Besides checking the oil level, should you do anything special before starting the engine that's been sitting for almost six months? I was wondering about how much oil film remains on the cylinder walls surface.

 

pull the coil wire and ground it, and crank it for some short bursts then reconnect providing you have done the usual preliminary checks. remove the air cleaner and hold the choke open before you do this so as not to flood the mill, then un block the choke and fire her up!

 

Fill the float bowls through the bowl vents and then crank it up. The faster you can get the oil slinging off the crankshaft and onto the cam and cylinder walls, the better off you'll be. That's how the cylinders and cam/lifters get lubed.

 

I've always wondered about the merits of cranking the engine over with the coil wire off to prime the oil system. My argument is that if the engine is cranking over via the starter motor or under it's own power, the oil system is getting primed in the same number of revolutions. Sure, there is heat involved when the engine is running on it's own power, but in the ten or so (just guessing) revolutions it takes to get the system primed, there would not be enough heat buildup to make any difference. Where does the cylinder get it's oil from? Is it all splash from the crank? (On mine some comes from the valve guides) If so it would seem that cranking the motor over without the coil wire attached would delay cylinder oiling.

On the other hand, what about the rod bearings? They get oil from the crankshaft, right? Priming the oil system before starting would seem to be beneficial to them because the starter motor cranks the engine at lower rpm than idle speed causing less stress until the oil comes.

How much oil drains out of the main bearings? I would think that not much more oil drains out of the main bearings in six months than in 24 hours, and the crank sure would have a lot of oil in it still, right?

What about valve train? I think at low rpm, rocker arms would suffer no damage. Cam break in for a flat tappet cam calls for 2,000 RPM immediatley for lubrication.

I'm just throwing this out there for discussion. I'm sure some members who know what they're talkin' about can give us more info.



Gerry

 

I don't see 6 months as long enough to worry about.

 

I would pull the distributor and prime it with a priming tool...

jack

 

Jack: Can you explain in detail your suggestion for hand priming? What is this hand primer tool?

 

That really is not what I would consider long term storage. If you changed the oil before storage (which you should) and you have no leaks, I would make sure the battery is charged and fire it up. It will take it a while to start but you should be good to go.

 

Try this link to summit racing...this is a tool to help prime your engine...you use a high output electric drill or air wrench to run it...
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...0&autoview=sku

jack

 

Just fill the float bowl through the bowl vent tube, fire it up, and drive it. Filling the float bowl first just saves wear and tear on the starter, and will let it fire up right away instead of grinding away until the fuel pump gets enough gas to the bowl to cover the jets.

No reason to pull the distributor and prime the oil system if it's only sat for six months; all my toys sit for six months every winter and fire right up in the spring - have been doing this for 40+ years.

 

Just started mine up yesterday for the first time in four months. It cranked over a few times and fired right up. Pulled it out of my garage and went down the road. I even got my first thumbs up for the year.

 

Fired mine up yesterday after setting for over 4 months. Fired up on the second crank, warmed it up a little and went for a drive! All is well.

 

Reconnect batter, pump the pedal one time to set the choke. Then pump a few more times as it cranks to prime the carb as the fuel bowls fill up. If you have a good carb that's all you need.

Brian