Ford Power Stroke Nation banner

Engine that has sat for ten years

1K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  410customs 
#1 ·
So looking for a used 7.3 powerstroke and there are a few out there that have sat for some time. What's the downside concern with one that has sat for say 10 years? Low mileage sat under 150,000 Kms. If you bought one would you open it up or install and try to fire up? Any suggestions would be great.

j
 
#2 ·
Check compression, then pull the injectors out and see if you can see any rust in the cylinders, maybe one of those scope cameras would help.

Drain whats in the pan (if there is anything) and see if you find anything other than oil. (specifically water, fuel, coolant, sludge, etc).

If you are at all worried about it, just pull the heads off, best case scenario everything is fine, you buy some headgaskets and bolts ($3-400), and you get the heads and block decked to ensure flatness ($2-300), and you put it back together with some piece of mind.

The oil pan can come off with just a few bolts as well, make sure everything is atleast still in one piece...
 
#3 ·
The engine currently in my truck sat for 6 years I was told. I had no idea what shape the internals where in. I pulled the oil pan and checked the cylinders best I could by running each piston to tdc. It rolled over smooth and all the cylinders looked good so I cleaned it up, painted it, installed my goodies, and dropped it in. I currently have 0 fluids leaking and it runs like a champ. Probably the best $450 I ever spent.

If they sit too long the gaskets and o rings can go bad. Also rust is a concern depending how and where it was stored. If it looks good I say run it and see what happens. What's the worst that can happen?
 
#4 ·
Wouldn't pull it apart unless I knew it was necessary. Change fuel and oil filters, fill the fuel bowl with atf, put fresh oil in it, probably test the glow plug relay and glow plugs to see if they still work. After that i'd crank it over and see what happens.

That is, assuming I would even purchase an engine thats sat for a decade.
 
#6 ·
I would crank it to see if it's free after checking all the fluids. Checking the dash lights for glow relay problems. Then remove the fuel line from the lift pump. Remove the filter and flush the tank and lines. Use biocide to kill all the microbes. Put in fresh fuel, purge system of air and it should run like a champ. Mine did. It sat for 6 or 7 years and came to life with just a few hundred dollars in oil, filters, fuel cleaners, glow plugs and relay.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Guys,
Bit of a crap shoot I understand, just chewing on options. In addition I own a couple high km engines (read 500,000 Kms) and to strip and rebuild is significant here. So thinking I'll continue to try and find a used lower km engine and if it's bad least I'll have (in theory) lower Kms on the rolling assemblies? My 500k engines have been sitting for 3-7 years and are low compression and think would need lots of attention.

Thanks again.

j
 
#8 ·
I didn't read any of the posts. But what I would do is pull all the glow plugs and dump so oil in the cylinders and bar it over a few times. Then crank it to clear the cylinders. Then compression check.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, that is a pretty good idea, real good actually. Since the plugs are out, it wouldn't be a bad time to do that I reckon. It would also be a good idea to dump some oil under the valve covers. If ya wanted to give the engine it's best shot, those are the things one should so. Along with turning it over by hand maybe a couple dozen times or so, which would prime it. A dry start is never a good thing. I personally wouldn't do any of that, but I never said I was smart, plus I get lazy at times.

Have any of you guys ever seen break in oil before? It's crazy, with all the steel and chrome and whatnot, it looks like Jupiter when you stir it. It's quite pretty actually.
 
#11 ·
I ran into the non detergent break in oil when we put a crate engine in my friends 84 ranger
"Oooh a sparkley"
(Jeremy the crow from the Rats of Nihm)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top