400 engine can't get unstuck

[grizz665]

Have a 400 engine that had water from broken muffler for a couple years can't seam to get unstuck. Have head off and oil pan been soaking for a year . I have a 6 ton jack pushing down on the bad cylinder . Any ideas ? Or look for another engine ?

 

[grandpa Love]

Heads off? Have you cleaned all visible rust out of the cylinders? Used a quality penetrating oil? Free-All or Deep Creep are good. Have you found a round chunk of oak the size of the piston and beat it with a big hammer? Have you tried prying on the ring gear? Back and forth? While beating on the oak block?

 

[tomtinker]

Have you tried pushing up individual pistons and sleeves from the bottom together ?

 

[wwoodrow]

Have a 400 engine that had water from broken muffler for a couple years can't seam to get unstuck. Have head off and oil pan been soaking for a year . I have a 6 ton jack pushing down on the bad cylinder . Any ideas ? Or look for another engine ?

I used automatic transmission fluid and gasoline mix. Not sure how safe it was but I survived. I wonder what a hammer drill placed against a block of wood might do to vibrate it loose?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Have a 400 engine that had water from broken muffler for a couple years can't seam to get unstuck. Have head off and oil pan been soaking for a year . I have a 6 ton jack pushing down on the bad cylinder . Any ideas ? Or look for another engine ?

I had that once. I drilled holes in the piston, took it out in chunks, got the sleeve out and replaced both with serviceable used parts. Nothing to it. gm

 

[grizz665]

Have you tried pushing up individual pistons and sleeves from the bottom together ?

Can't get the rod bolts out there up by side of block no room to get out

 

[wwoodrow]

Have a 400 engine that had water from broken muffler for a couple years can't seam to get unstuck. Have head off and oil pan been soaking for a year . I have a 6 ton jack pushing down on the bad cylinder . Any ideas ? Or look for another engine ?

ATF and acetone mixed is also good for this job.

 

[old]

Have a 400 engine that had water from broken muffler for a couple years can't seam to get unstuck. Have head off and oil pan been soaking for a year . I have a 6 ton jack pushing down on the bad cylinder . Any ideas ? Or look for another engine ?

I'd clean out all the cylinders of what ever you have in them and then fill most of the way with ATF and let sit a week or so. Then if you can do so safely top each cylinder off with a couple table spoons of gas and light it up. As the cylinders burn out retop with gas and light again till almost all the ATF/gas mix is gone then using the starter try to turn it over while still warm

 

[Janicholson]

Can't get the rod bolts out there up by side of block no room to get out

You could use a nut splitter, or air impact chisel to remove the rod nuts. That would allow the piston to move up. Jim

 

[leroy in ne]

If only 1 cylinder stuck bolt the head back on with old gasket, fill that cylinder with atf, your favorite mix, penetrant, take old spark plug break out porcelin, weld an 1/8 inch female pipe fitting to plug shell, install grease fitting and get out grease gun 2000psi gun pressure + 12 ton applied to piston top If multiple stuck pistons you may twist or break crank shaft trying this.

 

[grandpa Love]

ATF.......it ain't the magic potion folks think. But wait, add acetone ,why?? Good question,it separates and goes to the bottom. . Buy something designed to penetrate

 

[wwoodrow]

ATF.......it ain't the magic potion folks think. But wait, add acetone ,why?? Good question,it separates and goes to the bottom. . Buy something designed to penetrate

Worked for me on a John Deere B . But Ill defer to you on this issue.

 

[old]

Worked for me on a John Deere B . But Ill defer to you on this issue.

I've use ATF in at least 100 tractors that where locked up and almost all of them freed up

 

[wwoodrow]

I've use ATF in at least 100 tractors that where locked up and almost all of them freed up

Ive never tried it but I wonder what boiling liquid followed by cold liquid, etc., etc. would do. Something would have to move?? Hopefully would not crack the block either.

 

[wwoodrow]

Have a 400 engine that had water from broken muffler for a couple years can't seam to get unstuck. Have head off and oil pan been soaking for a year . I have a 6 ton jack pushing down on the bad cylinder . Any ideas ? Or look for another engine ?

I have also wondered what reasonable heat from a torch - NOT CHERRY RED, would do if applied to the cylinder wall. Of course piston could not be at TDC. Never had the nerve to try it, but I think the diameter of the cylinder
would get larger wouldn't it ? May cause other damage though.

 

[Kevinwterry]

If it's that stuck then the cylinder and possibly the piston are most likely junk anyways. You mentioned the rod nuts aren't accessible. Might have to do like others have said and bust up that piston while doing everything possible to save the rod. It sucks, I know, but if you've been at this for a year then somethings gotta give. Might be the wallet.

 

[grandpa Love]

I've use ATF in at least 100 tractors that where locked up and almost all of them freed up

Almost 100? What did you do with all those? Sell for a bit of a profit? Or are they still sitting around?

 

[grandpa Love]

Worked for me on a John Deere B . But Ill defer to you on this issue.

It may work. But my theory is that it's works on engines that ain't stuck bad .....

 

[grizz665]

Thanks for all the tips . Got it unstuck had to drlll out small part of the piston.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

ATF.......it ain't the magic potion folks think. But wait, add acetone ,why?? Good question,it separates and goes to the bottom. . Buy something designed to penetrate

That's my experience. ATF and acetone are like oil and water. They don't mix. You can shake them until your arm falls off, the second you stop shaking they separate.

Maybe there's a type of ATF that mixes, but the stuff we had on the shelf didn't.

But ANY of them can be a "magic potion" or NONE of them. Nothing is guaranteed to work and in many cases, nothing does work.

If it's still stuck after a year of efforts, though, you can pretty much figure it's not coming apart without more destructive means of removal.