Alright, I got my farmall H and I ready to begin working on it. It is locked up. What is the first recommended course of action on something like this?
 
If engine is locked up. I would remove the spark plugs then with a lite look in and if the walls are rusted remove head and pan you will need new parts no use using snake oil cause rusty walls are sure sign of a new engine to fix.
 
(quoted from post at 11:37:53 03/23/15) Alright sounds good. If they are not rusty would I be able to try to get it unstuck?

The rust is what caused it to be stuck. In some cases, if you are lucky, and have a lot of patience, penetrating oil will sometimes free it up. Be advised though, even if you get it freed up, most likely the engine will still need a complete rebuild with all new sleeves and pistons.
 
You have 2 good replies so far. I second what Rusty says about the crud. I have an uncle (who should know better) that bought a stuck M and got it unstuck. He was bragging about his 3 or 4 hundred dollar M. Then he "got it running" and it ran for a couple of minutes and then locked up solid.

So just check through the plug holes for cylinder wall condition as suggested. It is possible to have a "light stick" from sitting that will free up with a small amount of effort. Squirt in a 50/50 mixture of acetone and ATF. That works about as good as anything.

Pull the valve cover and see if any of the valves are stuck too. You can push on the end of the rocker with a hammer handle and you'll know if they're loose or not.

A big crescent wrench on the pins of the crank snout will give you a way to try to move the crank back and forth. The crank may be loose as it is and you can feel it move as it takes up the slack in the bearings.

Do not try to free it up by dragging it in gear with another tractor. It's been done but it runs the high risk of tearing up other stuff.

Hope this helps.
 
I have freed up a good many engines and never had the head off of them. You first need to make sure there is no water in any of the cylinders. If no water fill the cylinders with ATF and put the plugs back in and let it sit a week or so. Set a good 12 volt battery in and pull the plugs out and use short fast taps of the starter button and see if it frees up. I have 2 Hs that where locked up when I got them and they freed up by doing what I just said
 
Are you sure the starter is not locked into the flywheel? Loosen the bolts & remove the starter; then try a pry-bar on the flywheel teeth to see if the crankshaft will rotate.
 
Try turning it with the clutch pressed in. It could be locked in gear (or worse rear end tight), making the engine hard to turn, if it turns at all. If it don't help, the engine or starter is likely tight. If it helps the rear end needs to be looked over.
 
A) Get an operators manual
B) Drop the pan and see what is in there.
C) Pull the head and check valve train and
condition of cylinders.
D) Remove one piston and check diameters top middle bottom, ring end gap in cylinder, ring gap in groove.
E) Now you know you need at least and in frame
rebuild
F) Plasti gage the rods and main bearings.
 
I am not saying anyone is wrong , I would do the
starter first , the valves second ,and then pan
third, I wouldn't crank until these 3 steps were
done ,the light through the spark plug hole can be
deceiving and if acetone does not loosen I would
pull the head however if your cylinders are not
pitted useing a wooden block and hammer on top of
the pistons to loosen them you maybe able to remove
and hone the slightly rusted area and reuse old
parts , this will not be an overhaul but a temporary
fix that may or may not last .
 
(quoted from post at 18:22:18 03/23/15) I am not saying anyone is wrong , I would do the
starter first , the valves second ,and then pan
third, I wouldn't crank until these 3 steps were
done ,the light through the spark plug hole can be
deceiving and if acetone does not loosen I would
pull the head however if your cylinders are not
pitted useing a wooden block and hammer on top of
the pistons to loosen them you maybe able to remove
and hone the slightly rusted area and reuse old
parts , this will not be an overhaul but a temporary
fix that may or may not last .
Thanks to all!!! I am doing a full restoration and a rebuild of the engine anyhow so I will just tare it down.
 

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