Any of you old timers (40+ years of working on engines) have tricks to get the pistons out of a stuck engine without destroying them. Pistons were soaked for 3 months with acetone/atf. Did the fire trick too. Have about 4 stuck, 3 one one bank, 1 on other. Problem is even though the piston moves, you cant get it out because the rod hits the block. I thought about using a dremil to cut some of the rod bolts so that I can push the rod (on a few) past the journal and hit the saddle with a piece of wood. Thats how I got one out. Tried to lift up on the crank, no luck. second question is I hit one of the pistons from the bottom with a piece of wood and the thin fin broke off (similar to pic but this one is ok), is that a problem. (see pic)
these guys made a plate that bolts to the block with a fitting for a porta power unit and pushed the piston down with hydraulics
Done it many times, maybe too many times: First step is to do what ever is needed (sanding, scraping, honing) to clean the cylinder bores of any rust/crud so the pistons can come out the top, next, mark the main and rod bearings, remove both rod and main bearings, put crank protectors on rod bolts, then lever the crank out of the block. After that it's "sledge-o-matic" time, two-by-fours and a five pound maul to push the pistons out, sometimes it ends up being pieces of pistons.
Unless you are trying to save a numbers matching engine for a car I would suggest saving time and effort and get a different engine
The last big block dodge I took apart I broke 4 pistons getting them out and the block was so pitted I’m not sure it would have cleaned up, luckily I needed the crank and a couple rods Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Hey Moriarity, That is cool. I haven’t heard the term Porta Power since I was a kid. My dad had one that we used to work on heavy equipment with. Whenever I was talking about it to anyone after I grew up,,no one knew what I was talking about. There was a new company that made basically the same thing with a different name. Man,,, guess I grew up in the wrong era? ,,,,no wait a minute,,,I believe it was the right era. All the cars now can’t be figured out who made them without the badges,,,,back then they all took pride with their own styling,,,,it was their companies identity. Tommy
Oh yeah,,,about the block. I have taken them apart that looked a whole lot worse than that! Junk man told you exactly what to do,,,,no problem to it. If you’re worried about the pistons,,,they are most likely done,,at least some of them. Save the block and crank,,,then worry about the rest. Tommy
I used a special socket to get at the rod nuts off. One by one they came out. 413 pistons are hard to come by and i didnt want to spend the 500-600 bucks. Whsat about the broken fin on piston
Yeah,,,,413 pistons are a little scarce. But,,if it is stuck that bad,,,,the cylinders will need some serious attention. Like need to be bored maybe. Save the block and crank,,,then worry about pistons. Tommy
Chances are high that the pistons will be junk by the time you get them out. Knowing nothing about the 413, can you get by with a stock cast piston for it?
If there are stuck now, even if you get them all out with out breaking them, the cylinder walls will need to be bored and honed, thereby no longer being able to use the pistons. I have taken a large piece of hardwood ( about 4 inches thick), an cut it into a circle the same size as the bore, then tailored it to fit with a belt sander so it just fit down in the bore. Then take a piece of half inch plywood and cut it to the size of the deck and use a head gasket to mark all the cylinders and some head bolt holes to fasten it down with. This will protect the deck of the block while you beat the ever living shit out of the piston using the hardwood block down in the bore. It worked for me on a 291 Desoto that had been stuck for 30 years at least. Lots of effort, but it works.
I saw someone drill a series of 1/4" holes across the piston top so it had room to collapse as it was beat on, seemed to have made things easier.
If its stuck that bad, the odds are pretty high the pistons are already junk. On top of that, the block will need to be bored, so those pistons won't work with the new bore anyway. If you could somehow save the pistons, you most likely would have to have the block sleeved (because the block will need to be bored) in order to reuse those pistons. I suspect the pistons are much cheaper then having all 8 bores sleeved. Gene
Help me to understand why you would want to keep that 413 pig. If it is a numbers matching or " correct" engine OK. A 383 is a much better choice. Big bore short stroke. It will absolutely outrun the 413. Parts availability is to be considered. I had a street- race 63 Dodge 383 that I Routinely shifted at 7,800.
With the right combination of parts, any big block Mopar can be made to run hard and long. They were great fun for this teenage motor head back in the day. The 413 is the baby of the raised block motors (413, 426 wedge, & 440), I believe it shares the same bore as the old 361 big block Mopar of the early 60s. Mopar did make a raised block 383 for a few years, but I believe it was different then the later raised blocks (I'm too lazy to look in my old books). Gene
Somehow I just have to believe that Johnfin's next thread is going to be titled " Can I fill cylinder rust pit holes in a block with JB weld and hone it and expect it to hold up on my 413"? There is frugal and then there is just plain cheap. If that block hasn't given up the pistons in 3 months of constant soaking it most likely is not going to give them up in useable condition.
One thing about piston rings is that besides sealing to the cylinder wall they need to seal to the ring lands. Otherwise compression will just go around the back of the ring, People keep beating pistons out and that is beating the stuck rings against the aluminum ring lands, And if they weren't already worn out, they are now. This is also why you need to remove the ridge before beating the pistons out, You ruin the piston forcing the rings into the lands
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