Old engine Startup/Restore

Ricky B

Ricky B

Wiiide Open
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
LKN - Tha Dirty Mo (Mooresville, NC)
I've read a couple o articles and heard a coupla pointers from some people on how to start up an engine thats been sitting for a while.

My main question is how to get rid of the gunk/buildup that occurs from it sitting for a while. Coupla people have told me to put deisel feul in the oil and run it like that for a little bit to clean it out then drain that out and put new oil in. Any one wanna elaborate/give me there idea's for that?

My other question is you know how you can buy like carb cleaner in a bucket and dip the carb in it to clean it out? Could I pull the heads and intake manifold and do the same thing? If not could I just pull them and pressure wash everything? How about the bottom end? Could I just pull the pan and pressure wash down there while rotating the assembly some to help clean it out? Only thing im worried about is the pressure washer doing damage to some parts, should that be a concern?

So . . .
-Deisel in the oil?
-Pull apart and dip the top end in carb cleaner?
-Pull apart and just pressure wash the crap outta it all?
-Or something else?

Thanks
 
Off the shelf engine cleaner oil additive. Put the stuff in let the motor run for 15-20 minutes and drain the oil, repeat if necessary. This is one of a few "mechanic in a bottle" products that actually works.
 
BIGWOODY said:
Off the shelf engine cleaner oil additive. Put the stuff in let the motor run for 15-20 minutes and drain the oil, repeat if necessary. This is one of a few "mechanic in a bottle" products that actually works.
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Hmm yea i figured that'd be another one of those crappy pay for nothin type things, but i mean if it works then yea that'd make it alot easier, any recomendation on brands?
 
replace 1 quart of engine oil with ATF and drain after 1k.. I was recommended to try this on a very dirty engine, seemed to help..

Either way, they will either help it, or kill it.
 
Put new oil in it first. This also gives you a chance to make sure there are no big chunks of mystery metal in there. A little marvel mystery in the cylinders and let it soak to make sure the rings don't snap when you turn the starter. If it has been a while you will probably need to clean the carb. The bucket stuff works, you just need at least overnight. Once it is running use the oil cleaner. Don't forget to replace the filters before starting either. They can have buildup that breaks free once they are put back in use and it can trash you engine.
 
Down&Dirty said:
Put new oil in it first. This also gives you a chance to make sure there are no big chunks of mystery metal in there. A little marvel mystery in the cylinders and let it soak to make sure the rings don't snap when you turn the starter. If it has been a while you will probably need to clean the carb. The bucket stuff works, you just need at least overnight. Once it is running use the oil cleaner. Don't forget to replace the filters before starting either. They can have buildup that breaks free once they are put back in use and it can trash you engine.
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Cool thanks for the tips, as far as the carb i have a new carb for it anyway so that should be alright, and i figured I could just go ahead and buy one of the $50 master gasket kits pull the heads and intake do the bucket thing then reinstall, that way i can get a good look at the pistons as well and make sure the oil gets to sit on the rings etc. for a bit to make sure they don't seize. What about getting the heads hot tanked? There's alot of machine shops around Mooresville but I don't really know how much that costs, would that be worth the $$ or should I just do the bucket thing?
 
If you are going to pull the heads, go ahead wash the engine with kerosene/diesel.

It will break up most of the sludge etc.
Definitely change fluid and fuilters before starting.


I think there are 2 totally separate paths though.

If you are going to pull the heads, I'd kero wash it. and turn it over by hand with heads off and make sure and get plenty of lube to the rings.

If not pulling heads. I'd pull each plug and put a good bot of mystery oil in there and let sit a day or so. Then change fluid and filters and start it up. Let it get warm. Then drain, change filter, then use oil cleaner additive, and change again in <500 miles.

