Best way to store engine

[bil1024]

Engine out of donor and heads / oil pan removed. I will not get a chance to touch it till spring, whats the best way to store it ? Thanks!

[Gumball]

Fog it with oil and put it in a bag. If you can, turn the crank occasionally to make sure that the rings don't stick to the cylinders.

[CraigS]

My thinking is that the cylinder bores are the most likely to rust. It would be easy to slather grease on them but of course you would only get one or two fully covered. So being able to rotate the engine maybe once a month and spray/wipe down the bores w/ oil ( NOT WD40 ) would be crucial. Also be sure to oil the head gasket surfaces. good luck.

[auburn2]

1.Buy an oil pan to use since you don't have one, you will need one anyway eventually. Install and fill engine with 30W or if you can find it 40W single weight (not multi weight like 10W-40 or 5W-30).
2. Start engine run for 20s, turn off. If the engine can't be run then buy or make an oil pump priming tool and prime egine in using a hand drill instead of running it.
3.Take out spark plugs, put about 2 ounces of 30/40W oil in all the sark plug holes with a narrow funnell (if you have no measuring vial go big you can't put too much, because if you do all that will happen is a mess to clean up after #5).
4. Turn the engine over a few times without spark plugs installled, either with a wrench (preferred) or the starter (if you are lazy).
5.Coat old spark plugs with 30/40W oil and put them back in finger tight.
6.Drain coolant, spray ligthweight oil into coolant passages when dry. Use WD-40 if you have no other options, but oil is better. If it is an aluminum block just drain the coolant, the oil won't hurt an aluminum block but it is not needed either.

If you follow the above procedures and store the engine covered in a garage it should be more or less ready to go in a conditon similar to today any time prior to about 2030. If you go beyond 2030 I would repeat steps 1, and 3-5 about 20 years from now. If you store it outside repeat 1-6 every year (or less in a wet evironment).