Donor Engine Storage

[64 Cheyenne]

I have an 89 XJ donor/parts vehicle. It runs and moves under it's own power,but I'm at the point of no return on it.

I need the tranny out of it so after that's pulled the engine will no longer run.

What do I need to do to preserve this motor for future use. I do plan on starting it one more time to change the oil. Does it matter if I keep coolant or oil in it? The coolant is 50/50.

Should I run the gas tank dry? Spray wd-40 or something else in the cylinders?

My plan is to leave the engine in the vehicle,at least till the city starts complaining again,or I finish stripping whatever I can off of it,Then I'll buy an engine stand or build an engine dolly for it.

[navigator]

is the tranny you are replacing completely shot or mostly shot?

if it is just mostly shot, maybe put the bad tranny back in your donor so you can at least move it around the yard.

 

if it is completely shot why can't you continue to crank the engine after you remove the tranny? I'm not familiar enough with it to know but i would think you could crank it even with the tranny removed.

[64 Cheyenne]

I think I need the bellhousing to mount the starter. Besides once the trans is out it is just getting that much closer till the whole thing is gone.

I was thinking of trying to put a bellhousing back on it,just so I could start it but I think that is kind of moot as I'm not putting the old tranny back in it,it's not worth the time or effort.

Actually don't even know if i can do this.

Just want to pickle the engine for later use.

[Eagle]

In the "good ole days" we used to pour motor oil slowly down the carburetor until the neighborhood was well fumigated, then dump more oil in fast to stall the engine. That left the cylinders pretty well coated with oil.

[Geonovast]

Bolting a bellhousing to it doesn't take much time or effort at all. If you have one available, just do that.

[64 Cheyenne]

I'm not wanting to "start" it again in the near future. I'm wanting to be able to have a good usable engine in storage,that I might not start for two or three years. When it comes time to use it I'm hoping it to have been stored correctly so that I might not have too many issues with rings, bearings, seals, and gaskets.

Only reason I might even consider the bellhousing thing,is if might want to sell it in the future.

Back to my original questions......

[dasbulliwagen]

I have a VW Jetta engine Ive had stored for probably 10 plus years now. I did nothing to it before pulling it. I just go to it every once in a while and roll it over by putting my foot on the flywheel. It has yet to lock up, but anything you can do to lube the cylinders would be good. Like a previous poster said, pour some oil through the carb while running and then more in the spark plug holes after would be great, then roll it over bey hand to make sure it is well dispersed. It will smoke like a mother when you finnally do install it though!

[johnj92131]

One of the tricks I recall for pre-oiling a new engine was to use a wood dowel in an electric drill to run the oil pump without moving the engine. The wood dowel drove the oil pump when the distributer was removed.

 

Another think is that you might want to take some very light weight oil and fill the cylinder with it from the spark plug hole. Over time the light oil should erain past the rings and coat the cylinder bore.

 

Still, I have to think turning the oil pump with and electric drill and hand cranking the engine may be the best, easy way to take care of the problem.