Merc. Engine Advice – not run for 5 years

[zboaterctf]

Lots of good “DIY” mechanics with experience on here – quick question. What things should I be concerned about or dig into on a 1994, 5.7 (or 7.4) Merc. with Alpha I drive? Very low hours (less than 200) and has been winterized and in storage for 5 years. Have not yet tried to start. Other than the obvious – battery, plugs, oil, lower unit lube, new fuel, change belts & impellers … what work should I plan on starting with? Thanks in advance …

 

[moparlvr4406]

IMO..get her running and change all the fluids first
if the won't turn over you got issues

 

[Lazy Daze]

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to spray some PB Blaster in through the spark plug holes before turning it over. Let it sit for a day or two, then spray again and let it sit for another day or two. Spray a little in right before starting.

I don't know how it was winterized, but it's been sitting a long, long time. Fogging fluid will stick around pretty long, but again, can't hurt.

Agree with Jim - get it running, then change the oil. No reason to put fresh oil in there when you're going to want to change it out again right away. Or, if you do put fresh in, use the cheap stuff. The idea is to collect all the nasties that will collect and get them out of there.

 

[fwebster]

If it were me, I would remove the plugs then fill each cylinder with diesel fuel then rotate the engine with a socket and breaker bar on the crankshaft pulley bolt. Once you get the engine to rotate freely, spin the engine with the starter and a hot battery to force the diesel fuel put of the cylinders, replace the plugs, check all ignition connections for corrosion, then address the fuel. The fuel in the boat is stale and needs to be pumped out and disposed of. Fill with fresh fuel, or hook up a temporary tank in place of the fuel line in the boat and fire that sucker up...............with your fingers crossed that it really was properly winterized and no rings are stuck. Bring up to operating temperature and let it run about 30 minutes whil you check the cooling system etc. for leaks. Last, change all fluids and filters while the engine is warm.

To put things in perspective, I bought a tractor once that was left in a field for 8 years, did the above and got it running, but there were some stuck rings and I had to to a valve job and top end overhaul...........the marina here has not aggressively pursued dry stack customers who quit paying for storage and they began crushing the dead-beat boats last week. One Evinrude 100 hp outboard had not been started in 15 years, the new owner used diesel fuel and got the motor running and put it on a center console he has........I saw it on the water yesterday. So........you can save neglected engines if you are careful and don't get in a hurry.

 

[MasterFab]

In addition to the above, which is good advice, I would definitely index, then remove the distributor, and prime the oiling system before I rotated the engine whatsoever. You can use a 3/8", or preferably 1/2" drill, along with an old distributor shaft, or a dedicated priming tool to get this done. Doing so will assure that oil is circulated throughout the engine before you rotate it. Drain the old oil first, replace the filter, fill with fresh oil, then prime. Once that's done, reinstall the distributor, and proceed from there.

Oiling the cylinders as described above is good practice - it'll burn off once she fires up, and assures that the bores (which are NOT lubricated by the pressurized oiling system) are also oiled. Good luck with it....

Dale

 

[zboaterctf]

Thanks all - great input. Any outdrive considereations?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Replace the impeller (do this before starting the engine). I'd recommend getting the whole kit. You might as well replace the outdrive fluid right away, too. Don't forget to get two new seals (for the vent/drain screws). Double check me on this, but I think the impeller kit comes with the vent/drain screw seals?

Not imperative to be done right away, but pull the prop and grease the shaft.

Check your bellows hoses before launching - starting in your driveway won't matter. There's a good chance - especially if you don't know when they were last changed - that they will need to be changed. Drive needs to come off for that. Grease the fittings on the drive.

Anyone else... Am I forgetting anything? The two big things are the impeller and making sure there's enough gear oil in there (that is, if you don't change it right away).

 

[390x]

Masterfab caught the one thing that I'd recommend first and foremost. All the suggestions about lubricating the cylinders are right on the money too. Lubrication is the key before turning it over!!!

 

[njmello]

I've always put Marvel Mystery Oil in the spark plug holes rather than deisel, let it sit for a couple of days - Marvel has solvents in it that cuts the varnish residue after long storage. Until that residue gets scraped off the rings won't reseat properly and deisel just doesn't do the job IMHO - after cranking to pump out the excess and replacing the plugs (use the old plugs - put new in later) - when the engine fires - it smokes like hell for few minutes but it helps the rings reseat a lot quicker than deisel will and you'll get more compression, faster. Just my 2 cents.

 

[zboaterctf]

I've always put Marvel Mystery Oil in the spark plug holes ... Marvel has solvents in it that cuts the varnish residue after long storage.

+1 on Marvel Mystery Oil - used for years when winterizing.
Thanks all for the good advice ...

 

[FastFred]

If it was my boat I would try to remove the old oil and get a lower weight oil for the first start up. Also like it was mentioned get the priming shaft, pull the distributor ( mark the timing and when you put it back in you will need to rotate the oil pump shaft to get the proper relationship for the dist. gears to the camshaft gears correct) and run the drill for several minutes to get lub into the braring mains, rods and rocker arms. How is the gas situation, sitting for 5 years I may want to have a remote fuel tank with new gas as old might be trash. Removing the plugs and using a mix of marvel and a 0-20 wt oil is good too. If possible to spin by hand do that for several revolutions and then turn over by starter. Remember not to do this until the distributor is replaced and grounded properly, the reason is that you sure can mess up the timing unless your a really good mechanic and know how to reset up the ignition. Replace the raw water pump is good, as well as belts and other bad rubber items, if not at the first start up do it very soon after ( if you have water). Once the engine is up and running, change the oil and filter again ( and fuel filter if the old fuel was used) to what is recommended for your engine, replace the sparkplugs and did you not change the cap and rotor out ( maybe plugwires too)? Great time for a major tune up. I have been though many of these situations of engines that sat for years, several for decades and just doing a few things before starting helps out with it lasting for many years again.

 

[zboaterctf]

Thanks all - followed many of the tips on here and all seems to be running well. Another SR back out on the water where it belongs ..