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Next time i pick up a cheap C4 i will *not* complain about the mouse turds. Black widow spiders???
be safe dude!
Good work on the engine so far!
On reflection id say Toms pivot to filling the crankcase now and trying to break it loose is a good plan. Personally, i wouldnt pressurize the oil system yet though!! You are no doubt goingbto have crud in that oilpan and some it likely rusty grit. That will be ingested by the pump.
A couple fill n drains will let those solids drain away, and you can unlock the engine while doing those. (unless maybe pressurizing with oil would make it easier to unlock???). Either way Id do the diesel trick fill and drain a couple times. Get the rings, fill the cylinders, let it drain. Leave plugs out while trying to break loose. Then depending on how bad the diesel looks when it drains, you can make the call to move to a cheap light weight oil.
My money is this is going to work—barring any catastrophic damage that occurred prior to your ownership.
Have you drained the pan already? what came out?
edit: educated myself about black widows. cool spider. the name strikes fear but the reality is different. i assume u r aware and live with them around you. kinda like a grizzly bear for me, scary but just dont put them in danger and u r fine.
Last edited by VikingTrad3r; Apr 23, 2023 at 10:59 AM.
Just to be 100% clear, when you guys are talking about flushing it with diesel you mean diesel fuel, not diesel oil, correct?
I ordered an oil priming tool - arrives tomorrow so I may as well flush today. But not taking off the pan, for now, does make things easier.
Yes, diesel fuel. It's actually a pretty good penetrating oil and will work it's way into all the nooks an crannies where things are rusted up. If you have the means to deal with all the sludge/gunk that this is likely to dislodge you could fill it up to where it is standing in the valley. This will soak the cam/lifters and help them free up. Not sure if it will start running out anywhere before you get to that point but the more of the moving components that are submerged and left to soak the better chance that they will loosen up and start moving. The big issue doing this is if you will have a big enough drain pan to catch all that will come out if you fill it up that far. Could make a hell of a mess if you aren't prepared.
Last edited by Blue Bucket List; Apr 23, 2023 at 03:46 PM.
if u do get it started, the rings are going to likely be rusted in position. i will chug like a freight train. but like Toms, they may break loose and seal. i didnt realize how that worked until i researched an 84 engine im working on right now.
Just some speculation on my part but I can see a scenario where the car blew a headgasket and overheated and PO filled it up with water just to get it home. Depending on how far it was driven and how much more water was added along the way to keep the overheating at bay it was very possible that this is what led to what you are dealing with now. The water was mixed with the oil and distributed around the engine leading to the rust you are finding. Or the other possibility is that being you are in the desert southwest the PO was running straight water in the cooling system. Have you checked the cooling system to see what is in there?
Something that I have had good luck with for freeing stuck rings is Marvel Mystery oil. It seems to have the right weight to cling and penetrate around the rings. Give each cylinder a good dose through the spark plug hole and let it set for a few days and they just might free up when you finally get it to crank over.
Just some speculation on my part but I can see a scenario where the car blew a headgasket and overheated and PO filled it up with water just to get it home. Depending on how far it was driven and how much more water was added along the way to keep the overheating at bay it was very possible that this is what led to what you are dealing with now. The water was mixed with the oil and distributed around the engine leading to the rust you are finding. Or the other possibility is that being you are in the desert southwest the PO was running straight water in the cooling system. Have you checked the cooling system to see what is in there?
That definitely makes sense. When I opened the petcock only a couple of quarts of clear water came out.
The water is why I suggested priming while cranking. Flushing the pan 1st is the right thing to do, but if the motor ran or was cranked and water got up into the journals, I'd want to have fresh oil flowing through there as I start rotating things.
None of this is "make or break"....it probably will or it won't based on other things. But IMO clean oil flowing through the crank, lifters and down over the cam during initial rotation -to lube but mostly to flush, is not a lot of work but could make a big diff.
There you go! I'm thinking that just about every rotating/ moving part is getting a good bath. This is turning out to be a very interesting thread. Can't wait to see what happens next. Who knows if it will ever run but if you can get it to rotate that will be a real accomplishment given what it looked like when you first opened it up. I've always been a sucker for trying to bring some neglected vehicle back from the dead. This qualifies for sure.
im strangely fascinated with this. i am so so so rooting for you on this.
if you do end up with a blown head gasket, i have one on an engine im about to swap into an 84 and i can show you how to diy deck your heads if u r on a serious budget. Works great, but you need to find a piece of scrap granite countertop, some sandpaper, and some spray adhesive. for my daughter it is $700 to get her 84 heads decked. You guys in the states i hear its more like $300.
getting ahead of things but if it ends up with a blown head gasket its no big deal.
incipheus have h tried to rotate it? dont break the bolt!
I haven’t tried to budge it yet - I’m tempted but want to be patient until I get that primer tool and fill it with clean oil. Hopefully I can try it tomorrow night!
There’s very little space for a breaker bar in front - should I remove the pulley? I could just use the flywheel to start with.
Gonna have to go dump all these fluids soon though - running out of containers!
i hear you. with the amount of vehicles i “maintain” i collect empty washer fluid jugs at gas stations whenever there is one sitting beside the garbage.
that and i grab 5 gallon pails from work.
where i live i can drop off it off at the fire station for proper disposal. or i burn it in a waste oil burner for heat in the winter.
Second diesel rinse was as dirty as the first. I should probably repeat this more times until it starts coming out clean, but despite cloth filtering the diesel is now pretty nasty and I can’t see continuing to buy and have to dispose of 5 gallons at $20 each time… I think it’s on to oil tomorrow. Cheap filters and the primer tool arriving sometime during the day.
Who knows if it will ever run but if you can get it to rotate that will be a real accomplishment given what it looked like when you first opened it up. I've always been a sucker for trying to bring some neglected vehicle back from the dead. This qualifies for sure.
