Posted by David Jensen on June 03, 1998 at 14:39:55:
In Reply to: Stuck Engines posted by Harold Besmanoff on June 03, 1998 at 11:45:47:
I like that spray stuff, PB Blaster. Sounds like you already know the "hard" way, but here it is anyway: Usually I've ended up pulling the head and cleaning and tapping with a ball-peen and a wood block around the rusty-looking cylinder(s). It works best if the engine is in the rig to make turning it over easy. Wiggle the crank with a ratchet on the front nut and watch which pistons wiggle a little and which ones don't. Then drop the pan and pull the c-rod caps on the stuck one(s) and knock the pistons down a little from the top (not so they're trying to come out of the cylinder though, it would be a mess to get a ring out the bottom). With the crank turned a little so there's some space between the crank and the connecting rod, your piston can move when you tap it down. Watch out for hitting the c-rod bolts into the crank. I once got a stuck Int'l BD240 moving by making a zerk fitting that threaded into the spark plug hole. I pulled the pan and located the stuck piston by wiggling the crank. Both valves were closed on that clinder so I pumped in grease. It moved the stuck piston, but the problem is when the a valve opens all the grease goes out to the manifold, and of course you have to dismantle to clean the grease and cylinder rust where the rings were stuck. But it's one way to move a piston without pounding on it. Have fun!