Reviving a sleeping engine

Drew_Dye · 12:07 PM

I have a '75 with a 1.8 liter engine that has not been fired up since 1992. I bought the car in '97. I had to leave it behind in storage when I moved in January, 2001. I went back and worked on it in July, 2002. At that time, I could still turn the crankshaft by hand. I went back in January this year and prepped it for shipment to my current home on the east coast. This time, I couldn't turn the crankshaft by hand.
I figure that I can free it up by filling the cylinders and crank case with Marvel Mystery Oil, allowing it to soak for a few days, and slowly working it free. Do any of you have any comments or a better plan? I'm hoping to avoid needlessly pulling off the cylinder heads to inspect the cylinder walls, but I'm definitely all for it if it could save me some serious heartache (and expense) at a later date.

kachemakian · 03-09-2010, 05:30 PM

Drew,

What are you trying to turn with your hands? Is the engine out and where you can get to the flywheel?

Leon

Drew_Dye · 01:25 AM

I tried grabbing the cooling fan as best I could (without breaking any of the vanes). It worked in '02. After separating the engine and transmission, I tried turning the flywheel. No luck. Swapped flywheel and clutch out and had no issues with the crankshaft rotating while I was torquing the flywheel bolts and, as I recall, the torque spec for them is in the neighborhood of 80 ft-lbs.

Nostril Cheese · 03-10-2010, 08:10 AM

Ok, first question. Is the engine out of the car?

"After separating the engine and transmission, I tried turning the flywheel. No luck. Swapped flywheel and clutch out and had no issues with the crankshaft rotating while I was torquing the flywheel bolts"

So you are able to turn the engine over now?

IF not, I would take all the spark plugs out and pour about a tablespoon of marvel mystery oil down each cylinder and turn the engine over by hand. (this means put a socket on the crank)

Drew_Dye · 09:57 AM

No, the engine is back in the car for the moment. I had to put it back into the car before I shipped the car out. Shipping the engine/transmission separately from the car would have made for much headache and walletache. I used to live in Hawaii.

Drew_Dye · 04-12-2010, 05:29 AM

Well, the car is here now and I'd like to get the engine fired up before I tackle all the rust repair. That way I know what I'm dealing with engine-wise. As was suggested in a reply to my original post, I plan to put Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders and try to free it up first. After that, I'm going to pull the heads and inspect/clean the cylinders before I ever fire it up.
In a previous reply it was suggested that I put a little Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder. I was thinking more along the lines of removing the rocker arms and completely filling the cylinders through the spark plug holes. I was also thinking about filling the crankcase as well. Is there any reason that this course of action would be a bad idea? If it's not necessarily a bad idea, how much oil will it take to fill the crankcase?

Nostril Cheese · 04-12-2010, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew_Dye

In a previous reply it was suggested that I put a little Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder. I was thinking more along the lines of removing the rocker arms and completely filling the cylinders through the spark plug holes. I was also thinking about filling the crankcase as well. Is there any reason that this course of action would be a bad idea? If it's not necessarily a bad idea, how much oil will it take to fill the crankcase?

Bad course of action? The oil will prevent the pistons from moving and you'll hydrolock the engine. That is a BAD thing.

All you need is a TABLESPOON of MM Oil down each cylinder. Hell, even WD-40 would be fine.

DO NOT fill the crankcase. If you still cant turn over the engine this way, tear it down.