New/Used engine

Well I got lucky and scooped a 98 xj engine from the wreckers here for the future when I need it, not necessary yet but want to be prepared.
Is there any thing you guys would suggest I do to this motor while I have it on the engine stand in my shop until I need it, it's very low miles. I havent worked on many engines, fairly new to this but I'm a fast learner.

What would you guys do to this motor in prep for the day I need it? Barring stroking it or anything too technical. Paint, replace gaskets, anything? Thanks

Rust is the enemy. I bought a 96 with a "bad engine" that turned out to be an eroded piston. Not sure how long the thing had been sitting before I bought it but the water jacket was half filled and there was quite a bit of rust in the water passages when I took it apart. If you'rs is going to sit around for a while you probably want to drain all the water out (remove the t-stat and water pump and stand on end?) and then try to dry it out by compressed air followed by spraying wd40 up in the passages.
I also had rust on the top edges of the rocker arms. Not sure what to recommend about the engine oil. I found a few links indicating that old oil has acids in it from use that will corrode but new oil that hasn't been run has moisture that will contribute to rusting.

I thought there was something you could get for engine storage that would displace the atmosphere in side the block but a quick google search failed to find it. Maybe someone else knows.

If you're going to tear it down then it'd be easier to clean it out, spray it down and bag it, maybe with some dessicant, till you figure out what to do.

Thanks thats what I'm looking for, I dont plan on using it for a couple of years hopefully. I have a heated shop that it can sit in, do you guys think I should tear into it a bit or remove the fluids and let it sit or what? I am not too sure about the seals etc, hopefully more opinions follow, thanks!

I would not tear it down for two reason. First, to put it back togather is gonna cost. If something does go wrong in storage, the cost is gonna been similar to that of putting it back togather anyway. Second, if you follow good storage guidelines, in a heated dry storage, You'll be talking 10 plus year shelf life.

Bill

You might read up on boat motor winterization. They talk about something called "fogging oil" sprayed in the intake and a teaspoon of motor oil in each spark plug hole. Thinking about it a bit, here's what I'd do:
- pressure wash the dirt off the engine. Mostly just to keep dirt from falling into the engine if you remove any of the covers.
- drain the oil
- drain the cooling water (after removing tstat & water pump & upending the block,)
- use a shop vac in the t-stat opening to pump air through the passages off and on for a couple of days till dry
- spray wd40 in the cooling passages
- spray the fogging oil in the oil drain hole & replace the plug.
- spray a bit of the fogging oil in the spark plug holes, intake(or passages if no manifold) and in the oil filler hole.
- Bag the whole thing - Summit Racing (for one) sells plastic an "engine bag" - I found that even the 30gal garbage bags were too small to cover the whole thing with enough to spare to seal shut and had to tape two together.
- If you can find some bags or cans of desiccant (see packing supply, coin dealers, gun dealers) throw that in the bag with the engine.
- bonus points - rather than just drain the oil, change it and then circulate through the engine via the drill & pre-oiler attachment (could be an old junk yard distributor with the cam gear removed) method while someone turns over the engine with a ratchet on the harmonic balancer bolt. This will replace the old oil in the lifters. I'd probably still drain the oil after that - oil sitting for 2 years is not going to be what you'd want to start the engine with and don't know what good it would do sitting in the pan unless you did the pre-oil thing every 6 months or so.
When you go to use it consider taking the pan off and replacing the rear main seal(most likely to dry out from sitting) and with the fel-pro two lip seal. Search for several writeups that describe doing it by only removing the rear main cap and pushing the old top half of the seal out without having to remove the rest of the mains and the crank. Here's one - I'd save it in a word doc, never know if stuff will be around when you need it: http://tek-tonic.com/rearmainseal/
That will give you a chance to inspect the rest of the interior.
Otherwise, when it's in the vehicle don't forget to fill or change the oil and pre-oil it again before starting.