Engine questions

[kibe]

I have a 72 1.7L that's been sitting for 8 years in my garage. It was supposed to be a father/son project, but my parents got divorced...you get the picture. The engine was rebuilt back then and mounted back in. But my dad left before the restoration was finished so the engine was never fully installed, and of course never started. For reasons I won't go into, I was never able to do anything with it until now. My question is, could there be any problems with the engine since it's been sitting so long? A friend said it might be wise to pull the heads off to see if there's been any condensation inside the engine. Is that a good idea even though it's been garaged and how hard is it to do? Also it was suggested that I look into a way to pre-oil the engine before the first startup. Any comments on that? Thanks for the help!

[neilca]

Kibe,
If the motor turns over freely, I would try to fire it. Don't worry if it smokes some on initial firing. Run it, let it get hot. Any rust in the cylinder is probably just surface stuff and won't be there 5000 miles from now.
Enjoy,
neil

[John Rogers]

I would make sure there is fresh oil, crank it till the oil light goes out, then start it and run it at 2500 RPM or so for 20 to 30 minutes to get everything oiled. Good luck.

[Germain]

This may be a strange point, but remember to have fluid in the tranny. Even in neutral it turning. I know several people who have made this mistake.

[paulhagedorn]

I can't believe that people forgot the one point of squirting a little bit of oil in on top of the cylinder, as in through the spark plug hole. This will insure that there is lubricant and no scratches will occur on the cylinder wall. Yes it will smoke a lot for about 5 minutes or so, but will eventually stop.

Paul

[JP Noonan]

This is about the best advise I've heard.

http://aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/engnbrkn.htm

Personally, the two motors I got running after sitting 7 yrs and 9 yrs I removed the pushrod tubes, replaced the pushrod O-rings, removed the lifters ONE AT a TIME and coated them with assembly lube, replaced the front and rear main seals (although your engine is already in the car), change oil and filter, pre-fill the filter, and smeared assembly lube on the valve stems and tips. I also ran the motor, ignition dissabled, until 60 seconds after the oil light went out. The oil light on VW's goes off at only 7 psi.


[This message has been edited by JP Noonan (edited 04-27-2000).]

[JTB]

Make sure you look over the engine before you start it. I had an engine sit in a garage for 3.5 years. I took a good look at it before I started it and found that a small furry critter had moved in under the sheet metal. If I had not found it, I am sure the engine would have either caught fire, or at least overheated.

[JP Noonan]

...did I forget to mention the mice that ate through the +12v wire to my fuel pump. Or the time I was sitting in a puddle of gas?
Well, thanks for the reminder.

After 8 years a REALLY GOOD IDEA is too replace the rubber fuel lines. AT LEAST do the ones that are under pressure.