Cub project

Well, Ive been soaking the engine with ATF for 4 weeks now. Still won't move. I'm thinking of pulling the oil pan and head so I can tap on the pistons. But, I'm worried that the head bolts are going to snap off. I tried to turn a couple and they seem pretty tight. I think this motor is in good shape and don't want to screw it up. What's my best option? Continue to wait or go for it?

there will probably be quite a few different methods people use here. most work most of the time.sometimes they dont.i would keep soaking the pistons in atf as long as its in there. for the headbolts on the cub, get some penetrating oil on them everyday. kroil, pb blaster, liquid wrench, whatever is handy. i prefer to start slow and then get more aggressive. i would start by soaking and tapping the headbolts with a brass head hammmer, couple whacks on each one, then spray em. maybe a week or so. then go to a 3/8 drive impact on low power. give each bolt a quick shot to tighten, the try and loosen. you want to try and get some oil down in the threads and release any rust bonds first before trying to get em out. i like to refer to it as scare-ing the bolt a little. rattle each one back and forth, then let em sit a day , try again. end of the week , open the power up on the impact and see if they will come out. if not, go to a 1/2 drive impact, and try again. you can try and warm them some with a propane torch too. save the acetylene torch if they break off. to try and break the pistons loose, either try bumping the starter or put the starting crank on and hang 50-75 lbs of weight on it so it applys steady pressure to the crankshaft. rocking the back wheel in 4th gear by hand is another option.

o k lets do not break anything. drain oil drop pan loosen piston rod caps gently tap up on each piston to see if it will move a little then remove head if it will not turn over that is what i do first good luck

I just finished working on Ellie's head (she is my 48 cub), and I had the very same worries when I first started on her. Soak the head bolts with a good penetrating oil such as PB Blaster, Kroil or Solvo-Rust... then with a 9/16" socket on a 1/2 breaker bar, very carefully turn counter-clockwise. If you go slow you will feel it move. If it doesn't right away, give it a rap with a deadblow hammer and try again. Do each one in sequence. (check the GSS-1411 Service Manual). Continue. They will come out.

However, do yourself a HUGE favour and do not reuse those headbolts. Put em in a can marked old IH Head Bolts and keep em as souvenirs. Get some good Grade 8 head bolts. They are available at a GOOD fastener jobber. I use Maritime Fasteners locally here and they matched up the head bolts perfectly. You can go to Fastenal, but you may have to either shorten the shorter bolts a bit or let em into the water jacket... Use C5A or other Anti-Seize on the new head bolts.