slow poke

Im looking for people with experience here.

I have a fully built motor I have been sitting on for about a year now and I am about to install and tune the motor. The motor has 3k total miles on it from the previous owner. 1k break in and 2k boosted @ 17psi max. Was tuned for more on the dyno but never was the power put to the ground.

-Block consists of GE 84.5mm sleeves, Weisco pistons, Crower rods, Prodrive oil pump gear and Honda bearings.
-Head is a portflow piece with .5 over valves, Ti retainers, and freshly installed ITR cams.

Everything was balanced and blueprinted with new seals all around.
Unfortunately I am not sure of the exact clearances this motor was setup with.

What I want to know is if I can just install the motor and run it or if I should really worry about the bearing's and such not having any oil for a year. I really dont want to have to re-build it just to be sure ya know... The motor has sat inside the entire time with little to no oil in it.

Also, should I pull the head and replace the gasket just to be sure the cylinders are not scared or anything? A GE head-gasket holds this thing together and I would like to avoid pulling the head if at all possible. I just dont wanna cough up the 125 for the gasket when it was sealing 100% perfect at the time of removal.
I really doubt there are any issues with the bottom end but I do have the motor out of the car now. This would be the best time to check.

Thanks for the help

HybridKOOP

You're going to be fine to start the engine and run it. The rings will dust out anything that has accumulated over time instantly.

If the motor had sat without a head on it in a very damp environment, you'd get some surface rust on the sleeves and I'd recommend a scotchbrite job... but it's definitely not a situation where you're going to want to replace a headgasket etc.

Another method (if you're ****) some people use to clear out debris in a motor is to run some ATF through it as it's running. You'll have a nice smoke screen going on, but apparently it has a steam cleaning effect in the combustion chambers.

pimpwagon

if it were my motor id put it on a stand and yank the plugs. shoot a little oil into the cyls. spin the crank with a rachet to get the cyl walls lubed. comp check never hurts either. id pull the valve cover too and pour some oil over the cam/cams and rockers. i am running a 22r toy motor in a truck that was stored for 3 years. this is what i did and it runs flawlessly now. it did smoke a bit on startup but.......i know why.

slow poke

The compression was a perfect 195 across the board when it was pulled. Every port on the motor was taped up while it sat. The ports look practically brand new! The plugs will be brand new as well. The cams and everything in the head should be good because I just installed them with assembly lube. The crank spins extremely freely with no rough spots at all.

My main concern is the bearings....

DaveF

my sugestion is to unplug the injectors and the distributer. crank the engine for 15-30 second intervals, to get the oil pressure built up. then after you do that like 3 times, then plug everything back in and go..

also like the other person suggested. pour a cap full of oil in the cyl's

slow poke

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dturbocivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my sugestion is to unplug the injectors and the distributer. crank the engine for 15-30 second intervals, to get the oil pressure built up. then after you do that like 3 times, then plug everything back in and go.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I had planned on doing that. Thats pretty much a no brainer but thanks.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dturbocivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">also like the other person suggested. pour a cap full of oil in the cyl's</TD></TR></TABLE>
Should I do this before I start the motor and then just crank it by hand a few cycles?

DaveF

ya that would be fine.

HamiltonRex

instead of unplugging the injectors and distrubtor.. Just pull the ECU fuse.

slow poke

I normally just pull the EFI fuse. Il pull the ignition fuse as well.

Thanks for the responses so far guys. Anymore input?

pimpwagon

since it sounds like you did a good job sealing the motor up for storage i thin you got it covered. id say good luck but i dont think its required here.

slow poke

Anymore input guys?

Widebody1

hope your pro drive gear isnt from the old batch from back when your engine was prolly built..... I agree with the above, crank it a little bit before allowing it to start. You stored it great so you should be good.

slow poke

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Widebody1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hope your pro drive gear isnt from the old batch from back when your engine was prolly built.....</TD></TR></TABLE>
Im not worried about the gear but thanks.

