The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Stuck Engine??????

I had a earlier post asking how to free up a stuck 216 engine in a 1953 Chevy Truck and tried all the suggestions but the engine is still stuck. Has been sitting with rust buster on top of the pistons for a few months all but one of the pistons still has the rust buster sitting on top of the piston the rest of the pistons it has drained around the rings would be my guess. I was wondering if some heat with a propane torch around the outside of the top of the piston may help loosen up the rings being careful not over do it and melt the piston if it is aluminum. Tell what you think. Thanks!!!

Marv.

I don't think it should take several months to free an engine. It should work loose in a few days or maybe a week.

I have had good success with seafoam deep creep. Spray down the top of the pistons every day. But also I would spray down the lifters and the whole underside of the engine.

Also, you need to wiggle the engine a little bit each day, even if it doesn't feel like it's budging. A prybar on the flywheel works well, but some people might pound on the top of each piston with a 2x2 and a nine pound hammer. Just don't break anything.

Eventually, after a few days, you will notice the engine move a fraction of an inch. Then you're almost home free, after a couple more days it will really start to move.

Take a chunk of 4X4 10-12 inches long and your 2lb hammer and give each piston a few solid (not crazy hard) whacks. Remember you are not trying to move the piston just vibrate it a bit. Let it set with a different “rust buster” on top of each piston. The vibration of the hits may be enough to let the chemicals work their magic. No heat on the pistons just yet. Good luck.

Don't hit a piston that is at (or very close) to the top of the block.

I am in the same boat although it is just a extra 235 for my truck .I have two cylinders that have oil on top tried different oils they have been sitting for almost a year I was thinking of heat also but was going to put a magnetic block heater to warm the block and the oil.

Most 216's have cast iron pistons, not aluminum. An engine that's stuck that tight is going to need to be rebuilt once it's freed up, so don't worry about damaging the pistons- - - -they're going to be scrapped anyway when you bore the block. Get a can of KROIL (www.kanolabs.com) and forget about the Propane torch- - - -use acetylene and warm up the pistons with a rosebud tip, then put 2-3 ounces of KROIL into each cylinder and let it sit a few days. Cast iron conducts heat fast enough that a Propane torch will be totally ineffective. As a last resort, use a big hole saw in a variable speed drill motor and cut the tops out of the pistons about 1/2" away from the cylinder walls.
Jerry

Panic Have hit them from below and maybe moved to the ridge (with the rod cap off) then go down and maybe free it up !

I guess I just took the easy way. I knew it was going to need a rebuild so I dropped the pan and proceeded to take the whole engine apart. With head, crank and cam removed the pistons came right out. GMC 248 but how much different is it? I guess I have never run into a piston seized to the bore yet.

GMC's are very much different that Chevy engines- - - -aluminum pistons instead of cast iron, different lubrication system, and a bunch of other stuff. Mostly, the cost to rebuild a GMC is several times what a similar rehab on a Chevy would cost. Pistons, oil pumps, and water pumps are particularly scarce and expensive for a GMC engine. The cast iron pistons in a Chevy 216 rust tight to the cylinder walls pretty regularly.
Jerry

Thank you Jerry. I figured it was not that simple. I need to keep reading and learn as I have a Chevy now!

A quick fix for a 216 with badly rust-pitted cylinder walls is to bore the cylinders 60 over and install standard bore aluminum Chevy 235 pistons. They're a direct drop-in fit once the cylinders are bored and honed to fit the pistons- - - -same compression height, wrist pin size, etc. The .060" overbore gives you a displacement of 224 cubic inches, there's a slight increase in compression and the aluminum pistons are lighter weight than the cast iron ones and they don't beat up the Babbit bearings as quickly, so shim adjustments aren't needed so often.
Jerry

I don't have any suggestions to provide, but just wanted to tell you guys that I am impressed at how hardcore you all are!

I had a 327 that I brought home to rebuild and put into my Chevelle. That thing was gummed up from the oil turning to sludge, but was nowhere near as challenging to get moving, or apart, as what I am reading in this thread.

You guys are my idols!!