I've done this fairly successfully a few times now, but as always YMMV
 
SkyHiK5 said:
If you are going to pull the heads, go ahead wash the engine with kerosene/diesel.
It will break up most of the sludge etc.
Definitely change fluid and fuilters before starting.
I think there are 2 totally separate paths though.
If you are going to pull the heads, I'd kero wash it. and turn it over by hand with heads off and make sure and get plenty of lube to the rings.
If not pulling heads. I'd pull each plug and put a good bot of mystery oil in there and let sit a day or so. Then change fluid and filters and start it up. Let it get warm. Then drain, change filter, then use oil cleaner additive, and change again in <500 miles.
I've done this fairly successfully a few times now, but as always YMMV
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I mean I'd really like to pull the heads and get em cleaned or do the bucket thing cause i pulled the vavle covers and thers alot of the sludge in there. Also was plannin on turnin it over by hand first anyway.

Whats YMMV mean? And when you say wash the engine with kerosene you mean like get a bucket of kerosene and a brush and go at it?
 
Definitly a few ways to go. I am cheap so I would leave it together and getting running. Unless it is for a street car, but I doubt that. The way I see it, if you pull the heads you might as well get them worked over.
 
by washing with kero, I was meaning simply pouring it down the oil passages, journals etc.

Basically kerosene is the main ingredient in all thos enginge gunk remover products, and being petro based it will lubricate and not worry about rust issues.

If your pullin the heads, just dip them in a parts washer for a few days. Might even help lube the stem seals.
 
YMMV = your mileage may vary

I.E. If you do this and kaboom your engine dont come on here spewing mouth diarreah at me.
 
not sure what buckets you are talking about for the heads?
I know you mentioned carb dip buckets.

But buy a parts washer. They are cheap and will pay for themselves over time.
 
Carb cleaner in a short time will damage the valve seals, along with any rubber parts in the carb, accel. [pump plunger, float needle seal, O rings, ect. They will swell and get gooey.

I would not disturb the engine, pull dist cap, and spin the oil pump until oil comes out of all rocker arm holes. Maybe run K1 through the pump or use air pressure if you have oil probs at the rockers .ATF or Marv. Myst.oil in the plug holes is good.
 
Well, everyone has a little bit of a different twist on things, here's mine.
If you can see the top of the heads and they are gunked up, I would say thats a pretty good indication as to what the rest of the engine looks like. I would pull the valve covers, plug the oil return holes as best you can. scrape everywhere you can and use K-1, diesel, and ATF or mixture of them to brush around to clean the top of the heads. a spray bottle with the same stuff in it will aid in cleaning where you can't get to with the brush, rags and so on. If the heads look like that, very good chance the oil valley under the intake looks just as bad, so pulling the intake and doing the same thing is what I would do. If you want to do a better job, you can pull the heads and clean them up even better. This will give you a chance to see the wear in the cylinder walls, and how dirty the combustion chamber is. Soaking in a parts washer doesn't really clean it all that good, but a soaking and brushing will.
I wouldn't use the carb cleaner as said above because of the valves seals and fuel pump.
You can do the same thing to the bottom of the engine with it tilted to one side and then the other, trying not to displace the gunk, grit and grime up into the cylinder wall.
Since the engine is out( I think) you might want to pull the oil galley plugs in the front and rear of the engine and run a brush with the cleaner in it thru there, many older engines have really plugged passages and cut down on the flow of the oil to where it needs to be.
After all the cleaning you can do, put it back together, and run a solution thru it while it's running. , buy several of the cheaper oil filters, and change them several times after a few mins of run time. You will have a lot of loose stuff floating around that will clog the filter. I use a Qt of ATF, because it's so high in detergent, a QT of K-1, and 3 QTs of oil., The concoction will clean it pretty good inside. Change it out before running it long, and repeat very soon as in a couple hundred miles, then go about 1K miles and then go to regular intervals.
I have use this method several times on engines that were so clogged you could hardly see the valve springs, and the oil valley looked as if it was only a half inch deep. Secret is to clean as much as you can before you run it.
Hope this helps
 
Cool thanks for all the great info Chip, yea i guess carb cleaner will not be used but I'm all for going ahead and taking apart the engine to clean it out real good while I have it out, I'd rather get it all cleaned and flowing good then have bad things happen later.

Oh btw when you guys are saying K-1 thats kerosene right?

