Long term engine storage advice wanted (dismantling 190E Sportline) - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Greg in Oz · #1 08-06-2006, 08:03 AM

Last week I purchased a second 1990 190E-2.3 Sportline. This one is an automatic (my other one is a 5-speed manual) in signal red (my other is arctic white). I also paid a fraction of the price for this one as it was being auctioned as a "repairable write-off" at a damaged car auction. The damage is to the front of the car and appears to have been caused by an impact with a large tree. Whilst there is no mechanical damage apart from radiator, condenser, engine fan and auxiliary fan, other damage includes both front fenders/wings/mudguards (outer and inner), bonnet, grille, bumper, all front lights, upper and lower radiator supports and, most importantly, the front frame rails have both been bent towards the right hand side of the car. As tempting as it is to consider a repair, the cost would exceed the value of the car, even considering the rarity of a 190E in Australia with either the Sportline options or 2.3 litre engine, a pity as the rest of the car is in reasonably good condition and it has travelled just 144,000km (90,000 miles). I am told that just fifteen 190E Sportlines were delivered here. My manual Sportline (believed to be the only 2.3 manual here) has covered almost 240,000km.

My real reason for purchase was having a supply of low mileage spares for my car, especially the expensive and rare Sportline items (eg. springs, shocks, sway bars, steering box, steering wheel, badges and rear spoiler). Those parts which are not suited to my car such as the auto transmission and black checkered fabric Sportline interior (mine is blue leather) should be easy to sell. It also has a near new set of 205/55R15 tyres fitted to the original 7 inch Sportline wheels which I will fit to my manual car (in need of new tyres). Cruise control is an option which my manual car lacks so that can be transferred from the damaged car.

Today I removed the damaged items from the front of the car and temporarily fitted an old radiator. The engine started easily and ran well and driving it up and down my driveway indicates that the auto transmission appears to be functioning correctly. A drive out on the road would be needed to really confirm this and would also confirm that the cruise control functions before transferring it to my other car.

The question on my mind now is how best to store the engine. Since the 2.3 is rare here I am tempted to keep it rather than sell it. Since it will need to be stored possibly for a long period I am wondering how best to do this. Obviously I will give it an oil and filter change (after letting it run for a while to reach full operating temperature). I also believe I would be wise to add a small amount of oil to each cylinder and crank it over before storing. Would I also be wise to remove the inlet and exhaust manifolds and add a small amount of oil to each port to prevent corrosion of the valves and seats before replacing the manifolds?

My greatest concern is with the fuel distributor. If fuel remains in it will it "go off" and cause damage to it and the injectors? Alternatively, will the fuel distributor left dry (not sure how to achieve this) suffer corrosion or other problems from being left dry. Is there another liquid which can be added to the fuel distributor to preserve it during long term storage? Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Greg

t walgamuth · #2 08-06-2006, 10:03 AM

i think you are right on with the motor so far. i would not worry about the valves.

i am not sure what to do with the fuel injectors and such.

with an outboard or lawnmower you run the system dry at the end of the season. but they are carburated so i am not sure if that applies.

tom w

Greg in Oz · #3 08-07-2006, 04:21 AM

Thanks Tom,

I am fairly comfortable with my intentions for storing the engine itself. My greatest concern is with the most appropriate storage for the fuel distributor, especially considering this is an expensive item and the one I most likely may need at some time in the future. If it were an engine with a conventional fuel rail and electric solenoid operated injectors (eg. early D-Jet or later HFM system) it would not be such a difficult issue. It is just that the K-Jet (and KE) system has the mechanically more complex fuel distributor.

Running it dry as one would with an engine with a carburettor is not possible. As soon as the fuel pump runs dry, fuel system pressure will be lost and the engine will stop, leaving fuel remaining in the fuel distributor and injectors. In any case, I wonder if leaving a fuel distributor dry is wise?

Another thought I had is the possibility of giving the engine a final run for a few minutes on a fairly oily two-stroke fuel mix. This would leave a small amount of oil in the fuel distributor, injector lines and injectors. Even if the fuel evaporated, the remaining oil film would protect against corrosion. The oily fuel mix would possibly also be beneficial to the areas of the engine such as valves and seats prior to going into storage. Following this I would add a small amount of oil to each cylinder and crank the engine over before covering all openings and storing. The only remaining concern would be that of stale fuel in the event that it does not evaporate.

