Pistons stuck in sleeves...suggestions?

I got the sleeves out of my Farmall B, the pistons came out with them. They're stuck inside pretty good. Need some suggestions about how to get them out. Get them pressed out? Soak them in something? Heat and a Hammer? I was told they are the dual-fuel pistons, I'd like to try and save them if i could.

Lots of penetrating oil and time and patience.

i have better luck soaking parts in a bucket of oil, etc. maybe you can try soaking them in a bucket of diesel, or coal oil, or penetrating oil.
do not be in a hurry.

Why in the world would you want to get them out?

Throw 'em away and rebuild it right.

Allan

no such thing as 'dual fuel' pistons. the sleeves will be pitted badly if the pistons are stuck that good. like allan says you need to buy an overhaul kit.

Well, I was told those pistons aren"t very common anymore. I thought they might be worth saving.

Another poster on this forum said they were low compression pistons, with a concave place in the top of the piston. Heck I don't know, I'm just a newbie going by what I was told.

Heck I was gonna buy a rebuild kit anyway until somebody suggested I had something rare...guess you can't believe everything. Another question, after I removed the connecting rod caps and had pushed the sleeves and pistons up, i turned the crankshaft a little and a couple of steel bearings fell out. I wondered where these could have come from? I haven't done a rebuild on one of these engines before and don't know what any of the crankshaft bearings look like yet.

not very common because everybody replaces them with higher compression pistons to improve power. While they may be uncommon, it is because they are undesirable. Get a new set of pistons and sleeves, you can put those on a shelf somewhere for display, but you will be a lot happier with new pistons.

Don't throw the pistons and sleeves out, you need to get the connecting rods out! They don't come with a kit. Heat them up again, a fire will do if you don't have a torch. Then soak them with penetrating oil, maybe 24 hours or so. Then place them back in the block, tap them down easy until seated flush, make sure the rod clears the crank, then tap the piston top down with a hammer and wooden block. Don't tap too hard.

Those bearings that fell out must have been the bearing shells from the rods you took off, they just stuck to the crank until you turned it.

Take them to a shop with a hydraulic press. Put the skirts on two steel supports and push the pistons out the bottom. Shop it to get a price. The rods will not be damaged by this technique. The cylinders and pistons might be broken, but they are already scrap metal. Jim

Ok, all replies sound like good advice. A rebuild kit it is....come December. Meanwhile I"ll work on getting those connecting rods loose. Thanks for the replies.

Black River
Throw Them in the freezer for a couple days.
Then heat up the sleeves.
Should pop them loose.

Good Luck.

Steve A W

BTDT i went thru that. We took a portable band saw and sawed thru length-wise then hit with a big hammer and then the sleeve would break to save the rods. You will get new wristpins in the kit. You will have to press out the wrist pins. If you cant save the rods i have some rods. There is no way to pressout the pistons as they are rusted fast to the sleeves. You mite crack the sleeves with a big hammer but sawing the sleeve is the best.

yep, best is to boil them in a pail of used oil. build your self a fire outside, and a 26 oz. and enjoy the evening.

Use an acetylene torch to heat the sleeves to free the pistons. Hal

A couple of comments:

Randy Hall, with all due respect and not trying to "flame" you, these are dual fuel pistons. I would be happy to scan and post the IH manual that shows it. They came in a conversion kit that included the pistons, carb, manifold, heat shield, starting tank, hood, and fuel bowl.

Secondly, Blackriver, send me some pictures of them. If they are in recoverable shape, I'll trade you straight up a set of decent, un-stuck pistons and sleeves for them, connecting rods included. when I say recoverable, I mean not cracked or broken. Stuck in the sleeves is fine.

Currently desirable, no they are not for most people. Are they an example of what the dual fuel pistons were, yes. Are they made anymore, no. Do I intend to put them on a display I am making to show the early C-113 options, yes. Would one want those in a current, working tractor, probably not. Will they work just fine for a show tract/trailer queen, they sure will. HP loss due to lower compression I would estimate to be around 3-4 HP, not a huge deal for a show only tractor.

If you want to keep these, I would be happy to press them out for you, no charge. You just cover the shipping.

