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The parts truck I bought recently has a seized Y-Block that I figured I might as well give a shot trying to save, and, after a little searching, I found no specific thread about freeing up seized motors, but some small tidbits all around mainly. So, my question is; what techniques do you recommend for freeing engines? Any methods with any success? Any big do's/dont's? Most of what I have read basically says penetrating oil/marvel mystery oil down the spark plug holes and letting it sit, adding a little more every so often, and continuing to crank on it with a ratchet. Boring/honing isn't a path I want to go down, so less destructive is better!
Patience and more patience. I used diesel. Every day I would crank on it with the ratchet. Slowly, very slowly, it started to move. Then when it was turning all the way fairly easily, I hooked up a battery to the starter to spin it more.
I know this sounds counterintuitive, and I haven't ever tried it myself, but I've had a few old timers tell me that water....yea, you heard me right, water can do wonders in a seized engine.
They swear by pouring some water in the stuck cylinder and giving it a little time and then like anything else try gently nudging it around every so often....who knows, if you're desperate it might be worth a try.
Years ago I had an old fuel tank that leaked like a sieve. I would solder the heck out of it, fill it with water overnight and no leaks. I'd install it in the car, put some gas in and the bottom of the tank would be wet in no time. I mentioned this to a chemistry nut friend of mine who explained that the water molecules are larger than the gasoline molecules or some such nonsense. That being said, I wonder if a little gasoline down the offending cylinder might help a bit as it could work its way through the rust.
we used automatic transmission fluid in a 9N ford tractor
ATF has lots of detergents that they say helps, plus its fairly slick. We would squirt a little in the plug holes every day or 2. It took about 2 weeks to get it turning where a starter would turn it.
Marvel mystery oil works for me. Fill the cylinders, top them off every couple days, and dont try to break it free for a week. Little budge, then fill again. Do this every few days and give the crank a little movement. I unstuck two different engines doing this that were stuck for years and they ran amazingly well once freed up. No stuck rings, no smoke.
Some swear by a mix of ATF and diesel, I have not tried it.
I've heard of people dumping a can of Coke down the plug holes, but that doesn't sound too good to me. I have used some deep creep, ATF/ acetone, and MMO just recently on an old mower engine. The ATF/acetone mix will give you 2 qts. to work with. Probably the cheapest. Patience is the key which ever way you go. Good luck up there.
I made a plate with a starter gear on it that bolted in place of the starter. Used a breaker bar on the shaft. Gives way more mechanical advantage than a wrench on the crank. I even put an impact wrench on it for a try. I soak for a couple weeks with mmo, diesel,atf, acetone and combinations of all 4. Problem is that the one I'm currently working on, a flathead v8 has been stubborn and resisted all these efforts so far, but I have unstuck a few with the soaking and I think the starter plate is a good idea. I normally tow them and dump the clutch, but this one has a slipping clutch. Arrrgh. Sometimes they unstick and are real good engines, as you've read here.
Well, I've almost certainly found the problem on this engine. I was pulling spark plugs when the second one I pulled looked much rustier than the others, so, knowing this truck had a major rodent problem (glove box stuffed full of a mouse nest!) I stuck my pinky finger into the plug hole. Whaddaya know, full to the top with what feels like seeds/other nesting goodies. I plan on blowing out what I can with the air hose and taking a look down with the bore-scope tomorrow. Hopefully not too rusted out from mouse pee, but I'm not holding my breath.
Why not pull the head and be done with it? Doesn't sound like the kind of engine you're going to pour gas into and it will purr like a kitten.
I tore down a flathead that mice had gotten into the valve chest. Couldn't get it to turn more than about 90 degrees. Turns out they dropped acorns down the passage into the timing gears.
I had acorns in my engine as well, but dang not all the way down to the timing chain.
I would agree, with a mouse house, remove the heads. It is very simple to do and will give you a great look at the pistons.
I had acorns in my engine as well, but dang not all the way down to the timing chain.
I would agree, with a mouse house, remove the heads. It is very simple to do and will give you a great look at the pistons.
I agree with all of the above. Also - I have found it really helps if you can move the engine in both directions as opposed to one
I am somewhat in the same situation with my F2. Mine will hand crank but with a good amount of resistance. Im using the 50/50 ATF and acetone, spraying some in there every so often and cranking. I haven't taken a good look at the pistons yet, but will soon. Good luck!
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