Engine maintenance question
 

Hi
I fly a rascal with a 46FX engine. Since I dont fly during winter, I want to keep the engine from rusting. I did the following:
Filled glow plug opening and the carburettor opening with WD40 oil, spun the prop few times to make the oil flow thru the cyclinder.All this with engine inverted to prevent spill.
Now what do I do? Do I leave the oil to sit there or drain it completely until I fly again in 2-3 months?

Pls advise...
--747

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

i use marvel mystery oil and just leave it in. draining the oil out is not necessary. wd-40 is more of solvent than a lubricant and it smellls bad after a while. try it and see.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

Lannybob is right, I use Auto. transmission fluid which works well for me.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

Common misconception. WD-40 is not a lubricating oil. It is a water displacing bunker oil, pretty much #2 diesel in aerosol form (or squirt bottle). Has some but not many rust inhibiting properties. It is also somewhat penetrating and has probably made its way to your bearings, so you'll need to lubricate them before running the engine again until the castor/synthetic in the fuel gets its way down there. Marvel Mystery Oil or Dextron III ATF are better choices IMHO.

Remove it from the cylinder. Pop the glow plug out and cycle the engine it a few times inverted. Air is compressable, oil is not. You'll damage your engine if you try to turn it over with a cylinder full of ANY liquid - including glow fuel.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

Years ago I read never to use WD-40 on a gun. Trust me this is still on the subject, so read on. It seems that when you spray WD-40, water in the air may condence out and hit the steel of the gun along with the WD-40. Have you noticed how cold the WD-40 gets as it leaves the nozzle? You may find rust on the gun and wonder why. It sounds reasonable to me. I put nothing in my engines and have never noticed a negative. I have 4 OS.46FX engines, 8 years old. Sure wish at least one would wear out so I can justify a new engine. A rough calculation shows about 30-40 gallons thru each one.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

747--You're getting good advice. Get that WD40 out o' there and drip in some Marvel Mystery Oil. Put it in carb and spin the engine with an electric starter. That will distribute it well--if you have too much it will be forced out the exhaust port.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

Marvel Mystery Oil is OK short term, but long term it will dry to hard red crud. Marvel Air Tool Oil is OK. I use Rislone which is green, cheap and good. I have put engines away for years with Rislone with no problems.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

I bought a bottle of Hobbico after run oil for $2.29. It's 2 fluid ounces in size, which is enough to protect about 10 engines for 20 years. I strongly suspect that it is actually automatic transmission fluid, but if I only have to buy one bottle every 20 years, I guess I'll let Hobbico get away with one.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

Any oil can be used for instance, Car Brake OIL or Car Engine Oil?


Mody

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

Automatic Transmission fluid is great as far as I am concerned. No brake fluid, it absorbes water.

RE: Engine maintenance question
 

Hello; I don't know where you got the idea that WD40 is oil. I use a quality air tool oil, which canbe bought at any automotive parts place. Air tool oil is formulated to coat and protect as well as lubricate, this is what is wanted here, not water exclusion or a penetrating oil. I have a 8 oz. squeeze bottle that I have had for years, the nozzle fits the vent line of my 4 strokes (no two strokes) and even after long storage (years) my engines are protected.