well it sat for a few years, so how do I proceed?

[Grumpy]

Guys, I did something VERY stupid -- 3 years ago I installed a new blower motor in a car that wasn't complete and WITHOUT backing off the value springs, I covered the car in plastic where it has been sitting untouched. To make matters worse, the motor hasn't been rotated. Due to a mother with cancer and the changing of a job, life got away from me. I'm now trying to size-up the damage and move forward with the project.

It's a 671 blower motor with a mild Hydraulic Roller -- intake lift around 510. I'm going to scope the cylinders to see if there is any rust on the walls (doubtful since they were covered with oil and the garage has decent climate control) and rotate the motor by hand. The motor was never started, so all of the assembly lube is still covering internal parts with 6 QTs of oil that will be drained before rotating.


Now my questions:

1) Considering it's a mild cam, do you think it's necessary to replace the valve springs that have never been used?

2) Do you think that the hydraulic lifters will be OK? Keep in mind that the valves were never backed-off during the 3 year period. A sales rep at Comp thought they would be OK -- I'm looking for additional opinions. If not mistaken, I think he said that the value springs too, should be OK with a mild cam.

Thank for the help!

Ken

Project56-X

Ken

Link to pics.

you have two rather obvious choices ,if your concerned, with the potential of their being damage, to the engine,
personally I think that if the environment, the car was stored in was clean and dry,
there not a great deal of chance significant damage was done and a oil change is likely all thats required.

(1) you can either disassemble inspect and test the valves springs for consistent tension,
and check all the components for wear and correct clearances and lack of corrosion.
then reassemble the engine and be fairly sure its in great condition,
or
(2) you can change the oil and oil filter and fuel and fuel filter,
spin the engine without the ignition on until you see consistent oil pressure and oil flow from the rockers,
and try starting and running the engine in its current condition.

yes the additives in the the quart of MMO you can add to your crank case oil, do a good job of breaking up and holding in suspension oil sludge and transporting it to the oil filter

the first choice is the safest but. I will point out Ive started and run dozens of cars that sat, for several years with only a battery and oil change and few have had issues related to valve train failures and new gaskets sealants and the time and effort required are likely to be more than required here!
yes its likely the valve springs that were compressed will have lost some minor tension, but I doubt the amounts critical.
any time you encounter problems like the oil filter gasket blowing out on an engine that has sat un-started for more than a few months an oil and oil filter change, and taking the time to drain the oil through a fine filter to visually check for water and contaminants in the oil drained is a very good idea,
engines that site un fired up collect condensation, condensation results in internal rust and that can damage or seize an engine if left very long
almost any auto paint store and most hardware stores sell these disposable throw away paint strainer filters , that cost about 20-35 cents each, or a bit less in bulk packs, honestly I don,t see why most guys don,t invest the dollar it takes for a magnet and a couple filters, blowing the gasket as you found out indicates the pressure bypass is not functioning properly so the oil pump needs to be disassembled and repaired or replaced

read this linked info
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...years-now-i-want-to-sell-it.13790/#post-70731

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pro-66776/overview/

 

[87vette81big]

I like to remove all spark plugs and use an old school pump oil can filled with 10w30 oil.
Squirt about 5-7 shots into each cylinder.
Install the spark plugs.
Try starting the engine.
Without a microscopic thin layer of oil
on the cylinders the engine fails to develop adequate cranking compression many times after long term storage.
The oil smoke will stip after 30 seconds or so.

 

[87vette81big]

You run into issues with True Race engines with 350-400 lbs seat loads.
If rockers were not backed off after 1-2 months.
50lbs seat load loss or more likely then.

 

[Grumpy]

YOUR 100% CORRECT BRIAN, but your not dealing with a race engine and a solid roller cam,
If you were dealing with a solid roller cam that had 350 lbs of seat pressure and 800 lbs open pressure there would be no question that a dis-assembly and inspection would be the better route, on a mild hydraulic roller cam having only .510 lift the valve spring load rates will tend to be rather low to mild and while as I stated the safest route is to disassemble and test each spring Id bet that the result of just spinning it over until oil flows from the rockers and then starting it up, results in little or no problems, yes I would as you suggested squirt a bit of marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and spin the engine with the spark plugs removed before trying to start it up. Yes SOME of the valve springs might have lost 20 lbs-30 lbs in seat pressure , but on a fairly mild hydraulic roller cam that much loss in tension,may not , in fact probably won,t cause an issue, and Id bet if tested does not show up, to that extreme.



The following recommendations are from Erson Cams. If you have questions, you can reach their tech department at 800-641-7920.

Hydraulic Flat Tappet Camshaft: 110 lbs Seat pressure/250-280 lbs open pressure

Solid Flat Tappet Camshaft: 130 lbs Seat Pressure/300-325 lbs open pressure

Hydraulic Roller Camshaft: 130-140 lbs Seat Pressure/300- 355 lbs open pressure

Solid Roller Camshaft: (Minimum Safe Pressures DEPEND ON SEVERAL FACTORS)

Up to .600˝ valve lift: 200-235 lbs Seat Pressure/600 lbs open pressure

Over .600˝ valve lift: 250-280 lbs Seat pressure /100 lbs pressure for every .100˝ of valve lift

 

[87vette81big]

I like MMO.
Marvel Mystery Oil