How to free a stuck engine?

[rustred]

I've freed up a lot of engine in the past. First I make sure the cylinder have no water/coolant in them. Next I fill each cylinder with ATF. Put each plug back in. Then pour as much ATF down the exhaust as you can till it leaks some place and let it sit a week or 3. Then after it has sat pull the plugs out and put a 12 volt battery in and use short fast taps on the starter button and see if it frees up. I had an RTU that was stuck and I had to pull the heads and then put a tablespoon or so of gas in each cylinder on top of the ATF and light it up and let it burn till it goes out and then try the starter again

This isn’t the tractor tales forum.

 

[Rich'sToys]

This isn’t the tractor tales forum.

Here we go again....

 

[buickanddeere]

If it is stuck . It needs to come apart for inspection , cleaning , polish and new rings .

 

[glennster]

This isn’t the tractor tales forum.

really? whats your problem? atf and heat in the cylinders does work many times. pumping hot water in the cooling jacket also has some success. atf is a light oil high detergent. i prefer to at least get the engine loose before a teardown.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

If it is stuck . It needs to come apart for inspection , cleaning , polish and new rings .

No no no! It must be completely torn down and overhauled by a machine shop! Spend thousands of dollars to make a tractor worth a few hundred dollars run.

A "ring job" is totally hack and it's going to smoke and burn oil! You MUST do it right!

 

[aleawalker]

To free a stuck engine, start by removing the spark plugs or injectors to relieve compression. Apply a penetrating oil like WD-40 or PB Blaster to the cylinders and let it sit for a few hours or overnight. After that, use a breaker bar to manually turn the crankshaft back and forth slowly. Avoid forcing it to prevent damage. If it remains stuck, you might need to remove the head to inspect for internal issues such as rust or mechanical failure. Patience is key to avoid major damage!

 

[old]

To free a stuck engine, start by removing the spark plugs or injectors to relieve compression. Apply a penetrating oil like WD-40 or PB Blaster to the cylinders and let it sit for a few hours or overnight. After that, use a breaker bar to manually turn the crankshaft back and forth slowly. Avoid forcing it to prevent damage. If it remains stuck, you might need to remove the head to inspect for internal issues such as rust or mechanical failure. Patience is key to avoid major damage!

Wd40 isn't a penetrating oil it was made to displace water and that is what the W,D, stands for

 

[Farmall m farmer]

I would fill it full of your favorite concoction and let it sit for a couple weeks pull valve cover make sure all valves and rockers are free and hook on to it with a truck or tractor and pull it pop the clutch a few times and see if it breaks free if not tear down and rebuild that’s how I got my jd 60 unstuck but I would get a boar scope and make sure it’s not horrible in there first but if you choose to do this be careful not to bend a rod or anything

 

[old]

I would fill it full of your favorite concoction and let it sit for a couple weeks pull valve cover make sure all valves and rockers are free and hook on to it with a truck or tractor and pull it pop the clutch a few times and see if it breaks free if not tear down and rebuild that’s how I got my jd 60 unstuck but I would get a boar scope and make sure it’s not horrible in there first but if you choose to do this be careful not to bend a rod or anything

Doing that is a good way to break rods or the crankshaft or break other parts in the drive line

 

[NDIHC]

This isn’t the tractor tales forum.

I don't see a problem with trying some squirrel juice in the cylinders. Not out anything by trying. I sold a 69 Suburban that hadn't run for probably 20 years and had a stuck 6 cylinder. I put a mixture of diesel and Marvel Mystery Oil and then it sat for a few years since I didn't have time to mess with it. I sold it to someone last fall and this summer I got a message that he had gotten the engine loose within 2 days after filling the cylinders with PB Blaster and he sent me a video of it running and driving. Sometimes you get lucky.

 

[Gambles]

Here is how my dad got an engine to free up. Now I do NOT recommend this method in any way, shape or form, but here goes:
Waaaay back when I must have been about 7 or 8, my dad bought a used John Deere B from an elderly gentleman. I do not know the details or how he heard about it or found it, but it was a "B" with only four forward speeds and was a hand-crank start. My dad got it on his place and the engine was seized. I was small enough that I was probably in the way of everyone, so they had me stand off to the side about 50 feet away from everything. My dad invited my grandpa and my uncle over and they hooked a tractor to the front of the B via a chain and they hooked another tractor to the rear of the B with another chain. Okay, you know how this method works....
I remember them pulling the B forward and somebody would engage the clutch. The rear tires would not turn and just dig into the dirt. Then they'd pull it backward, with it behind in a forward gear, and hit the clutch again. This went on back and forth until the flywheel started to move a little going forward and the flywheel would move backwards just a bit when the tractor was going backwards. A few more times of doing this method, perhaps 8 to 10 times, I remember the flywheel moving a little bit more each time until they had the tractor flywheel spinning in the correct direction as they were pulling it forward. My dad then added gas to it and it eventually started. Dad had this tractor for years and it never used any oil after it was freed up. The good old cast iron pistons rings probably held up better than you could imagine. I never really liked this tractor, because it was mainly used to rake alfalfa or run the bale elevator to get the bales in the barn and I was the one who always had to drive it 10 miles (in 4th gear) to get to to where we had our alfalfa fields.
This tractor is still at my mom's place. Even though she was living there at the time, the carburetor managed to walk off one evening at about 2:00 A.M. After that episode, I took the magneto off of it and kept it so that it wouldn't disappear some evening. It has the mag where the coil wire is about two inches long. (Note: I have since found a replacement carburetor and it will be a retirement project. Maybe)
One more thing: Since it hasn't been used for 30+ years, the engine is seized up again. Anybody want to bring over a couple of tractors and log chains so we can free it up again?