Important winterizing warning

[Ramblin Man]

This is a little off topic but relevant so I figured I'd relate a horror story as a warning to others.

I have several old BMWs in various stages of completion. One has been patiently waiting for me to get around to it for a few years now. I was going to put a dual weber side draft conversion on it among other things. A couple years ago I pulled the intake and made a nice cover with a gasket to go over the intake ports to keep everything dry. The motor was one of the quietest and smooth motors I'd heard with only 100k. Thats nothing for a 78 2.0 m10. The car has been in my garage or driveway with a cover.

Three days ago I went to start the conversion and the first thing I do after anything has sat that long is to put oil in the cylinders and crank it by hand. No luck. It was locked up tight. I pulled the head and there was rust in the number 4 cylinder. The problem was that the engine had come to a stop with the number 4 exhaust valve in the open position. Condensation had found its way up the pipe and into the cylinder. I was able to clean up the bore and the head, but the rust had made it to and possibly past the rings, right now I don't know, I have to pull the crank to get the piston out.

This was a really great motor in super shape before I neglected it. It looked like it only had a couple thousand miles on it when I got the head off.

I thought I had taken precautions to keep what happened from happening.

If any of you guys have more toys than time, you may want to give those cylinders some attention now and then just to let them know you care. A plastic bag, rubberband, and four squirts of WD40 through the spark plug hole once a year would have saved me.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Condensation is incredible. We used to work on AH-1 rotor blades and found that humidity would pass through the fiberglass skins, like Gore-Tex, then condensate inside the honeycomb cells. The blades would go seriously out of balance, which is really bad on a helicopter.

WD-40 works, but is mostly penetrant that evaporates. The new anti-corrosion sprays like ACF-50 are what the Navy's gone to in their airplanes, and they know corrosion! Even that should be re-sprayed about once/year.

Bob

 

[FJR919]

Before I built my temperature and humidity controlled garage to store my Mustang and motorcycles, the Mustang had to be stored for the winter in what can best be described as a barn. The carb would come off and I would spray WD40 in the intake manifold (2 cans at the same time) while an assistant cranked the engine. The ignition was disabled so the WD40 would not burn. After that the intake, exhaust and all atmospheric venting was sealed off.

This or some type of fogging the cylinders, as is often done for marine engines being stored, is something I have always felt as essential when storing gasoline engines. Even the leaf blower, lawn mower, etc. get their cylinders coated with oil before storage.

I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune with the BMW.

 

[radman]

Seafoam, in the spray form known as Deepcreep, works perfectly. Basically, spray into the intake while running until it kills the motor. On a airbox motor like the feejers, load the cylinders through the plug holes with a good heavy dose, then finger tighten the plugs back in. Come spring, pull the plugs and crank the motor with a rag over the plug holes to catch any spray back. Good to go.

 

[FJR919]

In light of my post and Radman's, it should be emphasized that any time you're introducing a liquid into an engine you have to be careful that if you're turning the engine by hand or cranking that you don't introduce so much of the liquid that you damage the engine.

The principle of hydraulics is that a liquid cannot be compressed. If you put too much oil in while cranking it, or don't allow for pressure to be relieved after putting the oil in it, you can do some real damage. That's why Radman said keep the plugs loose and to crank it with the plugs out to get rid of the excess oil.