*!+11??*** (Translation=D...-thing

I have finally gotten into something that has gotten my goat. I have an H block sitting on my work bench broken down..head off, pan off, fly wheel off, front end off etc. The problem is---this is the absolute worst case of piston seize up that I have ever seen. These pistons are rusted in the holes...in fact, one of the sleeves is rusted clear through and has a hole in it.

My engineer friend says that this rust job is stronger than any weld he has seen.

I have soaked them in Muratic acid for 2 days...a ton of stuff has come out of there...but still no luck with the banging (I took the caps off the mains so that the crank would drop free if there was any movement)

Monday I get on them with heat in the torch. Then some more banging..

If any of you have any last ditch recommendations before I get in there with a chizzle and sledge hammer...I would like to know it. (It is my guess that the pistons are not salvageable anyway)

Tw

I ruined two H block by hammering out the pistons... (I tend to learn things the hard way).

I would cover the crankshaft with a piece of tin, then drill a 1/2" hole in the top of the piston (worst first, and 1/4" away from the edge on a side, not in alignment with the piston pin). Then I would use a single carbon rod in an arc welder to melt the piston on that side in short bursts of heat to melt only piston. This application of heat will likely free things up to allow the extraction of the piston. once the piston is out, welding four stripes of bead down each sleeve will shrink and free them enough (usually to get them moving with a puller puck and 3/4" reddy rod.)
Good luck, I'm sure there will be more suggestions tomorrow. JimN

PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS A LITTLE FURTHER SO I CAN UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE HERE...EXACTLY WHERE TO PUT THE TIN?/

then drill a 1/2" hole in the top of the piston (worst first, and 1/4" away from the edge on a side, not in alignment with the piston pin). Then I would use a single carbon rod in an arc welder to melt the piston on that side in short bursts of heat to melt only piston.

HOW MUCH OF THE PISTON WOULD YOU TAKE OUT? THE WHOLE SIDE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM OF THE PISTON?

This application of heat will likely free things up to allow the extraction of the piston. once the piston is out, welding four stripes of bead down each sleeve will shrink and free them enough (usually to get them moving with a puller puck and 3/4" reddy rod.)

WELD THE BEAD ON ON THE INSIDE OF THE SLEEVE. IS THAT CORRECT.

I DO HAVE THE SIDE PLATE OFF AND IT LOOKS PRETTY CORRODED IN THERE. NOT SURE HOW TO CLEAN THIS UP WITHOUT DOING DAMAGE?

The piston is going to react thermally to being melted, so I cannot say how much will be needed to be missing before it loosens up. Do not melt into the cylinder sleeve or you might incidently weld it to the cast iron of the block.

Welding stripes of bead down the length of the sleeve at a reduced low penetration setting, but just enough to keep the arc going, will draw the sleeve smaller when it cools. Do not go through the thin sleeve when doing this as it will (as above) weld the sleeve to the casting.

I would get to cleaning out the crud in the water jacket (under the cover mentioned) to see if the efforts I was going to make to remove the cylinder components was worth it. If the block is cracked around the cylinder castings from the effects of water freezing, or rust expansion, I would get a different block. It is fairly expensive to sleeve out a block to repair a cracked casting.

Good luck, JimN