How long can Coyote Crate Engine sit?

[Colo77Bronco]

Trying to decide if I order my crate engine now so my mock up is perfect or try to get by with guessing and modifying a bit later. I know the build will likely take a year so the engine will be sitting in an enclosed garage that is temperature controlled in Colorado. Last thing I want is dried out gaskets in an expensive build.

Online some people say the engine needs to be prepped and turned once a month and others say it is no big deal.

How long does Ford have them sitting in the crate?

 

[OX1]

My 14 Stang has 12K miles in 9 years. Course it was "lubed up' at least once .
Wonder if you can put it on engine stand, install starter, fill it with oil, and crank it over until you get
a hint of oil pressure at least.

 

[bmc69]

Trying to decide if I order my crate engine now so my mock up is perfect or try to get by with guessing and modifying a bit later. I know the build will likely take a year so the engine will be sitting in an enclosed garage that is temperature controlled in Colorado. Last thing I want is dried out gaskets in an expensive build.

Online some people say the engine needs to be prepped and turned once a month and others say it is no big deal.

How long does Ford have them sitting in the crate?

I've never seen a legit limit on how long they can just sit. A minor exception I can mention for older - much older - remans where lubriplate assy lube was used. It does dry out and become a sorta brittle tan cake. I have some factory new Ford 534s that were crated up in 1980...and they are ready to go right out of the crate.

 

[Broncobowsher]

10-20 years if stored properly and I wouldn't think twice about it. I bet it could sit 50 years and still be perfect.

New engines don't have gaskets that dry out. Cork has not been used in decades. Everything else is stable and has a shelf life of decades, same as in service life only without thermal cycling and wear.

 

[73azbronco]

This^^^

But, I bet you can buy a mockup block for cheap. Either a plastic one or a junkyard wreck.

My only regret is building motor first, letting it sit for 9 years. But then drove it 400 miles no issues.

 

[jamesroney]

Trying to decide if I order my crate engine now so my mock up is perfect or try to get by with guessing and modifying a bit later. I know the build will likely take a year so the engine will be sitting in an enclosed garage that is temperature controlled in Colorado. Last thing I want is dried out gaskets in an expensive build.

Online some people say the engine needs to be prepped and turned once a month and others say it is no big deal.
How long does Ford have them sitting in the crate?

Uhm... I would worry far more about a crate engine that has a latent defect that ends up having the warranty expire while it is being mocked up in an enclosed garage in Colorado.

The vast majority of Ford engines are cast, assembled, installed, and running within 3 weeks from being molten metal. Ford is a World Class JIT manufacturing powerhouse, with an emphasis on Lean Manufacturing. They are a horrid example to learn from regarding engines sitting. The US Government probably knows the most about engines being prepped and installed after delays in the supply.. I will guarantee you that no one is rotating crankshafts at the Sharpe Army Supply depot. There was a locomotive out there that has been mothballed since the late 1800's.

The Coyote Engine is an engine with a horrid reputation for quality, durability, and complexity. It has been revised numerous times in it's relatively short life. It has literally thousands of Potential Failure Modes and Effects with poor Detection scores. (which means it can be "bad" and you can't tell by looking at it...)

Buy your engine last. Have it delivered the day before you are ready to install it. Use an old core for mock up.

edit: I should mention that I'm a little bit bitter, because I just did a Cummins R2.8 that sat for a year waiting for the body. It was not pleasant.

 

[brianstrange]

Where it sits is almost more important than how long. Cool, dry, consistent temps are a good start.

 

[73azbronco]

Uhm... I would worry far more about a crate engine that has a latent defect that ends up having the warranty expire while it is being mocked up in an enclosed garage in Colorado.

The vast majority of Ford engines are cast, assembled, installed, and running within 3 weeks from being molten metal. Ford is a World Class JIT manufacturing powerhouse, with an emphasis on Lean Manufacturing. They are a horrid example to learn from regarding engines sitting. The US Government probably knows the most about engines being prepped and installed after delays in the supply.. I will guarantee you that no one is rotating crankshafts at the Sharpe Army Supply depot. There was a locomotive out there that has been mothballed since the late 1800's.

The Coyote Engine is an engine with a horrid reputation for quality, durability, and complexity. It has been revised numerous times in it's relatively short life. It has literally thousands of Potential Failure Modes and Effects with poor Detection scores. (which means it can be "bad" and you can't tell by looking at it...)

Buy your engine last. Have it delivered the day before you are ready to install it. Use an old core for mock up.

edit: I should mention that I'm a little bit bitter, because I just did a Cummins R2.8 that sat for a year waiting for the body. It was not pleasant.

Yeah but, how long has a crate engine already sat? Years?

 

[jamesroney]

Yeah but, how long has a crate engine already sat? Years?

Not if the product manager wants to keep his job. The biggest penalty comes from putting the highest value item in inventory. A crate engine is probably the second highest value form factor item (other than a vehicle) offered for sale. Don't forget that Ford wants to pass their warranty exposure to their Tier 1 OEM's as well. Outside of an obsolescence "last time buy," everybody benefits from product velocity.

When the next Gen comes out, it only takes a few weeks to purge inventory from the mother ship. I'm not saying that a VAR or a dealer won't have slow moving inventory. (They certainly do...) But FoMoCo isn't sitting on piles of dead inventory. People often think that they do, because they see parts available for obsolete platforms. But don't forget that the 302 Ford saw service in non-US markets for several years after going obsolete here. And as long as the foundry is casting new iron, it's available for ordering. Also service spares get a fair amount of leeway. So engine platforms can be dead long before they are actually dead.

the good news is that the Warranty clock doesn't start until the retailer "sells" the crate engine. And the OP wasn't asking how long a crate engine can last in the crate. He was asking when he should buy his crate engine. And that's a very different answer.

Totally with you and @Broncobowsher on estimates of longevity and preservation AFTER you are in the soup. I'm saying to stay out of the soup.

Wait until your body and chassis work is complete, and they buy your "current Gen" wiring, engine, transmission, power pack, and accessories from a reputable supplier all at once, and hopefully immediately prior to installation.

 

[Colo77Bronco]

Thank you all so ouch for the guidance. Huge help!

 

[73azbronco]

I just remember when I started my rebuild, I wanted a new 302 block. It was 2010 at the time, 15 or so years after they stopped making them. I found what was we think the last ford 302 short block assembly in of all places Prescott Az ford dealer, been sitting there for 20 years.

 

[ba123]

Yeah, if it were an engine that you built yourself and never lubed, it’ll last pretty much as long as you need it to, but an engine someone else built that they might have run oil through and not just assembly lube and warranty, etc…

I wouldn’t do it. But it would work out just fine. Maybe ask them if they can start your warranty once installed, but likely not.