Anyone done this? I have a newly built engine Lycoming just sitting. Not gonna see any action for quite a while so I'm looking at and easy way to pickle without oil fill.

I seem to recall my mechanic friend saying some factories ship crate engines purged with nitrogen. Could a guy fit a Schrader valve to the case breather perhaps and flood the engine for a bit?

The engine has been in a heated hangar since assembly, and will live in my heated garage until use.

Call Lycoming and ask them about the shelf life of the engine, as they have stored engines. When assembled it was coated with fresh engine oil or maybe the oil from the engine test start. Moisture is the big risk on a sitting engine. Do you live in a dry or wet climate? Dave B

Maybe put it in a plastic bag and fill with nitrogen? Or vacuum pack it?

I looked at a factory new lycoming from the early 90s. Never run, stored dry. When I called lycoming they told me in no uncertain terms that it was a core only.

Zane, you can put it in my Maule. I'll keep it exercised till you need it. You're welcome.

Really, just fill it with oil s my vote. Even better, kick it into high gear and finish the Bear. Or just go buy a Maule, hahaha.

You seem to be taking the path I did. To busy to fly. When I was 48 I got back into flying after 30 years of dealing with life.

Best wishes!! Rob

Fill it with preservation oil and rotate it every so often.

-0-

Mike Busch just recently talked about pickling on a podcast I was listening to. I think it was General Aviation News. His two recommended methods were to either pickle it the old fashioned way, or set it up on a refrigerated air dryer system that pumps dry air through the crank case.

ColoMtnMan wrote:Call Lycoming and ask them about the shelf life of the engine, as they have stored engines. When assembled it was coated with fresh engine oil or maybe the oil from the engine test start. Moisture is the big risk on a sitting engine. Do you live in a dry or wet climate? Dave B

When I assembled it, everything was drenched in Federal Mogul Sealed Power assembly lube. Then, before I put the acc case on, I high-pressure fogged the inside of the crankcase with a slurry of assembly lube and Phillips XC20-50. Cylinders are new so black nitride coating. Cam and lifter faces have manganese phosphate on all the lines. Valves, pistons, rings just have a ton of oil on them.

I live in a moderately moist climate, but it's a non-issue indoors. I have bare steel on my fuselage that was sanded 2 years ago and has no rust. Always stored above 65 F.

dogpilot wrote:
Service Letter No. L180B it is the guidance I use for storage or shipment. Way smarter folks than I figured this out.

Good call. Will look that up.

Zzz wrote:

dogpilot wrote:
Service Letter No. L180B it is the guidance I use for storage or shipment. Way smarter folks than I figured this out.

Good call. Will look that up.

Yes, go with Lycoming's recommendations. One thing, be sure to purchase dessicant plugs, and put at least one (I'd do two) in each cylinder. They replace spark plugs. they'll keep the cylinder humidity to Sahara like dry.

Don't listen to anything Mike Busch puts out.....

MTV

mtv wrote:
Don't listen to anything Mike Busch puts out.....

MTV

Why do you say that?

CParker wrote:

mtv wrote:
Don't listen to anything Mike Busch puts out.....

MTV

Why do you say that?

Mike Busch is a shameless self promoter who specialises in contradicting himself. Mike Busch thinks Mike Busch is amazing... Don't get me wrong, he does come up with some interesting stuff, and some great info. But I get the impression he has an issue with, or envy of, real mechanics / A&P's and seems to think we're all stupid, knuckle dragging morons who are only interested in ripping off our customers

It is so frustrating explaining to a customer that we cannot do what Mike Busch said in one of his 'opinion pieces'. Many countries and operators do not have the discretion to pick and choose what maintenance they perform despite what Mike Busch tells you...

He'd be a great parody in a Simpsons episode 'Mike Busch, Mike Busch, Mike Busch...'

