Hi all, I'm working on a long term project car in which the engine will be sitting for maybe 3 years. Would it be better to leave the oil in the engine or drain it? I'm thinking that it would be better to drain it, to avoid the risk of it sludging up. Any reason why it would be better to leave it in?
Oil doesn't sludge up sitting around, definitely change it before running it though.
You should change out the used oil for fresh.
If used for any measurable mileage since the oil will contain some corrosive combustion byproducts that you won't want to have sitting in there for three years.
If the engine is still in a car so you run it, then change the oil and run it long enough to circulate the fresh oil through the engine.
Spray fogging oil in through the intake with the engine running until it stalls, then pull the plugs and fog each cylinder and spin over by hand to spread the fogging oil throughout the cylinder.
Coat the inside of the intake and the outside of the engine with fogging oil to prevent corrosion
In reply to jstand:
well stated.
+1 for what jstand said. You should put fuel stabilizer in the gas you use for the final run as well. Use ethanol-free gas for this if you can get any.
GameboyRMH wrote: +1 for what jstand said. You should put fuel stabilizer in the gas you use for the final run as well. Use ethanol-free gas for this if you can get any.
Check marina's for the for the ethanol free stuff. Or any local gas station that caters to the boating crowd. Marine engines have come a LONG way, but letting one sit with ethanol based fuel in it still seems to be a sure fire way to invite engine issues.
In reply to jstand:
Motor oil is buffered for that, you have to run it way longer than you should(think 8000 miles or more) for it actually become corrosive as you describe.
Spinout007 wrote:GameboyRMH wrote: +1 for what jstand said. You should put fuel stabilizer in the gas you use for the final run as well. Use ethanol-free gas for this if you can get any.Check marina's for the for the ethanol free stuff. Or any local gas station that caters to the boating crowd. Marine engines have come a LONG way, but letting one sit with ethanol based fuel in it still seems to be a sure fire way to invite engine issues.
It's because most boats up until very recently used fiberglass for the fuel tanks and the Ethanol erodes it.
I'd also put a board over the intake and exhaust. Use the mounting bosses and just bolt it on once and tight.
z31maniac wrote:Spinout007 wrote:It's because most boats up until very recently used fiberglass for the fuel tanks and the Ethanol erodes it.GameboyRMH wrote: +1 for what jstand said. You should put fuel stabilizer in the gas you use for the final run as well. Use ethanol-free gas for this if you can get any.Check marina's for the for the ethanol free stuff. Or any local gas station that caters to the boating crowd. Marine engines have come a LONG way, but letting one sit with ethanol based fuel in it still seems to be a sure fire way to invite engine issues.
Between that and all the aluminum used in the carbs and such yeah. Let's face it, ethanol and aluminum don't play we'll together. Anyway.
/end thread jack
Ethanol gasoline gets along with metals fine, its when it sucks up moisture in the air, becomes saturated, cools off and precipitates out the water that you get issues like finding a carb stuffed full of aluminum oxide after one winter of sitting.
My solution is to dump a crapload of 2 stroke oil in a very low tank of fuel(or directly in the carb vent), till it wont run anymore(think 4:1 or richer mix), then put it away. The oil coating everything stops corrosion and even if it sits so long the gasoline evaporates out, the oil will keep the varnish gooey and easily dissolved when fresh fuel is introduced. Never tried this with anything EFI, but I suspect it would work well.
jstand wrote: You should change out the used oil for fresh.
+1
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