How to determine engine condition

[Yorkie]

I have a complete 2.0 sat in my shed that was supposed to have been rebuilt some years ago but never ran. This looks plausible as the motor is nice and clean and the valve guides look new. My question is how can I determine the health of the engine without tearing it down or running it in a vehicle? Compression test? Leakdown?
Thanks,
Kevin

[snowman]

Never ran, is bad, very very bad.

Can you find out if assembly lube was used and if so what kind(s).
Was it storred with oil or without?
Was it at least turned over by hand once in a while?
How many years, exactly?

While all of the rings and bearings will be good as new all of the seals may not.

The most likely thing that has happened if it set and was never run is that the assembley lube has dried up in place and is now plugging up everything. It may or may not be possible to dissolve the assembly lube if thats what was used. A good place to check is the camshafts and around them (you will have to remove one valve cover). If you find dried out lube and it looks like it could plug up something you may have to tear down the engine, clean it relube and reassemble. It may be possible to wash out the engine without tearing it down but I do not know if it will work myself. If no assembly lube was used then it should be possible to change the oil a couple of times and manually crank over the engine without the plugs in it to circ the oil and clean it out. I am not sure of what cleaner or solvent would be best to do this with. I have seen dried up black moly assembly lube in engines that have been run and I have seen dried up Red Line assembly lube in an engine that hasn't been run. I don't like black moly because of what I have seen leftover. Red line is the best, but after a couple of years it will dry out and it dosen't seem to clean off very easily or dissolve at that point

And then there those of us , some who wouldn't even change the oil, would just start it and hope for the best. Not a good idea in my mind. I think you could very quickly ruin the entire engine, but you would know right soon.

[H.G.P.]

Can an engine be turned over by hand very easily. with the spark plugs in?

[snowman]

The size of the wrench you use to turn it over determines how easy it is to turn over an engine with the spark plugs in. With good compression an engine can offer significant resistance, with poor compression almost no resistance.

[BRPORSCHE]

i have a 73 MFI that hasn't been started in ten years. I don't know if the oil was left in the car or if it was drained. Should i follow the same procedures that snowman says an engine should be checked or since it is a 2.4 would i haev to use a different way?

[dweymer]

I would change the oil and filter and at least remove the valve covers and have a look see at the rockers, valve clearances. Also, if the engine is still in the car, remove the alternator, and oil cooler duct so that you can clean out all the rodents mess, they like to make little houses of grass and trash and whatever on top of the cylinders, and oil cooler. If not cleaned out it will affect cooling, possibly cause an overheat.

[BRPORSCHE]

the engine compartment has been cleaned out i am in the process of removing it from the engine. The car is up on blocks and should be taken out this weekend. Should i drain the oil before i take it out fo the car?

[snowman]

Not been started in 10 years is not as bad as never been started. Its still not good, but not as bad as an engine that has never been lit off. The biggest difference is that you will not have dried out gunk clogging all the oil passages. You will have dried up gunk trying to clog up passages and it just might be possible to clean it out, somehow. On the other hand 10 years is a very long time. I would check and see the condition of the oil, is it ok or is it gooey? If it is gooey and or dried up and solidified in places, then I would consider tearing it down and giving it a very good bath. New seals everywhere. Many engine parts have a life, used or not of about 12 years, unless protected by some special environment. Metal parts even corrode or oxidize. A Porsche sitting in a garage is going to degenerate somewhat, unless its kept in a nitrogen atmosphere or some very controlled environment, like the museums use. Even then I suspect they need to be run once in a while to be kept whole, ie seals dry out without some fresh oil on them.

I am not any kind of expert on this subject, but I have seen the result of cars stored for 2, 5 and 10 years without attention, and an engine that was never started for over 2 years. I have also seen the results of some cars, eg a 1949 chev with 10,000 miles on it that was brought to college by a friend in 1971. Didn't last long.