FWIW we had a LOT of problems with fresh overhauled engines that had been stored in a nitrogen can, when I worked in the overhaul shop. If it was stored a long while, it actually would dry out the lead on the bearing face and you'd lose the bearing pretty quick. If they had 50 or more hours on them before storage, they seemed to be fine. I spent a lot of nights on the plating bench, pulling off the lead and plating new bearing lead.
If we had a engine going out the door that wasn't going to be run for a time, we'd pull it off the test stand, circulate Shell fluid 2F, fog it, and put dessicant plugs in, and a big sign on it explaining that it was preserved and to NOT ROTATE IT!!!!!
It sounds to me like you have done a great job of assembling/preserving the engine. I'd stick with that and not worry about it.
Just my 2 cents.
John

Zzz wrote:Anyone done this? I have a newly built engine Lycoming just sitting. Not gonna see any action for quite a while so I'm looking at and easy way to pickle without oil fill.

I seem to recall my mechanic friend saying some factories ship crate engines purged with nitrogen. Could a guy fit a Schrader valve to the case breather perhaps and flood the engine for a bit?

The engine has been in a heated hangar since assembly, and will live in my heated garage until use.

Zane,
Yes you could rig up a container and purge with nitrogen kind of like they do Twinkies to keep them from rotting.
You could vacuum pack the whole thing also.
but in either of these cases one small leak and it is all wasted effort.
It would be hard to tell if your nitrogen leaked out.

As long as the parts are covered in oil they can't rust.
Thats the simple solution.

onefitty wrote:

CParker wrote:

mtv wrote:
Don't listen to anything Mike Busch puts out.....

MTV

Why do you say that?

Mike Busch is a shameless self promoter who specialises in contradicting himself. Mike Busch thinks Mike Busch is amazing... Don't get me wrong, he does come up with some interesting stuff, and some great info. But I get the impression he has an issue with, or envy of, real mechanics / A&P's and seems to think we're all stupid, knuckle dragging morons who are only interested in ripping off our customers

It is so frustrating explaining to a customer that we cannot do what Mike Busch said in one of his 'opinion pieces'. Many countries and operators do not have the discretion to pick and choose what maintenance they perform despite what Mike Busch tells you...

He'd be a great parody in a Simpsons episode 'Mike Busch, Mike Busch, Mike Busch...'

That pretty well sums it up. He’s a self promoter who READS about maintenance, but has very little actual direct aircraft maintenance experience. Follow his guidance at your own risk. Better yet, find a mechanic with actual experience, and follow their guidance.

MTV

TangoFox wrote:As long as the parts are covered in oil they can't rust.
Thats the simple solution.

Ok, thanks. I guess I'm trying to avoid a heavy mess with filling the case. I've had it on the assembly stand for over a year now. I'm not sure what i can expect for protection after fogging/coating so long ago. Hoping that Sealed Power is nice and sticky!

hardtailjohn wrote:circulate Shell fluid 2F

John do you mean circulate as in prime the oil system? Or fill the whole f'er to the brim?

Fluid 2F is circulated in the oil system, We had a valve and pump on the test cell to switch to it at the end of a run.If I remember right, we'd let it circulate for about 10-15 minutes while the engine cooled down. I've used it on mounted engines that were going to sit all winter and it goes in place of the regular oil. Go fly around the patch and park it. Great stuff!
John

Looks like 2F has been replaced with 2XN which is the actual preservative that was used in 2F.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/aeroshell08-14701.php

What about a sealed box then purge with nitrogen or a similar process? Like military engines are stored.

We have one here for a turbine. The engine bolts into it, you bolt the lid down then purge with nitrogen or whatever else you feel like doing with it since it's now sealed from external influences. Fill it with dehydrator packs or something? It has a fitting on the outside and a big gasket around the lid.

Brady wrote:What about a sealed box then purge with nitrogen or a similar process? Like military engines are stored.

We have one here for a turbine. The engine bolts into it, you bolt the lid down then purge with nitrogen or whatever else you feel like doing with it since it's now sealed from external influences. Fill it with dehydrator packs or something? It has a fitting on the outside and a big gasket around the lid.

They work great until you open it up and find that it hadn't stayed sealed. I've seen that more then once...