General Automotive Discussion

frozen engine

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Old 12-03-2004, 04:11 PM
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frozen engine

I have 65 ford that I purchased about four years ago, this truck ran fairly well when it was purchased. However after sitting for a couple of years the engine is frozen. I have tried removing the plugs, pouring oil in the cylinders and prying the fly-wheel back and forth.

If anyone has any other suggestions they would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
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Old 12-03-2004, 04:20 PM
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If the truck has a manual tranny put it in high gear and try rocking it back and forth
 
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Old 12-03-2004, 08:45 PM
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will do that, thanks for the feedbak
 
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Old 12-03-2004, 11:34 PM
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First "oil" will not do the job if it is motor oil. You need to use a penetrant like PB Blaster and/or Marvel Mystery Oil. Let it soak for a few days. You should be able to get a socket and breaker bar on the crank bolt. 3/4 drive tools would be ideal but you may get away with 1/2 drive. Use a long section of pipe in conjunction with the breaker bar for a lot of extra leverage.

I keep an 18" pipe in my toolbox and use it all the time. Works great on all these old rusty bolts we deal with.
 
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Old 12-04-2004, 12:12 AM
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Marvel Mystery oil

I purchased a a 1963 Mercury Meteor last year that had sat since 1973.It was froze up and would not budge so I removed the sparkplugs and dumped in some Marvel oil into each cylinder and then reinstalled all the sparkplugs (to prevent dirt or rust from falling in)except one where I threaded in an adapter and hooked up an airline from my air compresser and pumped the cylinder full of air and the engine finally cranked.If it worked for me it may work for you.Good luck.
 
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Old 12-04-2004, 12:59 AM
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Soak the cylinders with some penetarting oil (brand doseant matter all the same), and keep soaking those cylinders rocking the crank back and forth til she breaks free.
 
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Old 12-04-2004, 08:08 AM
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Soaking the cylinders works good... but it may take a couple days... keep at it. I've done it a couple of times. What ever you do do NOT try and use an impact wrench, you will bust the crank. Gregtruck above has the right idea. (although fredricks f750 airline is an intreging suggestion.)
Here's a good story (and it is true) an old codger around here had a stuck motor in his John deere tractor, he tried pennetrating oil, but it didn't work (the cylinders where horizontal and he couldn't get the oil all the way around the rings)... finally he put Coke in his cylinders filled them full and they broke free by the next morning... Not suggesting it, just telling a tale.
 
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Old 12-04-2004, 10:26 AM
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Just wanted to thank everyone for their help. When I mentioned putting motor oil in before I was using both marvels and PB blaster, ive let them work for almost two days now so will be trying to break her loose this afternoon. Ill post my results.

What a great site, thanks for everyones help.
 
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Old 12-06-2004, 03:56 PM
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Hope you are successful in breaking it free. If you get it turning over I think you're still looking at a rebuild to get it to run decent. I've seen several people successfully free up old tractor engines that gone on to run reasonably well, have never seen an automotive engine come back from the dead that way. Usually they barely run and if pushed they have a heart attack and throw a rod through the oil pan.
 
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Old 12-06-2004, 04:05 PM
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Talking

Originally Posted by nick65f100
the engine is frozen.

Take engine out
Preheat oven to 425* for 15 minutes.
Place engine in oven & cook for 3-4 hours.
 
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Old 12-06-2004, 05:20 PM
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Wouldn't microwaving it be faster???
haha (You made my day parks, thanks!!)
 
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Old 12-06-2004, 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by parks911
Take engine out
Preheat oven to 425* for 15 minutes.
Place engine in oven & cook for 3-4 hours.
Also baste with 10W40 every 30 min
 
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Old 12-06-2004, 05:49 PM
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and don't forget to sprinkle some donuts on it for better 360's and use the mini-donuts for tighter circles.....
 
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Old 12-06-2004, 07:36 PM
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well im happy to report that the engine was never frozen in the first place, the clutch pedal was not disengaging the clutch. The result was the engine not turning over and acting "frozen". Worked on her a few hours today and had it running.

Thanks for the help and the humor I needed both.
 
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Old 12-06-2004, 11:35 PM
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Originally Posted by dhermesc
If you get it turning over I think you're still looking at a rebuild to get it to run decent. I have never seen an automotive engine come back from the dead that way. Usually they barely run and if pushed they have a heart attack and throw a rod through the oil pan.
I tend to differ on this subject. A "frozen" engine is ususlly an engine that has set idle long enough for condensation to rust the piston rings to the cylinder walls. If the engine is broken free properly and no rings are broken everything will do fine with some other precautions. First the engine needs to be turned by hand with penetrating oil only deep enough to cover the entire top of the piston. Spark plugs installed. Oil drained. This is to force the oil down around the rings and piston side. Draining the oil is to leep the oil pump from pumping crappy oil all through the engine. If everything seems to be turning OK I would remove the plugs and throw a little marvel mystery Oil in the cylinders and and add cheap motor oil to the crankcase. Let the battery/starter turn the engine a good bit. With no compression this will not be hard on the battery. You will be able to turn it enough so the oil light will go out meaning you have decent oil pressure with fresh oil. Ultimately removing the oil pan and cleaning it out would be the best idea. Depends on how mucky the old oil got and how dirty the engine was to begin with. The big idea is making sure nothing is dry or partially siezed before putting it to work.

Many things depend on HOW LONG the engine has sat. If it has sat say 20 years many seals may have hardened enough to cause need for replacement. The engine may run fine but leak a lot of oil. On the other hand if it has only been 6 or 7 years you may get away with compete revival. Also once a running engine is achieved a good dose of transmission fluid and/or Seafoam down the carb throat after warmup is a must. Possibly some Lucas in the crankcase as well.

I know Nicks problem is solved but I hope this info may be of use to someone at some point in time. Never know!

Get-R-Done

Greg
 

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