Also If I pull the engine apart to clean it could I not just take the pressure washer to all the parts to get it real good and cleaned out? I figure the intake and maybe the bottom end would be alright to pressure wash, the heads might be too sensitive for that. Are there sensitive parts that would not like the high pressure water going at it In the block/intake/heads? Or is pressure washing just a bad idea in general?

What about brake parts cleaner? The high pressure spray aughta help get the gunk out as well, or is that also bad for the rubber parts?

Thanks

btw: in case it matters for reference this is gonna be done on that caddy 500 before I put it in the jeep, but from what I know it is pretty much the same basic design as the Chevy big blocks since its a gm motor, only difference I've noticed is the dizzy is on the front
 
Jeez why not spend $500 bucks and just go through it, by the time you pay for intake gaskets, head gaskets,valve cover gaskets, carb gaskets, allthese cleaning gizmo's you will spent a hell of a lot of time throwing money up a dead dogs ass. Pay me now or next month.
 
Well I mean i can get a complete top end engine gastket kit for $50 and kerosene and atf don't cost that much . . . .

Rebuild kit for a 500 is like just over $500 bucks compared to maybe $100 spent total by just cleaning it out.

The engine was running when pulled, its just been a while since it's been ran so a good bit of gunk built up.

I mean if i get it apart and see it need new rings/cylinder walls are messed up/etc then yea I'll get a rebuild kit, thats kinda why i wanted to take it apart in the first place to check and see if it needed parts.
 
The point I was trying to make is you are talking about a lot of work and time to still have a warn out motor, I've been around a hell of a lot of engines , I've never seen one gunk up sitting.
 
well i mean, i don't really see it as taking very much time/effort to take apart and clean thou. Taking it apart is a matter of unbolting it, cleaning it might take a while but I mean not more than a few hours, and putting it together is a matter of rebolting it and I have a torque wrench so I'm not worried about overtorquing/etc. not too hard to do IMO

The motor only had 70xxx miles on it anyway so it shouldnt be too worn out, but I mean like i said above, One of the reasons I want to take it apart is so i can look all around and see if I do need to rebuild it.
 
Old motor oils produce acidic compounds that are hell on bearings, especially cam bearings, add to the fact you go putting 1000 to 2000 p.s.i. water pressure on gallies designed for 100 p.s.i. and you are asking for disaster, but do as you see fit. Just an opinion and you know how those are. But I've built a few.
 
maverick said:
Old motor oils produce acidic compounds that are hell on bearings, especially cam bearings, add to the fact you go putting 1000 to 2000 p.s.i. water pressure on gallies designed for 100 p.s.i. and you are asking for disaster, but do as you see fit. Just an opinion and you know how those are. But I've built a few.
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Aight well I mean i was askin bout the pressure washer cause I wasnt sure if it was a good idea, but yea your right it probably isnt so I wont do that, I'll just use the kerosene and clean it by hand, still not that tuff of a job.

Is brake cleaner a bad idea? Probably is but its worth asking since it usually works pretty good with that high pressure spray can.
 
Ricky, the pressure washer would be fine on the heads, as long as they are off the engine. The high pressure is a bad idea because so much of that gunk will be forced to the bearing areas. After you pressure wash the heads, simply take a air hose and dry it off. won't hurt a thing. Yes K-1 is Kerosene, Any of the kerosenes such a diesel or fuel oil will be fine. A shop vac can also be used with success if you scrap and suck at the same time.
Not sure how the brake parts cleaner will work, and it's high $$ for the amount you would need. Plus the fact as I found out, you have to tell them why you want so much. Seems it's an ingredient in making Meth.
If you are gonna completly disassemble the engine, the presure washer will be fine, just dry it with the air hose and spray some lube like WD-40 or something on it after to keep it from rusting.
 
spot on with Chip.

Pressure wash isnt a horrible idea, but definitely wash it down with petro after that. (BTW when I am saying wash down just pour all over it)

This shouldnt be very labor intensive scrubbing. If anything inside is so hardened that it doesnt just rinse off then its prolly time to start looking engine rebuild.

As far as to rebuild or not. You could and you would certainly have a more reliable power plant. But cheap asses like me (and sounds like Chip) have been cleaning and resuing old motors for a long time.
 
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