Way Off Topic - Boat Motor Assist Please.

T

TomKro

Active User
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
344
Been taking apart a Volvo Penta 5.0 due to a cracked block. Poorly winterized last season. My son and his buddy put a rebuilt motor in their boat and left me with the old block and heads. No bites via the local Craigslist, and I had to get it out of the driveway.

I'm assuming the parts are going to sit for a bit. Presently stored in a heated basement. Can anyone advise as to how to properly store the heads, roller lifters and crank/cam? Is it OK to just wipe things clean with a rag and spray the metal parts down with WD40? For the bearing surfaces of the crank and cam, should those areas get wiped over with grease?

Any guidance is appreciated.
 
I find WD 40 too light, try using a rag soaked in engine oil, and wipe things down, then wrap the items in Saran wrap or equal.
 
aliva:
I hauled the parts inside and gave the critical surfaces a preliminary wipe down and light oil spray.
This weekend coming up, I'll clean them up a bit more and oil them down with something a lot thicker.
I haven't been inside a small block in decades. Was surprised to find rollers on the bottom of the lifters - didn't even know they did that on the lower power motors.
What a shame to kill a motor with only 600 hours on it. Tough lesson for the boys.
Thanks for the advice.
TomKro
 
If you want to make sure something rusts, spray it with WD40. Otherwise, clean it of surface dirt and cover with oil and wrap like others have said. WD40 should be renamed, "Disappointment".

The trouble with WD40 is that it does not completely displace water and its not heavy enough to be a vapor barrier. For light weight rust prevention on a regularly used tool I like Starrett M1, if its infrequently used, or checked on or in a atmosphere with wild temp and humidity swings I like LPS 3. There are frequently folks on ebay selling LPS 3 in bulk by the gallon at bargain prices. One gallon will last a home shop guy a lifetime. One afternoon spent derusting something that was sprayed with WD40 will make that LPS3 look like a bargain.

michael
 
A light coat of engine oil, Bag it and throw in a desiccant pouch before sealing. Roller lifters in the 302/5.0 started in 85 in some models. 351's got them in 94 I believe. Mike
 
Just so happens both my cans of WD40 had clogged nozzles - sort of odd clogging a nozzle with a light oil mix. It must have some sort of particulate in it. My first pass with light oil was a "blaster" general purpose lube. Still pretty thin stuff.

Checked Amazon and they have both LPS3 in a trigger spray bottle and they have desiccant pouches. Maybe next I should look for really big bags for my wife's vacuum freezer bagger...

Thanks again for the assist.
TomKro
 
Boat motor (engines) have a lot higher duty cycle than automobile engines. That is why the inside components resemble race engines, because they basically are. Would make a great street rod engine. I hope the motor they put in is a boat motor.
 
I'm not sure what type of motor they actually purchased. I didn't realize at the time, but they upsized to a 5.7L.

I wasn't at the marina to put the motor back in with him, but they took the time to really clean up and paint all the bolt on parts, and replaced one of the castings for the cooling water. I saw a picture of the finished job, and for a first time motor swap, I was pretty impressed.

Sort of silly that I spent all that time cleaning up the remaining parts. All nicely oiled and wrapped, and now taking up space in the basement. I thought the heads would move, but no luck yet.
 
Is the block weldable? I don't know if that block is special (4 bolt mains /extra webbing or not) but if you list the lower end along with the top end you might git some hits. Any self respecting street rodder should jump at those parts.
 
Both sides of the water jacket had a section near the top of the cylinders with a crack almost six inches long, and pushed outward about a sixteenth of an inch. Maybe a welder could have fixed it, but who knows what else would have to be done to get the heads back on correctly. My son and his buddy decided it wasn't worth risking it, so they ordered a motor and wrote the check. Boat ownership and check writing appears to be strongly correlated.

Odd thing about the heads. One of the heads had a metal tag embedded in plastic. Have to wonder if the previous owner already swapped out one of the heads for a refurbished one. Pic attached.

MotorParts 005 crop.jpg

My posting on Craigslist noted "Volvo Penta" and "Vortec heads". I should probably put "small block" in the text somewhere in order to catch the attention of the street guys.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top