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228 gmc (1949) engine locked up

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spurgeon2

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Gentlemen,
I am having no luck getting my engine freed up. I have been putting diesel fuel and marvel mystery oil in the cylinders but still no luck. I am unable to turn the crankshaft (starting dog)by hand and have even tried using a 1/4 socket extension bar in the starter dog. I am trying to turn it with enough force to rock the engine in its mounts (probably too much). Everything is off the engine except the cylinder head, distributor and oil pan. I am thinking about pulling the oil pan to see if I can see anything from underneath. There is nothing obvious from the outside I can see. Any ideas or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

v/r
john m.
 
Engine release !

Tell us excactly what has happened with the engine before you got it , its history is important ! Is it general wear we are talking about here or has it been standing in the open air and water has come inside and made it rusty ? What are your plans to do with the engine , do you wanna remanufature it totally or partly ? You could remove the top . The cyl. top valves might have got stocked or burned or maybe one or more of the pistons are stocked ? Most likely not the bearings but thats easy to observate when taking the pan off ?

http://www.seized-engine.com/used-car-engines.html

If rust is the problem Poor Coca - Cola or brake fluid Dot 5 in your engine and let it work a week or so then try again. If this does`nt work you can allways buy the engune release fluid. Beware of the fact you have to use googles and hand/body protection!
 
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locked engine

The truck was sitting in a field for the last 13 years. It was used as a farm truck prior to that. The engine was covered in oil/dirt. I have been cleaning and removing everything down to the state it is now and cant seem to get it to turn over. I would like to keep it in close to original form if possible. Right now I just want to see if I can get it to turn over without doing any damage or removing the head but will definitely do that if neccesary. I will probably pull the oil pan tommorow (saturday). Nate had suggested that I turn the starting dog back and forth but I have not had any luck with that as of yet. Thank you all for any suggestions or ideas.

v/r
john m
 
John, I understand your desire not to break the engine open. Here's something to think about. Take the valve cover off, loosen up the rockers and see if the connecting rods are free. A lot of times they get so gunked up that they don't go anywhere. Soak the rockers, valve stems, squirt your favorite solvent in the spark plug holes and wait a few days. Don't get in a hurry. When you think they've soaked enough, do it again. And wait. It should finally free itself enough to be able to turn it.

Good luck!

Ken
 
Do not use coke !!!

:eek: that's for sheet metal ONLY ! sugar anywhere inside the engine will kill it .

Fresh Diesel Fuel in the spark plug holes until they flow back out then let it sit for a week or so as you chase tires & wheels , you should be able to stand on the front bumper and reach down and turn the crank pulley with your hands , if it turns even a fraction , keep at it ! re fill the cylinders and rock it back & forth , DO NOT force it when it gets stiff & hard to turn ! back it up the other direction until it gets stiff then reverse it once again , in time , it will turn 360° .

If it stays firmly stuck , that happens occasionally , don't fret ~ just take the cylinder head off taking pictures of all the small parts as you go , lay some clean cardboard or light colored towels or sheets in the bed to keep track of all those parts & hardware ~ DO NOT toss out the old hardware & go buy new nuts & bolts ! .
 
You will put less time in to it if you just pull the head and clean the rust out of the cylinders and soak it down with Diesel...
 
Thanks to all for the replies and advice. Its Saturday and after I get done on post (A sister unit is coming home from Afghanistan) I will see what I can get figured out today and maybe have some new information to put up.

v/r
john m.
 
I pulled the head off

The pictures tell the story. I am still not able to turn the crank by hand. I will obviously get the head redone. I would guess I should do a total rebuild since I am this far. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

:confused:
 

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I'm surprised it looks so clean inside .

I'm thinking it is time to heat the pistons a bit , that should break them loose , I imagine honing may not remove the rust pits in the bad cylinder but it's worth a try .

These are *very* sturdy engines , far better than the Chevrolet (ahem) and they're designed for In Frame repairs of this typ .

At this point , I'd scrap all 6 pistons and have the rods rebuilt at the very least , don't be surprised if the cylinder head alone needs $1,500 worth of repairs , it's well worth every penny , you'll see once you drive it .
 
Engine release !

Hey guys

What year is this engine build ? I understood it would result in a engine overhaul from what you described . I to am surprised by the fact it is so dry inside ? Now wnat you can do is to sink your engine down in a plastic container in a bath of diesel or parafin , the top aswell. Buy a litle electrical spiral cup heater at your local hardware store and warm up the liquid. Let it stand a week or so, dont force or pound any of the engine parts yet. Take a look inside at the bottem and inspect the engine. Release the piston bearings and take them out but remeber to mark every one of them so you remember where they came from all 6 of them. Do that with the the parts from your top aswell. After this use a flame torch and heat up carfully pound with a peace of wood on top of the pistons and use some very thin engine oil until the pistons release maybe 2 of them are stocked cause corrosion maybe more ? The rest is spesialist work for the engine remanufacture shop. Let them look at the top and your block .

Inspect every piston/valves/seats/bearings/block/top ect. together with your mechanic.Clean the engine and top and all the water channels in your block with hot water pressure. Its good to have your block/top runtgen analyzed to see if there are fine cracks inside.

Patricks in Casa Grande have all the new engine parts-
 
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