Rebuilt Engine "?"

I recently met a guy that had a rebuilt motor that was not in a running / driving vehicle. No big deal.

The weird thing is the guy has it hooked up to a charging and fuel system and starts it every three - six months. He runs some fuel through it and changes the oil. The motor has been rebuilt for several years and has never seen the street.

Is this odd? I would ***ume it would be like it has never been broke in. Is he causing any damage to it?

 

odd well might be or some one that just takes care of things.damage no, as long as he doesn't run it to long.( unless he has water running to it as well.) a few sec. at a time will keep everything moving and oiled.

 

I think it's a pretty good idea, I would imagine he has a coolant setup if he went to the effort of hooking up a charging system .but unlike just cranking it over by hand from time to tme this will burn off any condensation that mightt occur in the cylinders etc, but you're better off not ***embling te motor till you're ready to use it

 

That's why he says he does it.

That's what I ***umed everyone always did.

 

Starting an engine from dead cold is the absolute worst wear it will ever see.
Doing it when you don't have to is not merely pointless but damaging.
If he didn't start it, there wouldn't be any condensation to burn off.

 

If the engine is dry and all the holes are well blocked off, or it's stored in a constant temperature environment, then yeah, I agree. But if the temp changes daily, and humid air can get in, it will eventually condense inside and rust the bores, etc.

Strange thing is the engine in my wife's "old" DD pickup was started twice almost every day, stone cold, for the past 11 years, and still works just fine. That's well over 10,000 cold starts. Maybe cold starts aren't as bad as all that?

 

I always put a box of arm and hammer baking soda in the oil pan on my re-built engines to help with condensation. Plus it will soak up all those nasty smells. Just change it every month.

 

dryer sheets should work for that too Lippy.....

 

If it runs grab it and install in car .At least it ran when parked .The only thing that will hurt it is if it gets hot .I ***ume breaking the rings in were done ,If its a Sbc ,If he used cast iron rings I think you'd be ok Even if break in was not performed .Im not talking about cam break in which is a must in my own opinion ,I always Thrash on my car to perform that test .I figure why rev the motor ,I can do that driving the car and then change oil ,immediately after .I time the cruise . Oil pressure may be a problem How long does it sit and does it leak down before he starts it ,Every 3 months is what I recommend .I don't think its weird ,Alot of guys will build a motor then get it dyno'ed

 

No he's not hurting it at all.

 

I always find someone who says "my Uncle Bubba always poured sand into his carburetor, and it runs just fine".

Again: worst possible thing you can do to the engine.
It's not true because I say so, its not an opinion - don't take my word for it, so some research.
Amazed at the nonsense that gets re-cycled here.

 

Like usual, your milage(opinion) may vary. It's also nice to see that the normal HAMB ratio of fact to ******** is alive and well.

Frank

 

Back in the 60's when in automotive school, we were taught that if a ring job would not seat, to rev it to 1000-1500 RPM and sprinkle Borax thru the carb to "wear the rings in". Ever hear of that?

 

C and C...I find it strange he only starts it every 3 to 6 months! and yes it's true the most damage to your engine is when it's cold. but what's your point, hell brother do you know anyother way to daily drive? and soda in the oil? what part of the ozarks did you come from hillbilly?...POP.

 

truth!

 

My last pickup was 'started cold' just about every day of its life...after 10 years I finally sold it with 395K on the clock...


.

 

"Geez, you RUINED that engine! Gosh, you CAN'T start it cold like that...what were you thinking?"

Thanks for the laugh boys, I needed one right about now!

...wait! Maybe he was serious...I've got it! Each morning before you go to work, pull the distributor and spin the oil pump over with your electric drill. This will prevent that horrible cold start wear that is so damaging...

 

If it was me , I would have left it alone and just keep all the holes plugged up so nothing would get inside to live . Then cover with something to keep it clean .
Starting all the time is OK and won't hurt a thing .
Is he ever going to build something to put it in ?

RetroJim

 

I keep hearing and reading 'cold starting produces the most wear on an engine - about 80%'.
I don't doubt it, but would like to know how and why exactly.

I imagine it all depends on how thin or thick the oil is, mineral or synthetic, type of engine and use and how long the engine sat cold after shut off and what the temperature is at cranking...?

My chevy 6 was about 10-20 years old since the last rebuilt, when I first got it.
15 years of almost daily cold starts later, the oil pressure and compression is still the same today and up to spec.

 

the borax trick was actually a service bulletin to Chevrolet with the 265 and they recommended Bon Ami to get the rings to seat. things were different in those days. the engine in my '59 actually sat under a tarp in my backyard for two years, and had been sitting in a f250 engine bay for several before that... and was a rebuilt engine... runs like a top; holds great pressure and doesn't overheat in my '59. the 5.0 from my crown vic, that i daily drove for years? it's sitting IN a tarp with a piston stuck after i took it out of my '62 Falcon. future project.

 

A box of tictacs down the choke horn will keep the exhaust icy-fresh, and a piece of nicoderm gum every day will keep it from smoking.

 

if you can't start an engine cold then when can you start it?

 

What's the weather like in Bonneville? I always thought it was a low humidity area. If so, what's to condense in the engine? Don't know if he is hurting engine, but I'd think a start after ten years would do less damage than a start every 3 or 4 months for ten years.

You'd be surprised of the number of fresh engines that set for years. Guys get the bug to build a car, the first thing they do is build the engine, not knowing the engine is the easy part of building a car. Then then run out of money, ideas or talent.

Bill

 

A little off topic, but I can notice the differance in the engines with a vertical oil filter - that I can fully prime with fresh oil (SBC). and on one that must be mounted horizontal, nearly dry, more initial clatter till oil pressure comes up. When changing oil in the engine, listen carefully.
Funny thing is most horizontal filters are on rice-burners and they seem to run forever. So does it really hurt it?
I like to drop the oil after fully warmed up, then let it drip overnight, then tackle the filter in the morning after cool down. Doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

 

Just for fun, pull apart an old engine that has been sitting ***embled, but not running, for 10 or 20 years. You'll be amazed at how much oil is still in the bearings.

edit: here's a picture of one that sat from 1981 until 2007

 

The reason to run it at 1500-2000 rpm on initial start up is to keep the lifters spinning on the cam until they are broken in. Cam lobes only get oil from crankshaft splash and the high rpm gets the most oil up there. This is especially important with the oil we have now since they took all the zinc out of it. We saw a lot of flat cams till the cam manufacturers figured out what was happening and started making zinc break in additives. Once the cam is broken in it can idle-ususally takes about 10
minutes at that rpm. If you have a roller cam then none of this is necessary.