Freeing up a 1940 A engine

tracto-man · Jul 30, 2016

Friend that just bought an early A for $200 asked me to post this for him.

It's seized up, and had atf and other such oils sitting in it for more then 2 weeks. He's tried jacking them out, turning the engine over by hand, and a couple other things that I can't remember. Rocking it back and forth with the wheels while in gear isn't really an option as it has shredded tires on it. Any other ideas? Or should he just keep on putting ATF in it? If any more info is needed I can ask him. It's the earlier type with magneto. Thanks!

khouse6 · Jul 30, 2016

if the atf is staying in the cylinders probably need to blow it out and make sure no water is in the cylinders. (oil floats on water) then begin all over

tn terry t · Jul 30, 2016

if you have the hand crank and it happens to be in the right spot jack the tractor up. install crank and put a 4x4 under the hand crank let the jack down let it sit there under pressure if you notice the tractor is getting closer to the floor you know the engine has moved some. I think best bet is to tear into it see whats got it stuck

teddy52food · Jul 30, 2016

2 weeks is not that long. Give it some more time. Pull the rocker arm cover & see if all the valves are loose.

old · Jul 30, 2016

First off did he make sure the cylinder where dry?? If they had any water or coolant in them the ATF will do no good till it is blown or wicked out. Now if he was sure they where dry does it have a starter?? If it has a starter set a 12 volt battery in it with the plug out, always put the plugs back in to keep dirt etc out while soaking. But with the plugs out use short fast taps on the starter button and watch the crank shaft pulley for movement. If it starts to move keep hitting the button. If it does not put the plugs back in after making sure the cylinders are still full of ATF an maybe even pour some ATF down the exhaust pipe. Some times it take a while to free one up and some times you have to biter the bullet an open it up all depends on why it is locked up

tracto-man · Jul 30, 2016

It's pretty much already completely torn down, hood/head is off, oil pan is off, valve covers off. Does not have a starter.

rustred · Jul 30, 2016

a round block of wood and a sledge hammer is more effective than waiting on oil for weeks and months. but... clean and hone the rust from the sleeves above the cyl's.blow out all the rust with air from around piston. you can also fill the block with boiling water. smack the pistons with the block of wood. you can remove the engine and put it in a tub of used oil and boil the heck out of it. you can use a press to press the pistons, even with the sleeves out from the bottom. there is a lot of things you can do other that waiting on miracles. i know i sure dont have patience to wait on something that may or may not work. so thats some ideas to think about. ATF does work good in transmissions though.

gene bender · Jul 31, 2016

Looking in the plug holes you can see the walls and if they are rusty forget all the magic potions and remove head and press out the sleeves and pistons BTD

gene bender · Jul 31, 2016

why didnt you say that up front. Remove the crank and then you can press out the sleeves and pistons. The sleeves are a cast so you can break them leaving your pistons and rods. You will need the rods to use when you get a kit.

El Toro · Jul 31, 2016

I used a big hammer and a block of wood to drive out the pistons and some sleeves came out. I used a torch to free the old pistons. I used a steam jenny to clean the block. Had the crankshaft measured and polished at our local machine shop. They furnished correct bearings. Hal

fixerupper · Jul 31, 2016

Its probably unlikely it has aluminum Pistons but if it does they could be corroded to the sleeves. If they are corroded they will be very hard to remove. No amount of magic elixir will soak them loose. I ran onto this with an F-20.

OldFarmall450 · Jul 31, 2016

If it wasn't stripped down I'd say don't get in a hurry for the oil to work. A poppin john model A had sat on a neighbors by the road for years, uncovered. Dad found out it was for sale and he pulled the plugs and put marvel oil in it, every month or so going back and putting in more oil and gently rocking the flywheel. About a year later my older brother, dad and I went to check it out. It was cold, I stayed in the truck and dad pulled the plugs and put more oil in it. My brother was rocking the flywheel while dad went to the other side. Dad was looking in the cylinder when it broke free and drenched him in the face with oil, soaking his beard! We laughed so hard and he was plenty upset, mostly at himself. Morale: don't expect it to work fast and don't look in the cylinders while someone's trying to turn it over.

good luck on the rebuild.

Freeing up a 1940 A engine

tracto-man

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khouse6

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tn terry t

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teddy52food

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old

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tracto-man

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rustred

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gene bender

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gene bender

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El Toro

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fixerupper

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OldFarmall450

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