Did a search on unsticking old flatheads and have come to the conclusion that I have to bite the bullet and bust my pistons out. I have it on an engine stand ( its a 39-42 100HP) and have broke the top of one piston. How do you bust out the sides without damaging the cylinder walls? I have removed all connecting rod end caps and have the crankshaft bearings removed as well. The crank is still in their as the connecting rods won't move because the pistons are frozen in the cylinders. I have been soaking it in PB Blaster for about 2 weeks and it helped free up the connecting rod nuts and helped with removal but is having little effect on the cylinders. I was intersted in the mol***aes bath but there is to much oil & grease for that to work effectively. Is it better to bust them from the bottom end or the top end??? Thank you for any responses.
Caustic eats aluminium. Find someone with a caustic 'hot tank' immerse the block, watch the bubbles...where'd the pistons go?
Two weeks is not patient enough...lol. I have always found that it is better to leave the rods on the crank and lever the crank somehow, either with a long bar ( 6 feet) and couple of bolts in the flywheel or crank . I have made a plate for the flywheel which bolts onto the clutch face and has four pieces of pipe welded to it so I can insert my long crow bar . Motor needs to be held in a solid frame too or tied down somehow. You need to soak the bores etc longer than that if you expect them to release with soaking. A bit of heat helps , heat the top of the pistons, it will make THEM expand faster than the bore and break the rust/corrosion bond, once they cool down with a bit more PB or Kroil etc they may just begin to move. You are not going to save the pistons anyway so a hardwood block and a hammer won't hurt either. All the time keeping pressure on the long bar.Get it moving then Backwards and forwards on the bar, a few judicious belts with the large hammer and hardwood block, ( make sure you hit the pistons in the direction they would be turning while pressure is on the bar. Then when it stops moving do it all again. You can heat the block but it takes a lot more heat and the pistons will heat up along with it by time you get the block hot enough to expand anything, unless you put it in a hot tank, you will need to degrease it first though.
I wouldn't attempt to turn it over with the cam and valve train still in there. Cam, valves and timing gears may get broken. Pull the cam gear out first if you are to attempt turning it over. -don't pry on the flywheel teeth unless you are rich. a 50/50 mix of diesel and kerosene is a great penetrant. The diesel seeps into every thing and doesn't want to stop spreading. The kerosene helps thin out and pull the diesel in even further. Slop your mixture daily and tap the pistons with a wooden block. Here's how one of the guys on the Flathead forum removed all 8 pistons and broke nothing... Note the 'softened' corners on the box end wrench.. http://groups.msn.com/FordFlathead1...essage=64334&LastModified=4675635183290395497 http://brandow.eu//album/59ab/index.html http://www.brandow.eu//album/59abII/ good luck .
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