Moly Ring Seat?

[EngineerDoug]

Hello all,

I have yet another question. I got my newly rebuilt 383 running over the weekend and did the cam break in. Everything looks good so far, and I just have some minor stuff to address - like tweaking the old 650 Holley and sealing up some gaskets. So far I am very happy that everything appears to have worked out OK. First engine rebuild for me, and a budget level one at that.

I have the engine installed on a homemade run stand, and will not be installing it in my 68 Coronet for at least another year. I have to restore the entire body shell, paint it, etc. I had intended to leave the engine on the stand and run it every couple of weeks. Just to circulate the oil and get it up to temperature. But I am now wondering if this would be a bad idea, because the engine will not see a load. Will this keep the rings from seating? Or will it just delay the ring seat until the engine sees road duty in the car? Would I be better off just prepping the engine for storage and not run it?

Your opinions? Thanks.

 

[lewtot184]

a top moly ring will seat quickly with the proper hone. whether you run occasionally or properly store it shouldn't effect the rings. i worry more about valve trains during storage. of course you can't let the cylinders rust up during storage.

 

[mentor70]

yeah, i did pretty much the same thing, slap some mufflers on it, and run it for 10-20 min at 3000 rpms and it will be fine.

having the carb too rich or the timing way off is worse.

 

[moper]

If the car body is not ready, pull the valve covers, loosen the rockers so all the valves close, put the covers back on, pull the plugs, spray in the cylinders with something like straight 30 wt oil, turn it over by hand a fews times, and put the plugs back in. Engines are not meant to start cold...lol. You are doing yourself and the engine a diservice by trying to run it. Get it ready and store it, and when the body's ready, then pull the plugs, turn it over and pre-oil it, tighten the rockers back up, and run it.

 

[EngineerDoug]

Moper, thanks for the input. If you would, give me a little deeper understanding of why periodically running the engine on a stand is detrimental. I understand each cold start adds wear to the engine. So do you recommend "mothballing" the engine to avoid the unnecessary cold starts, or does running the engine with no load on it add another dimension to your recommendation?

Just looking to pick your brain a bit more; thanks.

 

[moper]

You'll need a very small pick...lol
1.You're right on the cold start thing. Cold parts (meaning not at operating temp) don't have the same clearances and until the pump catches up there's no oil flow to the bearings. So lots of potential wear at startup.
2. The rings, if the wall finish was correct, and the walls were clean, seated almost completely. But - the more they are turned over with fuel splashed on them and not at operating temp, the more wear will occur. It also adds a lot of fuel and condensation into the oil over time, neither of which are a good thing.
3. The camshaft does not have the complete wear in pattern yet and it is ONLY oiled by the oil splashing up off the crank. So turning it over cold also greatly increases the possibility of a cam lobe going south.

Fact is, we always want the engine done first for some reason. It's totally ***-backwards because storing a fresh engine is not a great move unless it's properly prepped, and kept in a temperature controlled environment. Some of us have that. Many don't. So I'd prep it and leave it alone. You have the video if you want the motivation of seeing/hearing it...

 

[miller]

Main enemy of a stored engine is condensation building inside it.

 

[bm02tj]

Oil the cylinders buy a bag of rice to absorb moisture wrap and seal in plastic tape all seams
relube and start when car is finished

 

[EngineerDoug]

Good points - thanks. I will be posting my video of this thing running soon for your enjoyment. I've got some sealing and tuning to do before it is ready to be stored anyway.

 

[mentor70]

I would leave it on the run stand and run it a few times a month while your building your car.
Maybe tilt the headers down and make a leaf blower with it.