Prolonged Motor Storage

[Glenn Gates]

I've become much less active in boating over the last few years and would like to know the best method for storing motors that are not being used on a regular basis. Thanks, Glenn

 

[seaducerpete]

I soak mine in a bucket of tranny fluid with the plug out and enough fluid to cover. The motor

 

[anthony_marquart]

I just make sure all water is out,.. totally pickled in oil,.. imagine tranny fluid, oil,.. something like that would all work about as well

 

[John Knight]

I know of some guys that liberally oil them and then vacuum seal them up. They stay oiled and no air gets in. A food storage sealer works very well for a long time.

 

[tnrcboatracer]

I would start it up and run till warm with straight Alky fuel with 20% oil (this flushes out any residual nitro/nitric acid). And then flush heavily with CorrosionX, wrap with a lint free shop rag, and place in a ziploc storage bag, store in a temperature controlled environment. Be sure to flush the head cap with corrosion X as well to get the water out of there, too. Should keep for years.

 

[Kez]

I use castor oil in my fuel and I learned the hard way that if I did not flush out the castor, it would gum up. Usually the wrist pin and rod would seize up. If you have a 1 piece case, it could be difficult to remove the parts for cleaning. I use WD-40 to flush out the engine thoroughly before long term storage. I have tried all the oil mentioned in the above posts. All work well.

 

[Hayden Bright]

OS engines recommend kerosene to flush out all the moisture B)

 

[Mark Poole ModVP]

One thing that I would stay away from for long term storage is the Mystery oil. It will turn to syrup and then gum after a long time. Hard to beat CorrosionX for water displacement and long term protection. As mentioned, seal engine in a zip lock bag.

 

[Jay Stone]

I always cleaned my nitro motors with coleman camp fuel. Then oiled them down heavily with Corrosion-X. If you are going to store them away for long periods, I always oiled them up extra heavily and stuck them in a food saver bag and vacuum sealed them up....

 

[68Bud]

Every year at season's end I clean out all the remaining fuel residue with WD-40, submerge in a bath of ATF, rotate piston to BDC, wrap with paper towel and place in plastic zip bag. Store in a dry place. Some of my engines sit for years and using this procedure I have had no issues with gumming or rust.