moving along, next step

[Sparkett]

motor

Well, it sat for 10 years...trying to determine if she corroded into a solid thing!
will put more mysery oil in and let her soak a bit more. found a link that said to soak, wait try to move it...repeat. So thats what we will do. no battery as yet, sure the one on her isnt any good after 10 years!
She was ridden to the warehouse , then left
thought it was a 79, but a link for the vin says she is a 78! And the jets are the ones listed in the 78...still learning about her...

[natemoen]

No I did mean to put it under the battery box in its holder, never thought about the fact that you have an '80 and wouldn't have the mount under there.

[BA80]

Well, it sat for 10 years...trying to determine if she corroded into a solid thing!
will put more mysery oil in and let her soak a bit more. found a link that said to soak, wait try to move it...repeat. So thats what we will do. no battery as yet, sure the one on her isnt any good after 10 years!
She was ridden to the warehouse , then left
thought it was a 79, but a link for the vin says she is a 78! And the jets are the ones listed in the 78...still learning about her...

If it sat inside all that time it's a good thing. The problem is the humidity which is bad here but I'm certain is worse in Florida.

Try putting it in 5th gear and getting it busted loose. That will make it easier to turn the engine with the rear wheel. Work it back and forth.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

"if"

"If" it was running 10 years ago and then stored inside with the plugs in it and no one dipped it in the ocean salt water, it is not a solid block You have had to have seen "american pickers" on TV, where they pick up a motor that has sat in a barn for 40 years, and they turn it over The 5th gear is the right thing for leverage, fill the cyls up with pen. oil and keep working it. "IF" it was running when parked, it will break free, even in Florida

[jetmechmarty]

If all else fails, bust it loose with a grease gun. Just make sure you pick a cylinder that has both valves closed.

Here's a little help: "Greaseplug"

[BA80]

That works great for calipers, this is the first I've heard of using it for the engine.

Dang! That could be a lot of grease!

[crazy steve]

Yeah, I dunno if that would be a good idea... be a real b*tch to get all the grease out (if you even could) and what happens when you try to burn it I can only imagine..

Something that's worked for me is to fill the cylinders with diesel or kerosene. Then watch your oil level... when/if it comes up, you know it's ran past the rings and you've got pretty much all the lube you're going to get in there. This may take some time; give it at least a few days, but I had one that took a couple of weeks. This will also pinpoint your 'problem' cylinder(s); if the level in one (or more) doesn't drop, those are the bad ones. The diesel/kerosene are both oily enough to provide a bit of lubrication and will 'burn out' once you get the motor to turn (great for fogging for mosquitos...). Of course, you'll need to change the oil as soon as you get it to turn.

To turn the motor, your best bet is to pull the alternator cover off and use a large strap wrench on the rotor and work it back and forth. Trying to turn the motor at the timing end if it's frozen hard will probably damage/break off the timing plate. Make sure it's in neutral too; a lot of times if these sit too long, the clutch plates will dry out and not disengage.

[jetmechmarty]

For the grease gun trick, fill the cylinder with oil before you start pumping the grease. Any hydraulic ram will do the trick, it's just that most of us have grease guns. Do this trick and you must pull the head, but the pistons will be free in the bores. You won't have to beat them out and risk breaking stuff.

A friend of mine broke free a small block Chevy with a hand held grease gun after I urged him to do it. It does the trick, I tell ya!

[ddragon63]

Boy I would be worried about breaking a piston skirt, ring land, or bending a connecting rod with the grease gun trick. Your basically hydraulicing your motor on purpose. But the theory is sound. Your inducing a power stroke via external pump. Personally I would use a compressed air source. To keep from packing a cylinder full of grease unless you plan on dismantling the engine. Hopefully you have a piston that's on its way down in the power stroke to apply the pressure. Just my .02

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Idea

I like the idea, even though I have not tried it my self. If you fill the chamber with oil 1st, it will be pushed down into the rings giveing even more lube where you need it, The grease gun can build enough pressure to move the piston, and once free, on the exaust stroke, most of the oil and all of the grease will be pushed out. Hit it at the top of the stroke with some compressed air and enought of the oil will blow out to run the motor with out removing the head IMHO Yea, it is gonna smoke for a while, but that would be happy day to me compaired to locked up

[natemoen]

Personally I would use a compressed air source.

250 psi or several thousand psi.....no comparison, grease gun has way more pressure

[jetmechmarty]

I had not thought of pumping the cylinder full of grease and running. It's break it free, then take it apart. If the cylinders are frozen in the bores, and you take the engine apart, now what? Are you going to beat the pistons out with a hammar? If you use a grease gun, rather than some other hydraulic fluid, you're going to have quite a grease turd in there! You're right about it being a problem if you wanted to free it and run it.

If you wanted to restore an old John Deere tractor and the engine was a solid lump of rust, how whould you free it? (That's where I learned this.)

BTW, I've tried to do this with compressed air. It's hopeless. I have a stuck XS650 in my garage that has been soaking in Marvel Mystery Oil, PB Blaster, etc., for about five years. It isn't going to work. I expect the introduction of acid will get it, but I think I'd rather use the grease gun.

[ddragon63]

Either way I don't think I personally would want to run it after breaking it free. It's locked up for a reason. I personally would try compressed air first before laying a mass amount of pressure to it. Btw theres ways of getting compressed air sources a lot higher than 250 psi.
Just trying to give a fella options...

[crazy steve]

Well, it sat for 10 years... She was ridden to the warehouse , then left

After re-reading these posts, I find it hard to believe that a motor could freeze up that solid sitting in covered storage, even in Florida. But POs have been known to lie to buyers....

I'd look a bit harder at this; first, don't try to turn the motor by turning the rear wheel. You have very poor mechanical advantage that way, and if it is stuck that won't work. Use a car battery and a set of jumper cables to spin it with the starter, after removing the plugs. Connect the negative cable to the motor or frame, then touch the positive cable to the starter terminal at the solenoid. Still won't spin?

If one or more cylinders are frozen, try manually turning the crank both ways. Even with stuck pistons, you'll still get a little movement as you 'take up' the clearances in the rod bearings, piston pins, etc. If you don't get any movement, then it's a different problem; you might have one that was run out of oil and is seized. Also find somebody you can borrow or buy a gun 'borescope' from, then pull the plugs and look in each cylinder; if you don't see a bunch of rust, look for signs of overheating. Take a good whiff of the crankcase; does it smell burned? Pull the cam cover and make sure everything in there is good. Do the same with the oil pan; a broken part jammed between something could be the cause.

If you haven't found the problem yet, then at this point I might try the grease trick. I wouldn't be worried about hydraulicing it (bending a rod or the crank), but you may have to worry about warping the head or even pulling the head studs or plug threads out of the case/head. For this to work, you'll have to pull the cams and make sure the valves are closed.

[ddragon63]

+1 on what Steve is saying. My xs was parked for 7 years in a uninsulated wood shed in sw Washington... It ran when it was parked in there. I changed the oil, pull the plugs, sprayed some seamfoam deep creep in the holes, dropped a little oil on top of that to lube the cylinder. Hooked the jump box to it and it rolled right over. Put plugs in it added some seamfoam to the oil in the case added gas to tank and lit fire to it. Of course ymmv. I knew mine ran previous to storage cuz I rode it in there.