I have an engine that I had to take apart and let sit in fuel overnight(engine had water in it after crash). I have now taken the parts out of the fuel. Can I let them sit out and dry before reassembly? Obviously I will lube the needed parts when I put back together.

Personally, I wouldn't leave the parts sitting in fuel for any length of time, but that's in the past now. When one of my boat engines ends up under water, I just flush it out and run it again. If I can't run it, I flush with WD-40 and then lube it up with after run oil (I use Marvel Airtool Oil).

If it were my engine, I'd rinse the parts with alcohol (rubbing or denatured), dry them off, and then put it in the oven at 200 for a few minutes. The heat will evaporate any remaining alcohol. Once the parts are cool, lube them with some kind of machine oil (3 in 1, sewing machine, or Marvel Airtool) and begin reassembly. Also, while the engine is apart, check the bearings. If you feel any roughness, spend the $20 or so it'll cost for a new set.

Spray them down with WD-40 , It dissipates water very well.

Dexron or Mercon transmission fluid washes away most unwanted substances and last a long time as a lubricant.

I've had engines with water in them after crashes (float flying) and have never had to disassemble the engine. Just dump the water out from the carb, the glow plug port, and the muffler. Turn it by hand to make sure its not hydro locked, get some fuel in it and get it started as soon as possible. Heat it up good, run for several minutes, and you'll be good to go.

Brad

Too late now....wish thats what i could have done. Now im having trouble getting it back together. I think the problem is the alighnment of the pushrods. its a saito 91. if you have any tips...please advise.

The small ends of the pushrods go towards the rocker ams

after the head is in place, you have to push the valve open and place the pushrod into the socket of the adjuster on the rocker arms

In the future, if an engine goes swimming, don't tear it down. Just get out any water you can and then run it for 3 minutes or so.

Heck I've washed out several engines after they have ingested debris or dirt, w/o problems.

I remove the glow plug and carb, flush the engine & carb with hot water, then flush the water out with glow fuel ( it ATTRACTS water, so old fuel CAN be used w/o problems )...

Then again I flush the engine with WD-40, soak it in glow for a few minutes and flush it again with more glow fuel.

I've never have had rusting or other problems this way...

well this was my first time. I would much rather not take them apart. I felt the need cause i turned the prop a little and felt gritty...so i wanted to make sure it was clear af any possible silt. I just need to figure out if ive got the pushrods seated correctly. I am trying to avoid taking the valve covers off to do this. Im thinking it would be a bigger problem by looking at all the parts as show in the manual. Does anyone know if the parts under the valve cover come out as a single assembly? Its a Saito 91

Do you mean the rocker arm covers? When you remove them, the only other thing that comes off is the gasket. If you haven't already removed the covers, you definitely should do so.

..thats what i meant.

If you pull the cylinder on a Saito 91, when you put it back together you will have to pull the rocker covers off to get the pushrods back in their seats and the valve clearance set

You need to remove the rocker covers periodically to check/adjust the valve clearances.

What parts have you dissasembled?

jess

I removed the cam, cylinder, piston, carb, pushrods. I have everything back together now. THe rods are in alignment with the rocker arms(removed the cover to make sure....everything is fine). Its just when i rotate the prop...I feel compression twice. Once then a small one right after. Seems to turn ok. Just dont recall noticing that before. Also hear a very slight tick/click after the 2nd compression. Wondering if its that i need to run the engine to reseat everything? I dont feel any resistance or grinding. Everything seems fine otherwise.

you must have the carburetor wide open for the compression to feel correct.

Even with the carb open, you can feel the cam followers tension against the cam