pull the plugs and have a look inside the cylinders, if you see rust then don't try and roll it over, you will score the walls and pistons up, thats my take on stuck engines.
Probably best to pull it apart unless you know it's history. You can always go MM oil and big cheater to rock it back and forth.
marvel mystery oil in cylinders let it set a day or 2 if your working on a straight shift,you can rock the car backwards and forwards (in gear)till it breaks loose if it will. (done a 6 cyl 55 chevy like this) I have heard some of the old automatics will kick in gear while pulling them after a certain speed, things could break, but I have heard the old timers talk about gettin them unstuck like that..................I done a straight shift 64 valiant like that by popping the clutch and it came unstuck. It ran great after a carb was installed socket on the end of the crank. vice grips on the flywheel. try to turn the flywheel with tire tool or pry bar against/between flywheel teeth and block or tranny
Pull the plugs, dump a 50/50 mix of ATF (your choice of brand) and pure acetone (still available in gallon cans at Home Depot last time I checked) down the cylinders (a small "squirt" type oil can works well for this). Don't be afraid to fill them up until it is running out and if the motor isn't bolted into anything, lean it over to put the spark plug hole at the top to get more in. Screw the plugs back in a couple of turns and wait. Check it every couple of days and refill the cylinders that are "down". Try rocking the crank every now and then. Just remember to pull out the plugs every time before you do it (the old liquid doesn't compress thing). If that fails, you can always take apart the bits that will come apart and soak the main lump in a wash tub of the stuff.
too funny!i have taken out plugs put some trans fluid in them and let it sit for a couple days.if you can try to take dist.out and prime the engine{keep spinning drill till you feel alot of drag or the drill starts smoking}then either breaker bar on crank bolt{dont strip or break}or try a prybar on the flywheel.
I agree this could work but it also could cause damage. I tried to unfreeze a 216ci in a 52 Chevy this way. The pavement was very coarse so traction was good. Even though we soaked down the cylinders for a few weeks with Marvel Mystery oil and this car came out of dry storage the engine was stuck worse than expected. The fairly new pull strap snapped and went slinging towards the pull vehicle and hit with a load bang.
If you search "stuck engine" or the like you should find several threads. There is no *right* answer to this question, and no two guys will give the exact same answer.
I would disassemble it as far as possible and remove the pistons one at a time and hope only one was seized.
Kroil http://www.kanolabs.com/google/ good stuff others have posted some good choices also i have used lots of stuff.
53sled, That's what I did on the first engine ,but I was unable to rotate the crank, the ridge was keeping the pistons from coming out and the ridge remover needed the piston lower down in cylinder to work, I got a few out, but they where not stuck any way. Thanks for comment.
HLHPA...first off stop trying to turn it over. take the engine apart to find the problem. and if your not a mechanic, what's the point? you will need someone who is. i don't mean to sound harsh. it's just the way it is...POP.
I wanna know if you get any movement at all with either the starter or a crank turning tool. Also, do you know anything about where and how long it sat? Just curious. But, any kind of a penetrating type oil (Kroil/PB/Liquid wrench/WD/ATF and acetone) in the cylinders. Leave out the spark plugs. HOPEFULLY, if you get some movement, I say rock it back and forth with a flywheel turner. Or, alternate tapping the starter, then turn as far as you can the opposite direction with the flywheel tool until it's free. Don't "lean" on the starter. I've freed some really stuck motors that ended up running perfectly. So frozen, I'm sure they'd look like ass inside had I opened them up. It's amazing how resilient an internal combustion motor can be
Yes, IT'S BUGGIN' you. But, slow down and do what RustyNewYorker said: Drop back and SEARCH the previous threads on the subject. These are written by guys who've DONE it successfully. If you go slowly, the enigne may ocme back to life with LESS $$$ to you. As has been stated, FORCE the issue, and you break rings, etc., and INCREASE your rebuild costs.
I had a flathead that was stuck once. I took the heads off and soaked the cylinders down with PB Blaster (aerosol can with yellow cap or skunk piss) kept spraying the top of the piston and outside edge of the pistons so the rings got soaked down as they are what are stuck for almost a week. I then took a propane torch (like plumbers use) and lightly heated the piston and cylinder once warm I took a screw driver to the flywheel and rocked it back and forthe until it broke loose. I also honed the top of the cylinder with a stone hone so I could remove the piston once free to make sure the rings were not stuck of broken.
I read an article where different penetrating oil compounds were tested, ATF and acetone ranked the highest with Kroil coming in second, PB blaster WD40 were quite a way down the list. Ill post the article if I can find it again. Id pull the heads and check for damage on the engine. new gaskets arent that expensive and then you know where you stand.
If all else fails and the motors out and in a stand you could flip the motor and pull the pan then dump crushed dry ice into the bottoms of the pistons. The extreme cold hopefully will contract the pistons enough to break them loose.
If it has Aluminum pistons, put it in a caustic soda bath. In a few hours the pistons will be gone and then you can do whatever you like with the rest.
What is a caustic soda?.Does it leave the block, rods and crank alone? I will put acetone and ATF in cylinders this week end and let you know next week how it works out. Thanks for all the ideals. I can't put it out in the sun until next summer.
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