Removing stuck parts

DougT said:
My trick for pistons is to pour an inch or so of Kerosene in the bore. Diesel fuel will work, just don't use gasoline. Clean/scrape around the edges of the pistons first. Use a piece of paper as a wick and light the kerosene. Let it burn out and then take a block of wood about the same diameter as the piston an d try to drive it out. Sometimes it takes a few tries at the kero. The burning kero heats the block, the liquid kero helps keep the piston cool, and as the kero boils it thins out and goes down past the piston. I've had good luck with this method in all types of engines. Of course, this doesn't work so good if the pistons are at the top.
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I used a similar method years ago on a Model T engine years ago. I just used penetrating oil for a period of time then used a 4 x 4 to tap the pistons and they came out.
 
Seems there are lots of opinions here so I'll jump in with yet another take on it. If the motor was outside all those years without a head on it, it's gonna need a rebuild anyway. I can't see the bores being serviceable let alone the likely circumferential groove the rings have likely left in the bores. That alone would require a rebore to cure.
So, if it is going to have to be reconditioned, I wouldn't go to much trouble to save the old pistons nor even the con rods. They are easy to find and cheap. When I am rebuilding a motor, I use new rods, not eighty something year old, fatigued ones.
I see no down side to destroying the pistons to get them out. If the rods are damaged in the process, so be it.
All that is if you insist on using THAT block. If it is the number correct one for that car, fine but even another engine might be better in the long run.
Just thinking outside the block!! FWIW:D
 
I was also wondering if dry ice would cool some parts so quickly that they might crack?

With an engine setting outside for so long with no head, I'm wondering just how much can be saved?
Do you have any pictures, especially of the pistons and cylinders?
 
jhowes said:
I would like to clear things up a bit. The crank is out, all I have is the block and the stuck pistons in the block. The motor was rebuilt ( whatever that means besides new rings) and left outside for years without a head on it. Go figure. I have been soaking it with acetone and
atf fluid for a week or so now and will continue for another month or more if necessary. I had made up round 1/4" steel plates to put in the cylinder to pound on instead of the pistons directly. That way it spreads the force of the pounding over the entire surface of the pistons, hopefully saving them from breaking. It worked on a previous engine so time will tell. I find that wood breaks easily when used as a striking tool, maybe I will try some oak or other hard wood. One last idea, would Evaporust work and free the rings from the cylinder walls? Thanks for all your suggestions. Jack
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Believe it or not, what has always worked for me is used motor oil. Yes, you heard right, used motor oil!

Used motor oil contains a mild acid that is a by-product of combustion and it will help to free the pistons. By used, I mean oil that that needed changing that turned black. Let her soak.
 
robgross1930 said:
Believe it or not, what has always worked for me is used motor oil. Yes, you heard right, used motor oil!

Used motor oil contains a mild acid that is a by-product of combustion and it will help to free the pistons. By used, I mean oil that that needed changing that turned black. Let her soak.
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I've heard you should use the dirtiest used diesel oil you can find. I've never tried it, so I can't say if it works, but other have had success.
 
A couple of years ago, I had to dismantle an engine that had sat in a shed since the 1950s. I was in no hurry to get it apart so I poured a little old engine oil over the head studs and everything else I could see externally and left it for a couple of months. Every nut/bolt unscrewed like they were assembled yesterday. If you have time on your side, you don't need fancy penetrating fluids.
 
You have no idea how much I appreciate your comments on this. Unfortunately I will have to put this on hold as my Willys Knight is in need of my immediate attention. Thanks Jack
 
jhowes said:
You have no idea how much I appreciate your comments on this. Unfortunately I will have to put this on hold as my Willys Knight is in need of my immediate attention. Thanks Jack
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Get the sleeve valves rusted stuck in that engine and you'd really have a problem.:eek:
 
Tom : I think I have a real problem anyway with the sleeve valve engine. It runs but has no power. You would think that a 6 cylinder would beat the pants off of a model A but I find that the sleeve valves that I have researched have no guts. Jack
 
jhowes said:
Tom : I think I have a real problem anyway with the sleeve valve engine. It runs but has no power. You would think that a 6 cylinder would beat the pants off of a model A but I find that the sleeve valves that I have researched have no guts. Jack
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Years ago, I had a friend who was a Stearns-Knight expert and he used to say that the more the engine carboned up the better it ran. Apparently carbon helped to seal it.
 
robgross1930 said:
Years ago, I had a friend who was a Stearns-Knight expert and he used to say that the more the engine carboned up the better it ran. Apparently carbon helped to seal it.
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I've heard that from several sources too and it makes sense. Boy, can those sleeve valve engines blow smoke!:eek:
 
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