor!

WD40 is water based, dont use it. Liquid Wrench is a better alternative, no water in it.

Dont set anything on the floor. Doent matter if you have small piece of wood under it, if its on a stand, or if its in the attic, as long as its not on the floor you will be good to go for a long time!

 

[ChrisCairns]

Petroleum Jelly and dont let anything sit on the floor!

WD40 is water based, dont use it. Liquid Wrench is a better alternative, no water in it.

Dont set anything on the floor. Doent matter if you have small piece of wood under it, if its on a stand, or if its in the attic, as long as its not on the floor you will be good to go for a long time!

Thanks. No need to remove the sealed up pan then and take a look.

 

[wickedtt]

so far no real secrets

 

[Phatman]

You live in God's country. (Except during hurricanes.... )

We drove through Florida earlier this year....and I loved it. I wanted to move there but my wife said it would be either Florida or her. (I'm still trying to decide.) The love bugs would turn me off, so would the beauty? of the snake infested rest stops. Pics attached.

We even spoke to a woman who lived there and said every day before she swam in her pool she had to skim it for snakes. I wouldn't like that. But with every good comes a bad and I think you guy have many more goods than bads. Especially the road vittles.

So ya think my engine is full of rust? We're on the dry side of WA state, not the fish and gills side.:tongue:

Oh Yea!!!
Home sweet home.
Some good ideas, I think I need to do some repacking. It's worse than that, being so close to the ocean this time of year the wind carries salt inland quite a bit.

 

[idaho gn]

Petroleum Jelly and dont let anything sit on the floor!

WD40 is water based, dont use it. Liquid Wrench is a better alternative, no water in it.

Dont set anything on the floor. Doent matter if you have small piece of wood under it, if its on a stand, or if its in the attic, as long as its not on the floor you will be good to go for a long time!

ummmmm....... im not sure where you get your info from but this link should clear the air on wd-40 content and history WD-40 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


who ever told you wd is water based didn't have a clue what they were talking about. if its good enough for an atlas missile id say its ok for engine block use.

 

[rking]

I have always been told that WD was water based, but never really cared till some of my parts that I put up, block in the garage, heads under my bed, and several cranks in the attic, showed some water damage after an extended period. I tried to look up the ingredients, but its obviously a secret. Inert ingredients could include some water.....

Have been using petroleum jelly or liquid wrench since with absolutely no problems. Just thought that I would pass them along...

Not downing WD, just saying its not the best moisture preventer for storing bare metals for an extended period...

WD is noted as being a great solvent which evaporates quite rapidly too. You sprayed WD to protect the metals, but once it evaporates, whats left to protect? I personally believe from my experiences that there is some water in WD and the evaporation of the solvents with lower boiling points leaves behind water or something that is water based in amounts that can cause damage to bare metals if they arent routinely maintained.

Where are you getting your info saying that WD does not contain water?

 

[jhanson1750]

I use LPS rust previnitive. This stuff is the best IF you can wipe the part down before you need to use it. It leaves a film on the parts that you have to use WD40 to get off. Other than that I just wipe everything down with 40wt oil during assembly. In my mind it's thicker and will buy more time before it drains off of any parts. HTH Jon Hanson