How to remove Rust frozen pistons in gen3 hemi

[Jayson]

I finally find and horse traded for a gen3 hemi. Well use glock 23 for 5.7 hemi.

Gt get it home and started tearing it apart and found first hurdle. The head gasket blew on both sides and filled each cylinder with water. And it sat for a while. Now all the pistons or rusted along with the bore. What's the best method. Try some penetrate oil for a few days and nothing so far.

I plan to reuse at much parts as I can so I don't want to break piston or rods or crank. Low mileage engine just a rust issue. But I might end up having to bore it so that will make me have to buy new pistons. But maybe not.

I was thinking about trying to old gas and ATF and light of fire trick. Anyone had luck with this method or have a better method

 

[snakeoil24]

Diesel Fuel, mixed with Transmission Fluid. Alternate way is brake Fluid mixed with Marvel or penetrating Oil has worked, but need to soak a good while. Sounds like other damage from the sounds of it.

 

[Roadbird]

Try putting diesel into all the spark plug holes and let sit for a day and try to turn the crank from the front where the pulley is at with a deep right size socket and nut breaker with a cheater bar or pipe. You might need 2 people to do this and make sure the whole engine doesn't turn.

 

[5.7 hemi]

You mightfindthat an overbore will be needed, so do whatcha gotta do to get hem out.

 

[62dodge]

coca cola original let sit over night then they should come out

 

[Jayson]

Finally a purpose for coke cola. I don't drink sodas anymore but won't to try these cause I have seen some amusing stuff done with coke.

whats the deal with brake fluid never heard of using it before. What does it do or what.

I have a few cylinder with diesel that I had on hand but forgot to add ATF to it.

 

[satman72]

I finally find and horse traded for a gen3 hemi. Well use glock 23 for 5.7 hemi.

Gt get it home and started tearing it apart and found first hurdle. The head gasket blew on both sides and filled each cylinder with water. And it sat for a while. Now all the pistons or rusted along with the bore. What's the best method. Try some penetrate oil for a few days and nothing so far.

I plan to reuse at much parts as I can so I don't want to break piston or rods or crank. Low mileage engine just a rust issue. But I might end up having to bore it so that will make me have to buy new pistons. But maybe not.

I was thinking about trying to old gas and ATF and light of fire trick. Anyone had luck with this method or have a better method

Plain & simple. Forget about saving the pistons. There is nothing you can do to save them. The cylinder bores... perhaps you may be able to just hone them, but I wouldn't bet on it. I'm guessing at least you're looking at a rebore of the cylinders, new pistons & new rings. Depending on the rust, you
may also be into a new crank & bearings on the bottom end. Head gasket blew... maybe head issues as well.

 

[kb67mopar]

Plain & simple. Forget about saving the pistons. There is nothing you can do to save them. The cylinder bores... perhaps you may be able to just hone them, but I wouldn't bet on it. I'm guessing at least you're looking at a rebore of the cylinders, new pistons & new rings. Depending on the rust, you
may also be into a new crank & bearings on the bottom end. Head gasket blew... maybe head issues as well.

He will be right. I picked up a 360 like this a while back and I ended up unbolting them from the crank one at a time and using a block of wood and a BFH to get them out...was not gentle either. Didn't do any extra damage but made me question whether I would re-use the pistons or rods after hitting them that hard. But if you are doing a full build on an engine like that you should expect to re-bore and put in new pistons anyway. If you want more than stock power I'd upgrade the rods too since those are one of the weaker parts of the G3. (not that they are weak).

 

[BumperMan]

My 440 was stuck I mixed Marvel Mystery oil and PB blaster together put some in each spark plug hole and let it sit week later it was free'ed up

 

[barnfind]

Diesel and brake fluid work great

 

[Jayson]

My dad came up with his idea. From years of working in the oil field of Texas and New Mexico and he told me to use WATER. So after sitting around thinking and reading post after post and searching the web. I came to the conclusion that since I had 8 cylinders that I would try to craziest ideas first. I was going in to this thinking that I'm goin to bore and have to buy new pistons. So I figure what the hell So I tried in each cylinde. Coke, water, diesel, kroil, ATF, brake fluid, oil fire mixtureThe one thing to note is my dad told me on the water make sure there is no oil in that cylinder at all.FRIST I filled each cylinder with one of the items and let them set for a hour. Then just started tipping them with a block of wood and a lite hammer. The first cylinder to move was the one with water it move about 3/4 of a inch and stop added more water and let it setThe next cylinder to move was the oil/ gas fire mixture. It burned for awhile and made a hell of a mess but it move the most. After that I just keep tappin each cylinder and they all started to move a little. Which was good case I was starting to have trouble removing the rod caps. But I was shock how well the water worked is was the easiest by far and the clean was, well there wasn't any. After I got all the pistons out I hose down each cylinder with kroil oil and let it set for a couple if days and just kept spraying each cylinder with kroil. Wow I have use kroil to remove leading and copper fouling from firearms for a few years now. It works great on firearms it's not a fast penatrationing oil but it does work. I have remove chuncks of lead and copper from barrels by applying and let it set and reapply and set after a few days push a patch through to bore and it works every well. So like I said I did the same thing on the cylinder but each day I wipe out the cylinder with a green scotch pad soak with kroil. It has damn near remove all the rust and burnt carbon from the cylinders pretty easy other than it took almost a week. So now I just need to find a way to soak the pistons the get them cleaned up. They seem to be reuse able and the bore maybe just a good honing and might be good. But I'm still takin it to the machine shop to get vat and magnafuax for cracks and have them check the bores too. I wish I would have thought of pictures but it was too late when I did think of it.

 

[wannadrag]

Acetone and ATF mixed or another alternative is a BFH

 

[67 coronet]

just a word of note,if this thing overheated you could have a seized cam.(seems to be a fairly common prob)we just had one here in the shop.pull your timming and make sure the cam comes out before even bothering with the pistons.