starting engine after 20 years

[catfishcuz]

I just picked up a 49 b1b with rebuilt engine in it that has never been started and has been sitting for 20 years what precaltions should i take before i try to start this engine.

[aero3113]

with the spark plugs removed can you turn over the engine by hand?

[catfishcuz]

I have not tried yet.

[austinsailor]

I've done a couple recently.

I'd pull the pan and clean out the gunk. Lub the cam lobes with grease.

Remove the oil filter and clean the canister. Refill with oil.

Remove the plugs and put a fair amount of lubrcant in each cylinder. Let it soak for at least a few hours.

Assuming you've got the fuel system clean enough and in a shape to work, start the thing. Be sure the shop doors are open. When the smoke clears, evaluate how it's running.

The two I did recently (both had set for 30+ years) ran smooth and quit smoking after a half hour or so of running.

[Bradley S.]

Sound advice on the 20 yr old engine!

My truck was driven into the garage two years ago running fine. It has sat for that time while I have been restoring. I have not touched the engine. What would you recommend for start up? I am thinking just fire it up.

Do you concur?

Brad

[JBNeal]

ya might want to see if the valves move freely & aren't gummed up. Pull the cover off of the regulator and carefully clean the contacts, check the points in the distributor also. Definitely get some lubricant in the cylinders, the oil cups on the generator & distributor & prime the oil pump either by removing & submerging in engine oil or by cranking the engine with the ignition turned off. Put some compressed air through the radiator to flush out the dust & cobwebs. Consider draining the coolant and replacing with straight water, that should heat the motor up a little quicker, and might give ya an indication if there's a lot of crud in the jackets.

[BulldogTom]

What kind of lubricant in the cylinders? I am in the same situation. Engine not fired for 4 years. Was running fine when I put it in the garage. Still turns by hand with no problem.

I plan on replacing all the wires, plugs, distributor cap, points, filters before starting it up. I will pull the pan and clean it out as you sugguest as well.

Tom

Lodi, CA

[JBNeal]

By putting about 4 capfuls of engine oil or diesel in the cylinders before start up, you are eliminating the dry friction that would result before the oil pump could force oil through the oil rings. I prefer diesel because it can provide some lubrication before startup and it burns off easier after startup. Engine oil could foul the plugs a little, but using fresh gasoline and running the engine for about an hour could clean the plugs off.

Another suggestion is after the engine is running sufficiently to use an engine flush to remove any crud that may have accumulated in the internals. I prefer using a flush that requires to be added to the engine after it has reached operating temperature and only requires the engine to idle for about 10 minutes. A trick that I've been meaning to try is to put a plastic garbage back against the inlet side of the radiator so that the fan sucks the plastic against the honeycomb. This should allow the engine to warm up faster, allowing the engine oil to get heated enough to remove any crud in the internals. The mass of the flathead 6 engine block is so high that a great deal of heat is required to be generated in order to heat up the engine oil. Blocking off the radiator's ability to shed heat should allow the block to heat up faster.

[austinsailor]

This is only my speculation, nothing scientific. But, every old motor I've taken apart that has sat for years has had a massive amount of crud in the bottom of the pan. My guess is that oils have changed over the years and this is not as much of a problem now. So, if a motor has been apart, cleaned out or overhauled since you've had it, it's very likely it hasn't accumulated a ton of stuff in the bottom. By that, I mean a half inch or more of heavy crud, sometimes so heavy it takes a putty knife to get it loose.

A motor like that, if you leave it in and rely on solvents or additives, or even modern oil to work it loose, is going to have that stuff circulation all through the motor. I'd rather spend an hour to 2 hours and maybe $20 max for a new gasket and know it's clean to start with. If this is an old motor you know nothing about the history of, I'd pull the pan. If it's a motor you've had and started out clean and used modern oil in, I don't think I would unless something else makes it seem like a good idea.

As someone mentioned, oil in the cylinders is to make sure they are lubricated when it starts. If it's been sitting more than a month or two, that probably isn't a bad idea regardless of it's history.

I've talked to people who put diesel in instead of oil, and run them 10 minutes or so to clean them out. They claim they get tons of crud out that way. I don't doubt it. I imagine they also get tons of wear that way.

I had a caterpiller track loader a few years back (Now have a John Deere) that had the hydrolic pump start leaking and lost a few quarts into the engine oil. It didn't take an hour or so to take the mains out. Still plenty of oil, just not the right kind. I just can't imagine what could be going on with diesel in there.

Anyway, there are just my thoughts. No proof of anything, except the mains in my track loader.

[Eneto-55]

As someone mentioned, oil in the cylinders is to make sure they are lubricated when it starts. If it's been sitting more than a month or two, that probably isn't a bad idea regardless of it's history.

We always used ATF. (If we knew were going to leave an engine set for some extended time, we would run it while pouring ATF down the carb, then when it’s smoking real good, we’d pour faster till it choked it. We could come back years later and the engines treated this way would always be free and would always start.)

I've talked to people who put diesel in instead of oil, and run them 10 minutes or so to clean them out. They claim they get tons of crud out that way. I don't doubt it. I imagine they also get tons of wear that way.

I had a caterpiller track loader a few years back (Now have a John Deere) that had the hydrolic pump start leaking and lost a few quarts into the engine oil. It didn't take an hour or so to take the mains out. Still plenty of oil, just not the right kind. I just can't imagine what could be going on with diesel in there.

Anyway, there are just my thoughts. No proof of anything, except the mains in my track loader.

I’m wondering if, since you probably didn’t have any reason to realize what was going on, you continued to operate under load. Would that make a difference? I have also heard this about putting in diesel, but have never done it. I did, however, fill the crankcase of my S-10 with ATF after I got it, because the oil was so black. I ran it at idle for 3 minutes (timed it), and with my hand on the key, in case I heard any change in the engine tone. The ATF came out really black, and the first oil change after that stayed like new oil (in color) for hundreds of miles. I don’t know about what extra wear I might have caused, but figured at idle I was safe, and maybe I prevented more wear by getting all that crud out. (We need some scientist types to do some sort of lab test on this question.)

[MBF]

Don't ask me why, but I like Marvel Mystery oil as an additive to both the crankcase and gas. When I did my slant 6 engine over, and the valve job on the flatty my machinist told me-nothing goes in that oil filler but a good quality high detergent motor oil and a zinc additive. The slant was boiled out twice during the o'haul, and I dropped the pan on the flathead after the valve job so I knew they were both clean inside. I've heard stories about those internal cleaners doing bearing damage, and saw an engine that had 2 cans of RESTORE dumped in it. Remember that stuff JC Whitnet used to sell where you added something to the oil, and dropped a pellet down each cylinder to do a motor job in 5 minutes?

[austinsailor]

>I’m wondering if, since you probably didn’t have any reason to realize

>what was going on, you continued to operate under load. Would that

>make a difference?

I have no doubt that made it worse. But in the big picture, there were around 16 quarts of the correct oil and around 3 or 4 extra of the wrong oil. I would never have predicted that would have done damage to the motor.

[catfishcuz]

After months of time and pateints it runs.This forum and the people involved are awsome THANKS TO ALL. BUTCH