Sitting motor
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 822
Likes: 0
From: The Evergreen State (WA)
Sitting motor
Acquired a motor that has been sitting a while. It was a remanufacted motor I believe, I found a very faded sticker on the engine. Anyways long story short, I put the engine in my other 7. I was curious as to the procedure I should go through before I try and start her up. Put fluids of course but other than that. I know it will need to build oil pressure, no idea how to do that. Also I imagine I might need to put a little oil in the housing for lubrication? Car will be running premix, standalone microtech, and is a s4t2 shortblock with s5 externals. Any help would be appreciated.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 460
Likes: 4
From: Tallinn, Estonia
to build up oil pressure, disconnect the cas or ecu, thatway it wont start.. maybe spray some oil inside the combustion chamber also.. but turn it by hand before starting it to for the oil to lubricate every side of the housings.
You can also check oil pressure with a cheap manometer with 1/8 thread, that is what i did.
You can also check oil pressure with a cheap manometer with 1/8 thread, that is what i did.
Before you even put the engine in the car pull the plugs and put a little oil or MMO in the leading spark plug holes. Rotate the engine and listen for compression pulses. Seals will stick from sitting in these engines and it will be a good idea to try and free the seals before installing the engine in the car. I have a small ATF/MMO mix I've been using in the engine that's destined for the 88 that my son and I are building and the pulses went from strong to very strong. I rotate it over every day.
You just want to make sure the engine is good before you put it in. I got burned back in 08 on a 13B and took the guy's word for it as he was a reputable seller so to speak. Would have saved me a lot of time if I checked it over before installing it. Had to yank it back out and found another good engine to install.
You just want to make sure the engine is good before you put it in. I got burned back in 08 on a 13B and took the guy's word for it as he was a reputable seller so to speak. Would have saved me a lot of time if I checked it over before installing it. Had to yank it back out and found another good engine to install.
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4,815
Likes: 24
From: Columbia, Tennessee
What I do to build oil pressure on a fresh build or one that's been sitting long...
Obviously... charged battery, crankcase full of oil etc...
1. Remove EGI fuse OR unplug igniters on 1st gen.
2. Slightly loosen oil filter to break seal (a couple turns looser than hand tight). Put a rag there to catch overflow.
3. Remove spark plugs for faster crank. Put a small amount of ENGINE OIL in the plug holes.
4. Crank engine in 30 second ON/OFF spurts until you see oil start to flow out of the oil filter seal.
5. Put everything back together and start it. Let it run for a good 30 minutes in the shop/garage with a box fan in front while doing constant walk arounds checking stuff out. If everything checks out good... drive it like any normal car.
Obviously... charged battery, crankcase full of oil etc...
1. Remove EGI fuse OR unplug igniters on 1st gen.
2. Slightly loosen oil filter to break seal (a couple turns looser than hand tight). Put a rag there to catch overflow.
3. Remove spark plugs for faster crank. Put a small amount of ENGINE OIL in the plug holes.
4. Crank engine in 30 second ON/OFF spurts until you see oil start to flow out of the oil filter seal.
5. Put everything back together and start it. Let it run for a good 30 minutes in the shop/garage with a box fan in front while doing constant walk arounds checking stuff out. If everything checks out good... drive it like any normal car.