Rotate engine while in storage?
 

How many of you rotate your engine periodically during the long winter storage months? I believe it's because of valve springs? Do you rotate 90 degrees? 180 degrees? How often do you do this?

we always remove the rockers on high performance engines its by far the best way

I would agree that's the best way. I can remove them but it's the reinstallation that will get me into trouble. Thanks for your comment.

PQ the less you do to your engine the better off it will be........:D...........rotate the tires yes engine no

LOL!!!! It's surprising how much you can learn about someone in a short time. You read me pretty good. I will follow your advice. Thanks

I crank mine over every few weeks with the kill switch pulled during the winter months.

Honestly - who knows if that’s good for them or bad for them, but at least I feel like I’m doing something pro-active.

While it certainly won't hurt anything to roll it over, it is not necessary. Heat and cycles kill valve springs, not just sitting there half compressed

Leave it and worry about other things.

Years ago I built a blower motor for a pro-street corvette that I was building. Project got pushed to the back burner and the engine just sat in the corner of my shop for a few years. The cylinder bores ended up rusting to where the engine couldn't be turned over. This had a solid roller cam that had almost 1" lift and huge spring pressures. Fast forward 10 years and I needed the brand new Brodix heads off of it for another project. I pulled the heads and checked the springs, they were exactly the same spring rate as they were when they were installed. It hadn't been turned over in over 5 years. But if I had been more proactive with it, maybe the cylinders wouldn't have rusted up.

What exactly are you worried about to think you need to rotate it? Unless you have some crazy spring seat pressures then i wouldn't worry about it. Even then...a few month down time wont hurt anything either..
If you going to be storing it for a few years then i would fog the cyl and then back off the rockers to close the valves. Otherwise dont worry about it.
About the only thing i did when laying the boat up for winter storage was to stuff some nerf foot balls into the exh pipes after shut down to keep the humidity out but even that is probably not necessary. :)

I started building an LS engine about 5 years ago (still havent fired it up) and the first 3 years the cylinder heads were just on the block with a few bolts in each head hand tight. When I finally got around to torquing the heads down, I pulled the heads off to clean the surface, and could see rust starting on the outside edges of the block surface working its way towards the cylinder bores. The cylinder bores still looked like they were freshly machined and it turned over with no issues.

Thanks for all of the feedback. Keep in mind that my knowledge is limited and the more questions I ask the more limited I find it to be. That being said, I was concerned about the springs in certain cylinders being completely compressed for months at a time. FYI, I do not have a crazy spring pressure. I am very relieved to find out that this is not a worry I should have. Btw, I didn't come up with this on my own. I saw something on this topic years ago when I was on fakebook. I usually change the oil and filter in the fall, fog it till it stalls and also remove the plugs and fog the cylinders. This is the first year I have filled the cooling system with RV anti freeze. I store my boat in the basement so freezing is not an issue, but going for the anti corrosion protection. Thanks again for all your comments and help.

I’ll start this by saying I’m not knowledgeable at all compared to a lot of the guys on this website….

When it comes to winterizing - I’ve changed the oil in the fall to get any moisture out prior to it sitting. I’ve changed the oil in the Spring to get RID of any moisture that accumulated over the winter. I’ve left the tanks empty. I’ve left the tanks full. I’ve fogged the motors like I was trying to eradicate a hornets nest, I’ve not fogged them at all. Frankly - I’ve never noticed much difference.

So these days I don’t worry about it too much. Every Fall I change oil, filters, fuel filters, drive lube, plugs and pump them full of antifreeze. I have close cooling but want the system full of anti-freeze. I wait until Spring to change the Fuel Filters and the Water Pumps so they are fresh. As noted, I turn the motors over every couple weeks but that’s easy - I just hit the button while I’m dicking around with other things.

Don’t overthink it, but definitely keep the questions coming. Lots of smart people here.

This guy on YouTube had a few videos on one of Lake Speeds Nascar engines with Lake Jr. they dynoed and tore apart.
Had sat for almost 20 years they claim. Rockers not backed off.
In the first 5 minutes or so of this video, they tested all the springs and they were still within 5 pounds of new.
This was 2nd video of the ordeal.