Anyone care to offer their thoughts or advice?

Thanks,
Greg

87-300E_in_NC · #4 08-07-2006, 05:00 AM

Hi Greg,

Why not go ahead and sell the engine/transmission as a unit?

I would not use two stroke mixture in the FD personally. If it were mine and I refused to sell it, I would drain the fuel from the fuel distributor (lines, plugs, regulator) and wrap it tightly with saran-wrap (wrapping the fuel distributor especially) and make sure you wrap it enough that little bugs won't be able to crawl into the engine.

When I bought a used fuel distributor, it was dry for over a year, sitting on the air-flow meter and not wrapped up with anything, and it is still performing very well for me after a year of operation (thank God!

)....I had been running a holly 2 barrel carb. off a 360 Dodge truck mounted to a hand made intake adapter (that I made) since I could not locate a used fuel dist. but I had to drive my 300E!

The valve-train should be fine with dry storage and especially wrapped up with saran wrap, but you could make sure to close off the exhaust manifold holes as well. A bit of oil down the spark plug holes and rotating the crank will be peace of mind more than anything in my opinion. I wish you well, good luck.

Greg in Oz · #5 08-10-2006, 09:16 PM

Thanks 87-300E,

I had considered keeping the engine and tranny together as a unit to either sell complete or even keep for myself. I just feel it unlikely that a buyer would want both, most likely just wanting a replacement for their broken unit. I also feel I am never likely to need the transmission (it won't fit any of my current cars). The engine on the other hand is the same as that in my white manual 190E (except for the engine number which indicates it was used with an auto) and has lots of useful bits suitable as spares for my white 190E.

If I can be assured that simply draining the fuel distributor and wrapping it is satisfactory for long term storage then I am happy to do that. I imagine I may be storing it for considerably longer than a year (and I won't be disappointed if I never need to use it). I just wanted to know if its internals needed to be kept moist or lubricated (reasoning behind my suggestion of using 2-stroke mix). A diesel fitter I know even suggested the possibility of filling it with light (SAE10) oil, although he admitted to not really being familiar with the internals of a KE fuel distributor.

As for the engine, yes I will definitely store it with all openings covered or sealed.

If anyone can offer further suggestions I would be appreciative. I have attached some sad photos as were displayed on the auction website.

Greg

Lostyankee · #6 08-10-2006, 10:36 PM

Is your storage building moisture controlled? If not I would not wrap anything as you may be locking in moisture.
I this car were mine, I would store it somewhere I could start it and bring it up to op. temp. in the spring and fall while running AC and heater and power sterring. Aside from a trickle charging the removed battery and blocking the car so most of the weight is off the suspension and lots of mouse bait and traps, it should be fine.
Avoid car covers that do not breathe ... nothing like the smell of mold to ruin a car.
Check the PH of the coolant.
Look at how the cars are stored in high $ collections!
This method of storage allows several options, like selling the whole car if needed.

Greg in Oz · #7 08-25-2006, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lostyankee

Is your storage building moisture controlled? If not I would not wrap anything as you may be locking in moisture.
I this car were mine, I would store it somewhere I could start it and bring it up to op. temp. in the spring and fall while running AC and heater and power sterring. Aside from a trickle charging the removed battery and blocking the car so most of the weight is off the suspension and lots of mouse bait and traps, it should be fine.
Avoid car covers that do not breathe ... nothing like the smell of mold to ruin a car.
Check the PH of the coolant.
Look at how the cars are stored in high $ collections!
This method of storage allows several options, like selling the whole car if needed.

I'm not planning to store the car complete. If you look at the photos attached to my last post you will see that the car is accident damaged. I purchased it cheaply as a "repairable write-off". I am dismantling the car for parts (spares for my good 190E-2.3 Sportline). I will keep parts that may be useful to me in the future (especially the unique Sportline parts). I plan to sell parts that I am unlikely to ever need or are unsuitable for my car (eg. auto transmission and black cloth Sportline interior - mine is blue leather). The remainder will be scrapped.

Since I plan to keep the engine, I am seeking opinions on how best to store the KE fuel distributor such that it will be preserved should I ever need it in the future. Some have suggested removing all fuel from the fuel distributor and possibly filling it with a very light grade oil or even diesel fuel. I was told that new fuel distributors were filled with what appeared to be a light oil.