Anymore input?

ahobbs

sounds like you got it. i was in the same boat but my motor was uncovered it set for month in a half i havent started it yet but. im going to today. i'll post my results.

slow poke

Mine has sat for a year though...

Thanks for the input so far

ahobbs

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HybridcivicLS-T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sounds like you got it. i was in the same boat but my motor was uncovered it set for month in a half i havent started it yet but. im going to today. i'll post my results.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It started up perfectly after we got som eoil pressure built up. the light finally went off and it cranked right up.

Fully built LS-vtec

slow poke

Thanks for the info so far...
Anyone else have any input on this?

mattssi

A friend of mine sat on a rebuilt GSR block for about a year before he installed it. It seemed like it was siezed when he tried to start it but turns out that he just didn't have oil in the bearing journals and all the assembly lube had dissapated or something. once it was oiled it worked perfectly. Just spin it by hand a few times to make sure there isn't any abnormal drag, then crank it with the ecu fuse removed and you should be fine. Don't stay on the starter for 30 seconds like ai read before though. That will just burn it up. And I usually remove the spark plugs to free up the engine and let it move faster when not trying to start it and just get it oiled.

slow poke

Thanks

Anymore input?

stackz

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slow poke &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks

Anymore input?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, how about follow theirs and just crank it man.

I dont do half the **** these guys do. I just pull the plug wires and crank it over for about 10 seconds or so to get oil flowing, then pop the wires back on and see if it'll fire.

engines are a little more resiliant than you may think. If this thing was running, even if the oil was drained and it has sat for 10 years, there will STILL be oil on the bearings....its not going anywhere and doesnt evaporate you know....

just look at what full-race did with their pinks car...took a motor sitting in freakin mud, broke the crank loose with a 6ft breaker bar, tossed it in the car, and ran 11sec passes.......

earl

The only real problem with a long sitting motor is if moisture got into the cylinder. The rings rust to the cylinder. You can break them loose but you will never have perfect ring seal with the motor.

slow poke

Thanks Earl!

The motor was taped off and I NEVER had a problem spinning the crank! I didnt have to "break it lose" at all. I never felt any drag on the crank when I needed to turn it over. It was totally smooth. This also was sitting in a somewhat heated garage so the temp changes were not too bad leading me to believe there would be little to no moister built up in there.

Earl, would you pull the head and check it out if it was you. (remember I would have to buy a new gasket)?

AbitAvenger

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slow poke &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks Earl!

The motor was taped off and I NEVER had a problem spinning the crank! I didnt have to "break it lose" at all. I never felt any drag on the crank when I needed to turn it over. It was totally smooth. This also was sitting in a somewhat heated garage so the temp changes were not too bad leading me to believe there would be little to no moister built up in there.

Earl, would you pull the head and check it out if it was you. (remember I would have to buy a new gasket)?</TD></TR></TABLE>Unnecessary man.

Take the advice you've gotten so far and crank her up and post saying everybody was right Good luck

slow poke

You may think its unnecessary but Iv got almost 6 grand in this motor easy and I dont wanna take ANY chances. I have only heard from 1-2 people with a similar experience so Id like to get some more input. Not everyone gets on here everyday so id like to keep this thread uptop to see if I can get anymore EXPERIENCED input.
Thanks

ahobbs

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slow poke &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You may think its unnecessary but Iv got almost 6 grand in this motor easy and I dont wanna take ANY chances. I have only heard from 1-2 people with a similar experience so Id like to get some more input. Not everyone gets on here everyday so id like to keep this thread uptop to see if I can get anymore EXPERIENCED input.
Thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

at this point you will never know becuase your scared to put the motor in....lol

mine wasn't covered by anything. just set in my garage. Texas can get very humid. also when I wash clothes my garagae get humid. I did a compression test 195 across and that was when I first cranked it. Didn't even give the rings time to seat. I understand investments. I just prayed before mine started. You will be fine. no need to do the extra. things. especially since you don't feel drag or anything.