Do you see sufficient oil pressure or any oil pressure at all when you do that at cranking RPM only?

Rotate it every month or 6 weeks with a 3/4 socket on the balancer bolt mostly to turn the rubber impeller to a new position so the same blades aren't bend over all winter.. On the discharge side of the pump they are completely bent over. Been doing this for 35 years and they last 3-4 years. I change it at 2-3 years depending on the water pressure they are putting out, cause the pumps a hassle to get to. I have gauges on my dash to watch the pressure so i can tell when they are getting worn.

Cap'm, I never even considered the sea pump. I guess it's not wrong to turn the engines a little at a time every so often. Sounds like overkill as far as the valve springs go. The pumps are a PIA on probably every boat. How come there's not a better pump that can be mounted up high in plain site with easy access? Something to look forward to I guess. Thanks for your comments.

Honestly - I’ve never paid attention.

My water pumps are a pain in the ass, but I change every year. I only put about 15 hours a year on them and some years they have shown notable wear. I’m not willing to risk getting stuck one afternoon. Hell, I change them in my Donzi’s Mercury XR6 every year.

I can honestly say,my old whipple motors didn't get rotate for over 3yrs.I will say,the springs were micropolished isky 8005a's.motors are still running.

I don`t know if I would rotate my engine dry every so often.. as a matter of fact I woudln`t . an impeller is cheap.

I got the urge to rotate my engs a few winters ago. Burped out a bunch of pink antifreeze on my shop floor. Never did it again. Been 9 seasons now with no repercussions.

I've only ever had "stock" power and really never even gave this a 2nd thought. It wasn't till I saw it come up (fakebook) concerning hi-performance stuff that rotating the engine was a thing. I mentioned that I pulled the plugs and fogged each cylinder. I suppose if I rolled it over the fogging oil might be wiped away? It also appears that the valve springs don't care what position they are in. Cycles and heat wear them out. I'm not going to worry about it.

here,read this.lol this engine wins

https://www.enginelabs.com/news/sitt...r-engine-lose/

I crank mine over every month or so until I get 50pis oil pressure. More than anything to keep the bores clean and lubed.

Just ran into this article, enjoy :)

Sitting For 20 Years: How Much Power Did This NASCAR Engine Lose?

https://www.enginelabs.com/news/sitting-for-20-years-how-much-power-did-this-nascar-engine-lose/

Not sure why link doesn’t work, so copy it snd then paste into an address bar.

https://www.enginelabs.com/news/sitt...r-engine-lose/

Lol, i see s30 linked the same article before me.
Hah

Normally I'd say just make sure you winterize it properly. But, since I also own some boat engines. I personally:
Visit my boat every day. Talk to it softly.
Pop the hatch, inspect every nut and bolt
Crank the engine 1/47th of a minute.
Lay across the engine bay and think about #SaltLife
Coat the engine in WD-40 every 180 minutes. Then I wipe that down, and do it again.
Test the batteries by licking my fingers and grabbing whatever looks metal or shiny.
Remove the drives just so I can see how much they weigh. (a lot). Then reinstall them. Do this weekly for fun, or hourly to build arm strength. Leg strength and bonus points if you can do it while laying on your back.
Then, every Tuesday and Thursday I practice engine yoga by replacing the starter bolts. It keeps me lean and limber for the twice a season raw water pumps.
I don't actually replace the starter - just the bolts. Most engines I see for sale just need starter bolts. sometimes head gaskets. So every Friday I slip mine out, take them for a walk, and put them somewhere around here
Luckily, in PA, winter is cold and dark, so that leaves me even more time to read each engine it's own bedtime story. Every-night. Sometimes it takes Andy (starboard) a while to fall asleep. Ollie is usually better about it. https://bobs-burgers.fandom.com/wiki...nd_Ollie_Pesto

Well, I'd write more, but my engines need me.

Bahahahaha! You win the internet today!

don't worry,I posted it a few days earlier,,post 23.lol

social engine services came and took my engines away,,said to the fact I left them alone for years and didn't make them grow up healthy and full of HP.