Cylinder jugs are frozen

[gaffer77]

Hi a friend of mine has been trying to get his Barrells /jugs/cylinders?? off the bottom half of his engine

When i say they are froze i meen they are stuck absolutely solid !!

might be the climate over here causing severe corrosive conditions!!

Anyway i see a few on ebay so guess you lot can get em off fairly easy

Any help or ideas would be very handy as most things have been tried allready!!

Trying to preserve and keep it all in good condition with no damage BUT if it's got to be smashed then that's that!!

Just thought it's worth an ask before resorting to violence with it!!

Thanks

Gareth

[prometheus578]

If it's an old froze up engine....
(I did a search for a recent thread... but this one concerns pistons rusted to the cylinders, etc.
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...t=putty+knives
for an engine that still spins over... it's the base gasket that is bonding the cylinders to the case. A real pain, T'is.
Read this one, too
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ht=base+gasket

[gaffer77]

Thanks for that ,,,meant to say it turns over etc no problem

Gareth

[prometheus578]

"Time Warp"

I just posted that reply, went back the the main screen, and saw that there was already another reply posted already.
"Now who the hell else is up posting at 2:30 in the morning?"
"Ock.. I zee... Gaffer ist ein Englander Pig-Dog!" (Time zone differences) (I watch a lot of old war movies late at night)

Hope those replies help, Gaffer. Cylinder removal is such a joy. I can't recall if it's posted in those threads, but a very fine guitar string can also be used between the cyl and the base to help slice through the base gasket.

[gaffer77]

Ha ha !!!

It's 10:47 am for me!!!

Oh guitar string!! see if i hadn't asked i wudn't have got that tip !!

there was something similar used by my friend ,,i iwll find out what it was !!

(and let you enjoy yer films!!)

Gareth

[John]

You could try putting the spark plugs back in, with the cylinder head nuts off, and turning the engine over with the starter. The compression may be enough to help break the cylinder loose at the base

[prometheus578]

"I'm sorry, John, but I just don't see that"

He's trying to break the seal of the base gasket. He already has the head off.
Now, if he puts the head back on(minus the cams and such), and tries to crank it over, couldn't the cam chain bind around the crank?
And secondly, to seal the head against the cylinders in order to compress the air, it would have to be bolted down on the studs, which go through the cylinder to the base.
Now... I'm not one to question any technique which I have never tried, but how is the head going to be held against the cylinder(without head bolts) with sufficient force to prevent the compression from blowing out around the head gasket? Do you mean that he should us those little 10mm (or 12mm) nuts, one to the rear, and the other above the cam chain tensioner?
Again, I have never tried this, so I don't know. And as I have already cracked off a large chunk of cylinder above the tensioner when tightening that nut, I consider this a weak area.
Now then... This one I have tried. with the cams out(so that all valves stay closed), and a broomstick through the cam chain taking up slack so that it wouldn't bind on the crank,and the two nuts holding head to the cylinder, I then thread a goodly length of rope(lawnmower pull cord) down into #2 and #3 cylinder through the plugholes and cranked the engine. Pistons come up, hit the coiled rope, and help lift the head and cylinder combo offa the base gasket. The base gasket was otherwise loosened in several areas, but just wouldn't seperate, etc. Could the area's around those little nuts be overstressed? Could be... but my cylinder bores were so rusted and scored I was gonna toss it anyway.

[gaffer77]

Cheers guys every little tip can be of use somewhere,,sometime so all theories and thoughts greatly appreciated !!!

Gareth

[Incubus]

Check around the stud holes in the top and bottom. A lot of crud can collect and wedge the studs in. I had one stud that was grafted to the cylinder, I had to dremel grind it down. Anyway, try blowing some compressed air around the studs and see if you can clear the crud. Then I used two flat pry bars, one in the front, one in the back, on the pry points at the base of the cylinder. I did the left side, then I did the right, and back again. It took a while, but the base gasket finally gave way. Penetrating oil around the studs and base could help, too.

Good luck,

Patrick

[John]

Re: "I'm sorry, John, but I just don't see that"

[QUOTE]Originally posted by prometheus578
[B]He's trying to break the seal of the base gasket. He already has the head off.[QUOTE]


I must have been sleeping (head up the butt) when I responded to this one. That trick only works when trying to remove a stuck cylinder head.

[prometheus578]

"Glad you replied, John".

I didn't want to seem nit-picky or critical... for all I know, you may have been onto something that I wasn't aware of.