Projects Drilling Pistons To Unlock Engine?

I need some help. I have a siezed up SBF. Been dumping all kinds of stuff in the cylinders to help it unsieze. Two months and nothing. Someone left the air cleaner off and the hood has holes so the whole engine was flooded. If I drill holes around the piston, will it get things moving? I have no desire to save the block or it's internals. Oil pan is over filled with water and the radiator was empty. I don't wanna have to pull it plus the transmission together.

 

If intentions are not to save block or internals what are you trying to keep?
Are you just wanting transmission ?
A few Saw saw blade's cutting wax /fluid rear of crank , torch , large cut off wheel.

large hole saw close to bore of piston ?

 

If you don’t have a desire to save anything, why go to the effort to free it up?

 

Seem's to remove bolts for Flex or flywheel,
If so Just pull bell bolts ,
Then work on cutting other bolts /studs

 

Assuming its automatic ,unbolt the trans from engine a pull the converter bolted to the flywheel. Buy a bag of oil dry.

 

Sledge HAMMER time!

 

Back to the original question, you would have to drill all the way though the pistons, to free the rods up, with a hole saw that @19Eddy30 mentioned.

But will the hole saw cut deep enough through the pistons to free them from the pins, you’d have to drill through the pins as well.

Edit: Hole saw would work, once the top is cut out, you have deeper access.

 

I don't wanna pull the transmission. I need to turn it over to get the torque converter bolts out. Not sure I can pull the engine with the converter still attached.

 

Pull the heads use a big drift or rod with a BFH and smack each piston - Should fee up or break the rings
Dan

 

You might also pull the timing chain the lifters may also be stuck.
Dan

 

What model Ford?

 

You don't need to unbolt the convertor. It just slides into the trans so you can leave it attached to the engine to pull. It will be messy.

 

These home-made tools are what I use to remove torque converter nuts when the engine won't turn. They're simple to make; find the appropriate sized socket, bore a hole as needed in a chunk of flat-strap then weld the socket to the flat-strap. Use quality 6-point not 12-point sockets and for additional clearance grind the socket down to the weld. Best of luck with your project.

 

Just yank the engine with the converter attached

converter will slide out of trans with no damage
Once engine in the floor , pull the pan unbolt con rods and mains , now you have a very unbalanced dumbbell to train with !

 

Bad idea to drill pistons. I have a somewhat historical flathead here ,someone couldn’t get the edelbrock heads off some studs, maybe the rest snapped? They used a hole saw around the remaining ones, heads destroyed. They couldn’t get the pistons out , drilling them out with a 3/8 drill and went through the cylinder wall !!! I have kept it as a display piece to stupidity.

 

I've had good luck using an air chisel with a blunt bit

 

This whole project seems like you're pissing into the wind. If you don't want to save the engine, pull the whole works and slide the Trans off when it's on the floor.

 

Just asking , do not know how long ago
Head was hole sawed , I would of center
Punch head bolt & drilled just head of bolt off , or ground head of bolt or used
A hole saw / cutter like a Hogan / spot weld cuter to cut head of bolt so afterwards slide head off..
Posting this in case some run's into issue similar ,
Are Head so missed up that a slug can not be tig in & re drilled or weld up hole
& re drilled ?

Block , can it be saved with a Sleeved
You mention Historical.
I am sure you know there are modern methods now to weld cast iron ,

Pic's below are just few types
Drill or Mill if other are not aware of
I think up to 6 inch round , some close to 12 inches long

 

Drilling works.

 

Steel bar stock, 12" long x 3/4"dia, and a 3-pound sledge worked for me on an earlier ford engine ras

 

I'm going to assume that you are taking that SBF out and putting a good one back in it's place and don't want to deal with taking the transmisison out. I'm with Vandenplas, Pull the engine with the converter attached and then deal with the converter and the transmission oil on the floor when you get it out. No need to spend ten hours trying to get the crank to turn in the car. You just have to be careful so as to not bang the snout of the converter around when you pull the engine out. I'm going to assume that you probably have two of the three bolts out now. I've pulled a few locked up engines out that way over the past 63 years and the only issue has been enough room in the engine compartment to get the block out with the converter attached on one very tight engine compartment. You might still have to alter an old end wrench to simplify things.

Back in the early 70's I worked for JT Carpenter who was a central Texas legend as far as dirt track racing went and he would load up the torch and take off to the local Scrap yard and pull pans on specific small blocks in the scrap pile and take the cutting torch and cut off the rods and then unbolt the mains and lift the crank out with rod caps attached. If you aren't interested in saving much or any of it after you get it out you can unbolt what rod caps you can reach and cut off the rest with a torch and lift the crank out with converter attached if you can't get the converter unbolted.

 

A battery impact wrench would make even that process seem slow today.

 

If you’re concerned about the converter snout , I’ve had to yank dozens of engines with the converter attached in forklift and heavy equipment.
( operators love running stuff for an extra 20 minutes PAST catastrophic failure )

anyways tow ball covers , the cheap rubber covers work great , or just a chunk of heater hose cut to length, once the converter is out of the trans , slide your arm down and put a rubber on that hog …… for protection

 

I seem to remember @Mart did something like that years ago and the cylinder wall came out as well as the stuck cylinder.

 

Been there before and that's a lot of work. Had to free up a stuck diesel V-8 years ago and a BFH didn't do the trick until I used a torch to heat the pistons/cylinders. Good luck with it.

Scott

 

I had a free standing liner in an aluminum block with stuck pistons. I didn't want to break liners, so I used a hole saw, knowing it was most likely the rings that were stuck. Hole saw worked great for me. Never touched the bore.

 

Sounds like more work than it's worth. I'd just pull the engine with the converter bolted up and move on with it.

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I'll try to pull it with the converter. It's a 302/C6 combo. I feel like trying to use a hole saw to drill thru the pins, etc will take too much. I do have access to a crane and a tractor.

 

BTW, Hole saws, unless carbide tipped, aren't going to drill through the wrist pins.

@Flatrod17, surprised the hole saw was able to get through the rings, or did you go just deep enough to fish one out and then go for the next one?

 

Thesteambocll, way faster to just pull it. The engine will come away from the trans but it makes a mess of red juice! Plenty of room to each in the get the converter bolts, then the flywheel bolts.

Gatz, I drilled down through all the rings, the the bottom oil rail didn't like it and sorta bound up. It all worked good without damage to the bore. It was not a carbide hole saw, just a bi metal one.