I was just messing with a 1954 Mercedes car engine last week which has been in storage for 40 years. It was stuck solid. I normally suspend stuck engines in a electrolyte bath for a week or so and they come free, but this time I wasn't going to bother as it requires stripping the engine right down ..I pulled the head and poured 50/50 brake fluid and acetone into each cylinder but it remained stuck .Digging through bottles of stuff in the workshop i found a bottle of stuff called evaporust . I cleaned each cylinder to get rid of the brakefluid mix and poured this stuff in .two days later I was putting some weight on the ring gear with a crow bar and it started turning over!. It's now free. Amazing! .No bashing of pistons etc required. 😁😁The engine has been rebored in the past and there was no discernible wear so I don't think the acetone/brakefluid mix could get down to the rings due to the close clearance and dust or dirt which could have gotten into the space.
I took the sump of my 6lw around the end of April this year, The first time it had been off since being overhauled in 1952 (according to the plate).. I found an Easter egg which was in excellent condition,still with it's bow on and it had never even melted !!!. Great engine's 👍😘🏴
I've freed up many engines over the years, usually using this technique. I haven't had the opportunity to try this in recent years but the idea I'd really like to try is to place a block of ice on top of the piston crown. And then with the engine block filled with coolant place an immersion heating element into the water jacket and heat the water. I know there's a risk of cracking things if it was overdone, but typically in a rebuild the pistons and liners are replaced so a little risk could be taken.
We had the gearbox of our 8LX (reconditioned) by the yard in situ. We steamed the boat out past the breakwater and the gearbox instantly gave problems. Back to the slip and a donkey jacket was found inside.
![Someone paid an equivalent of $2000 for this in 1914 [Restoration]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rw_8FWJuSho/mqdefault.jpg)
Hi, No.4 looks to have had water sitting in there.It will be almost a brand new engine when you are finished,that is great,Gardner are works of art.
I was just messing with a 1954 Mercedes car engine last week which has been in storage for 40 years. It was stuck solid. I normally suspend stuck engines in a electrolyte bath for a week or so and they come free, but this time I wasn't going to bother as it requires stripping the engine right down ..I pulled the head and poured 50/50 brake fluid and acetone into each cylinder but it remained stuck .Digging through bottles of stuff in the workshop i found a bottle of stuff called evaporust . I cleaned each cylinder to get rid of the brakefluid mix and poured this stuff in .two days later I was putting some weight on the ring gear with a crow bar and it started turning over!. It's now free. Amazing! .No bashing of pistons etc required. 😁😁The engine has been rebored in the past and there was no discernible wear so I don't think the acetone/brakefluid mix could get down to the rings due to the close clearance and dust or dirt which could have gotten into the space.
I took the sump of my 6lw around the end of April this year, The first time it had been off since being overhauled in 1952 (according to the plate)..
I found an Easter egg which was in excellent condition,still with it's bow on and it had never even melted !!!. Great engine's 👍😘🏴
The Petter PH1 on my dumper had a set of feeler gauges in the sump
I've freed up many engines over the years, usually using this technique.
I haven't had the opportunity to try this in recent years but the idea I'd really like to try is to place a block of ice on top of the piston crown. And then with the engine block filled with coolant place an immersion heating element into the water jacket and heat the water.
I know there's a risk of cracking things if it was overdone, but typically in a rebuild the pistons and liners are replaced so a little risk could be taken.
My 260HP straight six Poyaud had a newspaper in the sump, not good for oil pressure! Sabotage yes.
There are drivers and there are screwdrivers. I suppose the same is true for mechanics and engineers.
Ahhh that's where that screwdriver went too....... ?
Gallium will attack the alum piston.
Death of the Gardner was when they blew it up to a 310 for ERF.
It wasn’t your screwdriver but it is now.
I'll remove this in a few days...................
If you want to sabotage any engine... Brake fluid...!
We had the gearbox of our 8LX (reconditioned) by the yard in situ. We steamed the boat out past the breakwater and the gearbox instantly gave problems. Back to the slip and a donkey jacket was found inside.
I think sabotage. Plenty of stories of people finding old spanners and other junk in tractor gearboxes.