Before everyone starts spouting opinions and information around this, they should check the facts. Those of you who are veterans here, and have BTDT, should present a balanced opinion, not just "scrap it and move on". You could say the same thing about the whole tractor. For doing work today, this tractor ain't worth a crap when compared to modern tractors the same HP and size. However, when saving and restoring/repairing a family heirloom or similar, "scrap it and move on" doesn't factor in. Those here who are older and have experience, should be presenting both sides of an approach when teaching/helping the newer members. One thing trumps all though, "its your tractor, you can do whatever you want with it". rant over.

Blackriver, send me an email so I can respond with my cell phone number [email protected]

I'll be happy to talk you through getting the pistons out, and make myself available to answer any other questions you have.

You have to decide a couple of things on this tractor. First off, what do you want to do with it. Work it? Show it? just get it running and putz with it? All have different answers as to how to approach getting this old girl working again............and each has a different price tag.

If I remember your original post, this was your grandfathers, right? I think it is very cool that you want to keep this from the scrap yard. Even if it wasn't a family tractor, I still think it admirable that you want to get it running again.


All the advice you have been given so far works..........but it doesn't fit all the different reasons you may have for working on this. My previous post was to point that out. I love to keep things original and preserve history. That is NOT everyone's desire or intent. That is fine too. I prefer to give people options, and explain each one, so they path they chose is correct for what they want to accomplish.

For any previous posters, I certainly apologize if I have offended you, but I also say "shame on you" for not taking into consideration what Blackriver wants to accomplish here. There are always 2 or more sides to a story, and one usually has more merit than the others. However, the best decision is made when all sides of the story are considered.

As usual every one has their opinion which is great,I guess mine would be on the side of saving a piece of Farmall history if you can,I have had the same issue with stuck S&P,s and I soaked them in alcohol for a while befor trying to press them apart,even common rubbing alcohol will work,it will cut or soften the rust,Al

I have some pistons out of the sleeves if you want some came from a distillate engine

Thanks Gene, I may take you up on that. Let's see what Blackriver wants to do. If I can help the young man out, I am happy to. Either way, I am putting together a C-113 display. I have everything for the conversion that came in the kit, except a good set of pistons. The ones I have were given to me, but the skirts are broken on a couple due to the way they were removed from the sleeves.

Gene, I don't' have nearly the inventory or experience you do on these, but I have enough C-113 parts to probably put together 4-5 gas versions.......just missing a decent set of the early distillate pistons.

I sure do appreciate that Tom, when you're someone like me, that doesn't know any better, it's easy to get confused with all the info. I'm trying to fix this tractor to work it, not show it off, although i want to paint it and make it look nice. When i say work it, i just want to plow and culitivate my garden. Not disc or plow a field with it, just have it to use. And, my grandpa died 20 years ago when i was a dumb young kid, and every bolt I turn is a connection to him. Also, even though my dad is too weak to do anything but sit and watch, I get to spend a little time with him, 'cause he don't have long either.

I'm confused about what to do with these pistons, but let me think it over, and I'll let you know. My feeling right now is I'd just like to get a rebuild kit and have all new parts. I want to do this right the first time so i can have something to pass down to my son.

I do appreciate everyone's attempts to give me advice, I can use all of it!!! :lol: In the short time I've had this tractor out of the weeds, i have learned that there sure is something about the feel of this old iron....

When this tractor was built, Hitler had invaded Poland. My Dad was 10 years old, and my mother was 6. What a piece of history!

Ive done this a few times and always get the same results if I score me a line down the sleeve with my air cutoff blade,pick it up and drop it on its side on shop floor a few times,the sleeve usually breaks away in pieces

These were a couple of steel balls....where could they have come from?

"Save everything at all costs" vs. "scrap it and move on" all depends on how bad the pistons are rusted in, your priorities, and what your time is worth.

I think you should take Tom Fleming up on at least one of his offers. If you swap pistons/sleeves/rods with him you can have the tractor back running in a couple of weeks.

Otherwise you have to wait until December to save up to buy the rebuild kit, and you still have the problem of getting the rods back to use with the new pistons/sleeves.

Those bearings that fell out of the crank journals, keep them. If you plan to reuse them, as I would, they should be kept as a matching set to each connecting rod and to each spot on the crank. So I would advise to do your best to get those in order 1,2,3,4 as to where they go. Some may not think it matters, but each bearing and connecting rod wear together. When I rebuild motors and reuse good bearings, I put it back the way it was.