I have an old 292 that hasn't been turned over for about 30 years. I had a guy tell me a long time ago about some stuff that NAPA makes that you squirt down in the cylinders. For the life of me I can't remember the name of it. What do you guys recommend? Thanks in advance, Jason
spray the cylinders full of penetrating oil and just let it sit and soak for a couple of weeks and then slowly try to turn it once every couple of days and keep it soaking with penetrating oil and eventually it will loosen up. I like liquid wrench and PB Blaster.
Half ATF, half diesel work great for me. Give it a day to soak in first. Don't try to turn the motor completely at first. Put a long breaker bar on it and work it back and forth first.
Since it's seized up you will mostly have to take it apart because the rings will be seized in the piston groves and it will need some new seals. You can take off the heads and put a peice of wood on the piston and give it a couple hits with a hammer to help brake it free once the penetrating fluild has been on it a couple days.
That mix works good. If it is stuck real tight, and the breaker bar on the front won't do it....try to use a prybar on the flywheel teeth (be careful about chewing up the teeth with the wrong tool). You are just wanting it to move just a tick in both directions at first, then go a small bit more each time
you dont want to roll that engine over before being totaly sure there is no rust on the walls, i have a small flashlight i can slip in sparkplug holes to check for rust, if you roll it over with rust it will mess up the pistons, lets say the pistons are oversize, someone would by them if there any good and that would help pay for getting yourself some new larger ones, i have started old engines myself, all i did was waste my time and screw up the pistons.
There was a time in my misspent youth when I thought WD 40 was penetrating oil (it's not, it's a water dispersant), but I've aways used ATF for unsticking motors, and used Sea Foam Deep Creep for little stuff more than a while (years in fact). Doing a little internet research recently has suggested cutting any ATF 50% with acetone will make a very effective penetrating oil. One such study I found states the combo is more effective than any penetrating oil available commercially, that includes Sea Foam (itself better than most). Considering the typical can of Sea Foam Deep Creep is up to nearly 10 bucks now, buying four quarts of ATF for around three bucks or less each and under 17 bucks for a gallon of acetone (I checked Home Depot for an example) gives you 2 gallons of the stuff for a tic under 30 bucks depending on what you got your ATF for. Add a couple of bucks for a Horrible Freight squirt can and you've got the equivalent of 21 1/3 12 oz cans of the stuff for between $30.00 and $35.00. While this hasn't stopped me from keeping a couple of cans of Deep Creep around (I even still have a couple of cans of PB Blaster I haven't got around to finishing off), I've started using this mix for just about everything requiring a penetrating oil, as well as spraying in the cylinders of engines I have laying around I might want to try to start someday, as well as a couple I want to free up.
Answering the guys original question; If the engine is still in the car, just pull the spark plugs and squirt the penetrating oil mixture of your choice in each cylinder until it runs out and screw the spark plugs back in finger tight. After three or four days to a week, pull the plugs again one at a time and top off each cylinder with the penetrating oil mixture. After a couple days more try turning the engine over with the technique of your choice. Easy does it if you don't want more grief from breaking something you didn't want to break like a harmonic damper bolt, ring gear teeth, or even a chunk of cast iron off the block. For motors still in the car I'm actually trying to start, nothing beats trying to roll the starter over with a good hot battery. If it appears to be still stuck, top off the cylinders again with penetrating oil and give it more time. No use being impatient now. Don't forget to pull the spark plugs before attempting to roll the motor over. This wouldn't apply if you are trying to actually start the engine, but if you are going to tear it down without attempting to start it, pull the pan. You might as well pull as many bearing caps as you can and lube the bearings you can get to with your squirt can. Replace the caps and at least run the fasteners up finger tight before you try to turn the motor over. Case in point; I once bought a '67 Camaro six cylinder that had sat under a peach tree for seven years before I found it. It wouldn't roll over with a hot battery. I kept the cylinders full of ATF for three weeks before I even tried to start it again. When I hooked the battery up a second time to roll it over, that sucker shot ATF over the fender. I found ATF on the ground as far as 25-30 feet from the car. To make a long story short, I changed the oil, topped off the fluids, and tuned it up. The thing ran like a champ, no smoke, no leaks, it didn't miss a beat. I replaced a crumpled front fender along with a headlight door and the grille, cleaned the interior, painted it white with blue Z stripes, sold it to a girl who absolutely fell in love with it, and quadrupled my money.
KROIL ... Marvel Mystery Oil ... ATF .... Diesel / Oil mix ... all work .... you need to soak it ... then beat it apart ... The rings corrode and adhere to the aluminum pistons ... I have never known of a frozen engine that would run with out new rings.
folks have been extolling the virtues of a 50/50 mix of atf and acetone for a good penetrant release agent.
Thanks guys, I'll try the ATF/Acetone mix. Originally, I wasn't going to waste my time with it because I thought I would swap it out with a SBC. But, if the old Y block is salvageable I'd rather just keep it. The thing ran pretty sweet when it was parked. It just sat outside for a long time.
X2 on the marvel mystery oil. My grandfather used it to unseaze the engine in an old 1928 Mack C-cab truck. It took a long time, but once it broke free he was actually able to get the motor running like a top!
I unfroze and ran many engines successfully without new rings. however about half will need to be torn down and freshened up. It just depends on if the rings stick in the grooves. A good tight engine will stick quicker and be harded to free up than a worn one . OldWolf
the motor i have in my 53 right now (350) was rebuilt and then sat outside with a tarp around it on a frame for alittle over a year and was rusted up and wouldnt turn over for crap... filled it to the top with PB blaster and let it sit for a week... and its running like a champ now!
my wife overheated a big block to the point that it seized. squirted a bit of ATF in each cylinder and waited a couple fo days, it cranked over by hand. i eventually got the motor running again and then pulled it. crank bearings were fried and the crank was junk but i was happy to have gotten it running again lol
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