Best way to preserve/"fog") motors?

[amuller]

I have a few motors needing to be put away for a few months. Some assembled and running, some apart to varying extents.

I have always put oil in engine cylinders, but this does not seem adequate to protect rolling element bearings and reed valves, etc. Minnesota tends to temperature swings that promote condensation.

Would anyone care to recap what they consider the best approach to preserving motors under these circumstances?

Thanks.

[chris-p]

Living up in the north, I feel ya. Don’t let those southerners tell ya fogging isn’t necessary! 😉

Normal engine oil wont cut it. It isn’t MEANT for long term storage, it is meant to be burned. Fogging oil is meant to cling for an extended period.

On non running motors, you can still fog them. Have someone spray the fogging oil into the intake manifold, or carb if its on, while you crank it over. It will suck the oil into the crankcase and coat it. Then I remove the plugs, spray some oil into each cylinder, and pull it over a few more times. Lightly install plugs back in. Then I mist the block with WD40 to prevent corrosion, and you are done.

If the motor is running, you can either make up a "fogging tank" of fuel, with a mixture of fuel/oil/stabilizer/fogging oil, and run that through the motor for 10 minutes or so, or you can make up a mixture of fuel/stabilizer/oil, run the motor at a high idle, while spraying the fogging oil into the carb throat if your fogging oil is in an aerosol can. Keep spraying it in for about 30 seconds or so. It will smoke like crazy, then die. That is normal. Then, as before, remove plugs, coat cylinder walls, and replace plugs. Then mist powerhead with wd40 and you are done.

Other than changing gear oil, greasing, etc…. which is also an important part of winterizing a motor.

Keep it stored upright, as they are self draining.

[PM T2]

also helps to rotate them once in awhile, fogged or no fog…..

Used to have a routine I called "Quarter-Turn Friday"…. after work on Fridays, I would mix up some Crown Royal & Coke, then went from motor to motor, gave it a quarter-turn forward and backward, then had a sip from the glass…. another motor, another sip….. if I ran out of drink before running out of motors, it was back to the bar for a refill……was OK when I had maybe 15-20 motors around, but when the population increased to better than 50, I started having memory problems…… so I quit drinking Coke……

I’ve never fogged motors, guess I was too busy fogging myself!

Hope this helps.

Best,
PM <hic> T2

He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...

[outbdnut2]

I never fog my motors and have had no problems, and I’m in Minnesota, but I make sure each running motor gets a good run each summer. If I ever have one that I decide won’t be run for more than a year, then I will consider fogging. You will likely get lot of opinions on this here! I would recommend fogging a 4-stroke, if fact, Yamaha recommends that, besides spraying fog into the carb with it running, after that, you should remove spark plugs and spraying fog in each cylinder, and then turning the motors over a couple times without starting to get the fog circulating on the rings. Don’t forget to put the spark plugs back in. Now Yamaha further states you should spray fog into the carb until the motor quits – I have a bit of a problem with this, because then you can’t run the gas out of the carb.
Dave

[amuller]

OK, so what "fogging oil" is best and where do I get it?

[bob-d]

I like Quicksilver Storage Seal. Have been using it for over 40 years. You can get it on Amazon, EBay, and any Mercury dealer.

[crosbyman]

I think you are worrying to much.. if the can says "fogging oil" just buy it and fog the innards as suggested and spray cylinders walls 360 degrees with the piston at bottom dead center (vs TDC). Stabalize the fuel with known products .

I have always stored my engines fully fuelled and stabilized to prevent the carbs from drying out
never had any issues (same with lawn tractors weed eaters chain saws etc…)

in my 50 years of motoring the only issue I ever had was my oiler for my Merc 50 (that gray plastic box in series with the fuel line) Somehow water condensated inside and I ended up with 1/2 inch of water which my engine told me in no uncertain terms. Found a similar problem in the neighbor’s oil tank on a 40 hp Merc.

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[chris-p]

Any auto supply store will have fogging oil.

Dave,

It is actually better to NOT run the carb “dry`, as it will never actually be dry anyways. There is always the last 10 percent of the bowl remaining in there. Better to add stabilizer, and have a full fuel bowl, as almost all manufacturers recommend. If there is a thin layer of fuel in the bowl, it will dry up over a few month period.

Now, I store a lot of my motors inside, so I obviously run them dry, then pull the carb and ensure it is dry, before bringing in. (wife has a problem with the smell of gas, go figure) I fog them with the `fogging tank`method, but also add a few blasts with an aerosol can to ensure the bearings are covered.

Ask any rebuilder if fogging oil is necessary in certain climates. You can see the difference (pitting). Lets preserve these things we love. There is only so much machining you can do to a motor before its scrap. I would rather let my grandkids, grandkids enjoy them, as I do now.

Just my 2 cents.

[chris-p]

Chris,

I have a similar routine, only I do it twice a year with my antiques. (I do it when I adjust my clocks to remember!)

As long as you don’t start talking to them (the motors), and giving them a sip now and then, you aren’t fully fogged yet!

[20mercman]

I like that idea of "Quarter turn Friday." We do something very much like that, the motors that are stored on overhead racks are either direct drive motors or are left in gear so as to be able to turn them while in storage. We do that about every two weeks, but having a day of the week to do it is a good idea. It is also good for the water pumps to keep them from getting too much of a set. We fog all of our running motors. With 70 motors in the collection, and about 50 that are serviceable, it is a big job to do all of them. We have a tank of fuel that we have about 20:1 oil mixture and a stabilizer in it. We also then fog them and remove the plugs and add some oil to the cylinders. I don’t usually change the gear oil unless it has water in it. We do check them for water, and if we find any, then they come apart to find the leak. (If it is a motor that is in "serviceable" condition. If it is waiting for restoration, we make sure that the water is removed.) I usually run them mostly out of fuel while fogging, and the ones that go in the house have all the fuel removed.

Steve

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