stuck rings in junk yard engine-help
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 6,209
Likes: 33
From: Texas-out west
stuck rings in junk yard engine-help
can turn motor over but it is very hard even with plugs out, only turned about 2 inches before i stopped for fear of running something .... what is best way to free stuck rings or do you think it is something else, been sitting inside for 4 years, motor running when parked in storage building, sat with oil in motor and water in radiator, no indication of water being frozen, no cracks in block etc. thanks for help and ideas.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,697
Likes: 139
From: Syracuse NY
Trying to turn an engine over by hand, even with the plugs out, takes some muscle. How are you turning it? If you are going by hand or a socket on the crank (Bad idea btw) its going to take some effort. If it is indeed stuck, Fill the cylinders with transmission fluid and hand rotate it a few degrees every hour. If they are indeed that frozen, shes going to need a rebuild anyways. Good luck.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,697
Likes: 139
From: Syracuse NY
The bolt can actually break off inside the crank. Big mess. That being said......I do it all the time. 1/2 inch breaker bar and a cheater pipe and very slow rotations, maybe 10' at a time. (They also make a tool to attach to the crank, but Ive just used the above method) However, if its really tight, try a strap wrench around the crank pulley as well. A screwdriver tip in the flywheel also works.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Remove plugs, shoot lots of PB Blaster or squirt lots of Liquid Wrench into each bore. Shoot it at the inner wall of the cylinder, since the heads of the piston slant towards the 'outside'. That should get the upper rings 'juiced up'. Let it sit for a few hours, then shoot it again. Repeat for a couple of days without trying to turn the engine.
Then, use a breaker bar with a socket on the crank (damper) bolt...but don't go nuts with the amount of torque applied, or you may break the bolt head off.
Whether you get it to free up or not, you probably should NOT try to fire this engine. The rings were likely corrosion-welded to the cylinder wall and have done some amount of pitting/damage. If you fire it with that on the cylinder walls, you may just gouge/score up the walls. It would be better to pull the pistons and hone the bores....if they aren't too badly corroded. The rings need changing, anyway.
Then, use a breaker bar with a socket on the crank (damper) bolt...but don't go nuts with the amount of torque applied, or you may break the bolt head off.
Whether you get it to free up or not, you probably should NOT try to fire this engine. The rings were likely corrosion-welded to the cylinder wall and have done some amount of pitting/damage. If you fire it with that on the cylinder walls, you may just gouge/score up the walls. It would be better to pull the pistons and hone the bores....if they aren't too badly corroded. The rings need changing, anyway.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,093
Likes: 2
From: long beach California
Good luck if it only sat a few years you could be fine in a few days of lubing it up
We had a 59 apache that sat in a field 20years. Rats eat all the wiring tranny fluid acetone new plug wires an direct distributor and starter to battery blew all the fluid out the top before putting plugs back in ran good for over a year then we rebuilt it all
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,697
Likes: 833
From: WI
When I was a kid I bought several engines that had sat for years and we put them in and ran them. One sat under a tarp with lots of wood (split lumber for burining) on top of it. I think it had sat 10 or 15 years. I think I might have put oil in the cylinder, I don't remember being too concerned if they turned over that much. I might have just fired them up being a kid and all. Anyway, never had problems with the motors I bought used, ironically. But those were tough Ford 289 and 302 engines (oops, did I say that?). You'll mostlikely have some pitting on the walls, but if it's going to be a trailer queen and not get very many miles on it, maybe it doesn't matter. If you are going to rely on it and put miles on it, yeah, I'd at the very least pull the cylinder heads and see what the cylinder walls look like. Wouldn't take much to yank it, hone it, new gaskets and paint and look fresh again.
Mark G
Mark G
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 780
Likes: 1
From: Shelby NC
Just remember, you don't pull it all in one direction, you put some type of lube, as many different ideas as people you ask about which is the best, in the cylinders and with the breaker bar and socket, by the way I have never broken the bolt on one, you pull it one direction and then back it up--each time try to gain a little distance be it only 1/2 inch or less but just continue the process and it will break free for a complete revolution of the crank. It can take a boat load of time to do some of them. If it doesn't then you have something internal that will mean you will have to tear it down. My 2 cents! 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,373
Likes: 6
From: Baltimore MD
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
FWIW valves can stick in the guides as well. I bought a 71 Triumph TR6 as a much younger and less experienced man and pulled hard enough on the crank bolt to break a rocker arm while trying to get the engine to turn. I then pulled the rocker shaft and lubed each stem, then bumped each with a brass drift and hammer untill they all bounced freely. Replaced the rocker, adjusted the valves and that engine ran as sweet as honey. Just another thought.....
Last edited by markids77; May 13, 2012 at 10:19 PM. Reason: keyboard sux...
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,062
Likes: 103
From: Southeast, Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
Remove plugs, shoot lots of PB Blaster or squirt lots of Liquid Wrench into each bore. Shoot it at the inner wall of the cylinder, since the heads of the piston slant towards the 'outside'. That should get the upper rings 'juiced up'. Let it sit for a few hours, then shoot it again. Repeat for a couple of days without trying to turn the engine.
Then, use a breaker bar with a socket on the crank (damper) bolt...but don't go nuts with the amount of torque applied, or you may break the bolt head off.
Whether you get it to free up or not, you probably should NOT try to fire this engine. The rings were likely corrosion-welded to the cylinder wall and have done some amount of pitting/damage. If you fire it with that on the cylinder walls, you may just gouge/score up the walls. It would be better to pull the pistons and hone the bores....if they aren't too badly corroded. The rings need changing, anyway.
Then, use a breaker bar with a socket on the crank (damper) bolt...but don't go nuts with the amount of torque applied, or you may break the bolt head off.
Whether you get it to free up or not, you probably should NOT try to fire this engine. The rings were likely corrosion-welded to the cylinder wall and have done some amount of pitting/damage. If you fire it with that on the cylinder walls, you may just gouge/score up the walls. It would be better to pull the pistons and hone the bores....if they aren't too badly corroded. The rings need changing, anyway.
this is probably the best way to try to free the engine up. since you are probably looking at a rebuild, the key is to reduce the cylinder wall damage as best you can. that is why you don't want to crank it very much with each attempt. once it does break free, it will undoubtably scratch the cylinder walls as you rotate the crank. keep it to a minimum and you can't use too much penetrating oil on this job.