Really, Really Stuck Pistons

Leave it out front with a sign that says free aluminum, and they will be gone in the morning, unbolt them first you don't want you tools to be gone also!

 

Hmmm, maybe if I painted them copper colored........

 

See what happens when you heat (soften to the point of melting) the top center of one piston with the torch. Pound on the piston breaking it before it cools. That's probably what I would try. Let us know!

 

Well the Freeze and Release stuff didn't work on the pistons. I think there is just too much m*** to cool quickly. The stuff does work good on rusted bolts though.

Plan C is next.

 

Especially if you heat the diesel up to boiling point.

 

dude i work at an engine reman. shop and im telling you right now
the absolute easiest way is to cut rod and shatter the pistons with
an air chisel. seriously you risk damage to every thing with all the
other tricks.
pluss this way you save hours!

 

Sorry I cant offer much help on the stuck pistons, but I can advise that a 4L80E will not live long behind that torque monster.

I'd look into an allison from a school bus, but just my opinion...

 

Mix of a little gas in used oil and lit it in the bore... Let it get hot, then snuff flame and let the oil seep.

Not talking hot enough to melt anything, just get hot hot hot.

 

I usually just fill the bores with diesel and let it sit. Sometimes when they are real bad I just drill a series of holes and knock the center out of the pistons. Then take a hacksaw and carefully cut to the rings in a few spots. This relaxes the pistons so that only the rust on the rings is left, and a few sharp wacks takes them right out.

 

try coca-cola... it take a week.. but it will most of the time work

 

I suggest you refrain from doing this. This will free the pistons, but do so at the expense of eating away at the bore. Only viable as a last resort, IMO.

 

I need the overdrive. An Allison MD3060 would be nice, but it would be really expensive, and I don't know of anyone that makes a programmable stand alone computer to control it. I was thinking if I don't turn the V12 up too much the 4L80E might survive for awhile.

I gotta get the damn pistons out first though.

 

In all seriousness, Lye mixed in water will dissolve the aluminum. It's simple and won't hurt anything else.

Get it in the drain cleaner section @ the hardware store.

Don't get it on your skin or in your eyes.

 

yes,lye won't affect ferrous metals ,will eat away aluminum,use caution it burns ,gives off fumes.
Coke has a little phosphoric acid in it,way too weak to damage steel.

 

The best way i have found is take the block to guys who do chemical metal stripping for like car bodys and such. 150.00 and you get a motor that is completely free of rust everywhere! Anything that was stuck comes apart very easy and you have a motor that is as clean the day it was cast.

 

Thanks for all the help and ideas guys. Right now I'm using a 4.25 hole saw, caustic soda, and a BF hammer and they are still fighting me all the way. I'll post what worked best when its all said and done.

If I survive....

 

Lye is caustic soda.

 

I know, we had about 4 gallons of liquid caustic (lye) in an old drum here at work. We use it to balance the PH in our wash bay recycled water pit.

 

Vinegar!
fill the cyl. and let it st a week or two. I s**** out the **** it produces every couple of days. Works great!

 

KROIL-The Oil That Creeps! Kick*** ****!

 

Lye + Aluminum + water gives off quite a lot of very flammable hydrogen as it reacts. It also gets quite hot as it eats up the aluminum. We filled balloons with hydrogen using this method when I was a kid.

 

Ihave not tried this but a guy I know has used it. It is along the idea of the freezing method. He cut down a hardwood rod to the diameter of the bore, then takes a co2 fire extingisher and shoots it down the bore, instant cold, then take the dowl and a big hammer and it comes right out

 

I know of two people very well that are putting 500+ hp. to their 4L80E's. One spent $300 to upgrade the ****** a bit, the other is running a stock ******. Both have had zero problems in 3+ years.

 

Good luck with this. Would love to see some pics of this BIG boy when you get 'em out and start working on it!

 

Lots of good advice given...one I haven't seen mentioned yet is to roll the block over and dump some chipped dry ice into the piston.Let it cool down good and then try the wood block and hammer on it.

 

Electrolysis?

 

just got back from jhhj0978's house we were degreasin his new 400 with wal mart engine degreaser and we got some in the cylinders . i just happened to try tapping one with a 2*4 and it moved so easily it was like a miracle.these pistons were pretty stuck,too.
good luck,
Troy

 

ha i was just goin to comment this..yes its true about $1.97 a can...my pistons where real stuck like yours and we couldnt get them out and when we sprayed it in and let it sit for bout a min they slid out..it was crazy...i suggest you try it

 

Ever heard of a BFH. Get a 3/4 shaft for a punch around 18" long, a short handle sledge hammer and pound em out. You just need to hit on the pin boss. It's worked for me many times. Worked on this one...

Saved all 8 rods and didn't even nick the crank....
Jeff