Freeing a stuck engine
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The basics of unsticking any engine is the same. Fill it up with a fluid that will penetrate and lubricate any surface. Remove or loosen any accessory, or engine part that is not relative to making the engine turn or cause stress. ROCK THE ENGINE, a degree of turning or a thousandths of an inch is a start in moving the engine's reciprocating mass. Allow for TIME and don't get impatient. | The basics of unsticking any engine is the same. Fill it up with a fluid that will penetrate and lubricate any surface. Remove or loosen any accessory, or engine part that is not relative to making the engine turn or cause stress. ROCK THE ENGINE, a degree of turning or a thousandths of an inch is a start in moving the engine's reciprocating mass. Allow for TIME and don't get impatient. | ||
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| + | Finding a fluid that will penetrate and lubricate is the key. You need something that will creep, stay wet and wick its way up in to the most awkward and obtrusive spot. Ordinary motor oil will coat but creeps at a very slow pace. Petroleum or mineral spirits will get into small places but will dry out over time. Paraffin will wick its way up or down a threaded bolt when it is at the correct temperature. Acids will 'burn' their way and may be hard to control. Caustics are more of a slow burn and will require an outside energy source to work better. Water will penetrate, wet and coat but has limitations. Diesel fuel, I found is a middle-of-the-road fluid that will creep, coat and stay wet over time. If your feeling adventurous, you can mix up your own solution (WD40 did!) | ||
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| + | Know what metal that you are working with and apply the correct solution to get the best result. We know that steel or iron will rust, but how do we penetrate that rust? Aluminum will form a white powdery residue and turn a dark grey almost black coating, what is that? Brass and copper will be covered with a green cakey substance, how do we remove that? Most metals will form what is known as an oxide, where oxygen from the air mixes on the surface with the base metal. We do know that when these oxides dry out they are usually hard to wet and to remove. | ||
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| + | Here's an interesting point, why not just re-wet the piece of metal with the same thing that caused it to fail! If water cause a piece of steel to rust, why not use water to re-wet it and remove the rust; i.e. waterjet. | ||
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| + | Heat is an excellent tool for unsticking things, when used in moderation is the kicker on that line of thinking. If you heated up water to 180 to 200 degrees and poured it in a engine block, what would happen? Would the block expand? If you used a large rosebud flame torch and applied it to the cast iron block, what would happen? Probably crack, most would say. If you applied both hot water and the torch to the same motor block with moderation, what would be the result? What would stay hotter longer water or oil? | ||
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| + | Would hitting a stuck piston help it to move? The answer is, yes and no. If you apply enough force in the proper direction, yes it would help. If you just wound up and smacked it dead center with a ball peen hammer, you would probably just put a hole in it and it would still remain stuck. The better way to approach this when you have a stuck engine would be this way. | ||
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| + | 1. Determine what is stuck? The piston(s), the crank, the cam and valve train, the rods, etc? | ||
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| + | 2. Break the engine down until you find that part or combination of parts. | ||
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| + | 3. It would be a hell of a waste if we just gave up on an engine just because it wouldn't turn over. How about turning it back? Could we have just dropped a valve on the piston and its just stuck there. | ||
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| + | 4. Remove non-essential accessories that aren't required to make the engine rotate. That means that you can loosen the belts off or remove the alternator, water pump, intakes and exhaust manifolds, distributors, heads, oil pans, etc. Get it down to where you can have a good look around and see where the problem area lays. | ||
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| + | 5. Keep the engine in a secure holding device. If its the frame of the car or truck, that's good, but make sure that the motor mounts aren't going to rip off if we apply so torsional turning devices to the engine,i.e. 6 foot steel track bar. If the engine is loose, find a way to hold it down. Remember, the tensile strength of steel is greater than wood. And if one bolt is good, a half a dozen would be better. | ||
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| + | 6. Flood the engine block with the fluid of your choice. Turn it upside down and fill the block, and plug holes as necessary. This is just a pre-lube stage. | ||
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| + | 7. Using a oak block and a dead blow hammer of your choice, S H O C K each piston with a few blows. Any piston which is the TDC or BDC position will not give you any mechanical advantage in rotating the assembly by hitting it. The initial strike is to just loosen the rings in the piston lands and break the rings free from the walls of the cylinder. Pistons that are in between TDC and BDC will provide the best opportunity to move within the bore. | ||
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| + | 8. There are two places in which you can apply rotational force. One is the crank pulley and the other is the flywheel. I would use the crank pulley if the engine is in the frame of the vehicle and the flywheel if it is out of the vehicle. Iron pulleys and balancers will take more abuse than steel pulleys. Crank keys and keyways can shear with abnormal force. Be sure of the bolt grades before applying force. Remember there are two ways to turn an engine, use both of them. (CW and CCW) | ||
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| + | 9. Don't forget to use horizontal force on the crankshaft. Tap the crankshaft at both ends with your dead blow hammer and oak block. Loosen off the rod bearings and tap with a bronze hammer to break the shell bearings loose. | ||
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| + | 10. After you've done all of the above, let 'er soak and then start over again. She'll come! | ||
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