Trojan Boat Forum

Try taping on the pistons use a block of wood and a hammer . And get one of your 454s ready

Did a little of this tonight. Was able to jiggle a couple, which was promising. The first two cylinders at the front of the engine, 1 and 5, sounded very solid though. They may be my problem.

Don't give up on those engines yet!
Looks like you have a project ahead of you (bless your soul) LOL, and you have lots of time for PB and oil and transmission fluid and any other method to get them loose, don't rush it

Seeing those pictures took me back some....I can still smell the rotten wood!

The mast is very interesting, does it pass through the deck into the V berth to the keel or hull?

Thanks for the update and pictures

prowlersfish wrote:Try taping on the pistons use a block of wood and a hammer . And get one of your 454s ready

+1

Also try soaking with a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks of soaking before they will let loose. Patience is your friend...

Barrie wrote:The mast is very interesting, does it pass through the deck into the V berth to the keel or hull?

Only if the sailboat beside me topples over. Then probably straight through the hull. Thanks for the motivation. When I was posting pictures, my wife looked over my shoulder and said wow, she really looked good. I'll be glad to get her to better than before we started.

WayWeGo wrote:Also try soaking with a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks of soaking before they will let loose. Patience is your friend...

I read about that mixture online when I was researching Kroil. Only downfall I saw was if you ever wanted to use a torch where the Acetone had been.

I've got time to wait, but I'm trying not to jump between too many projects without completing at least one of them. If I can't get the engine to free up soon, I might have to go to plan B, rip it out and go 454.

oil&water wrote:

Barrie wrote:The mast is very interesting, does it pass through the deck into the V berth to the keel or hull?

Only if the sailboat beside me topples over. Then probably straight through the hull. Thanks for the motivation. When I was posting pictures, my wife looked over my shoulder and said wow, she really looked good. I'll be glad to get her to better than before we started.

LMAO
That's funny..
I don't know why I thought you said it had a mast... and there's one in the picture

The project I'm working on is pretty big as well and I will admit to taking a couple short cuts, planing to redo in the future (I really want to use the boat sooner rather than later).
My front deck had a some soft spots, so I drilled about 100 3/4" holes and pored in thinned resin.
They'er hard now but it's going to be a big project when I do cut the top of the deck off to replace the coring

AeroKroil works wonders! I put the breaker bar and a four foot pipe on there this morning and was rocking it a little. After a few rocks, it moved a little. I liberally applied PB Blaster and rocked some more. It moved again. More PB Blaster. Rocked some more and voila, ROTATION. I went a quarter of a revolution and lubed, another quarter and lubed some more. Finally I spun it with a ratchet several times and lubed it some more. Then I checked all the cylinder walls for visible cracks. So far, things are looking up. My brother will check the walls for me this afternoon to see what the next steps are. Hoping that I won't have to disassemble further!

Barrie, I had seen the post on yours before we decided to do this one and thought to myself, wow has he got a project! Little did I know...

Good Deal ! Got a feeling it it was from sitting . If it was from salt water and it sat for along time ,Imost likely never have broken lose . Having unstuck a few engines my self Most will do ok , If the cylinders are pitted it may use a little oil . But that's not a big deal .

prowlersfish wrote:Good Deal ! Got a feeling it it was from sitting . If it was from salt water and it sat for along time ,Imost likely never have broken lose . Having unstuck a few engines my self Most will do ok , If the cylinders are pitted it may use a little oil . But that's not a big deal .

Thanks Prowler. Getting ready to head back down and work some more. Lunch will always motivate the weary.

best way to free up stuck pistons is to pour Coca Cola in the cylinder. Will not take long at all for it to free the piston up.
Sounds crazy but it really works.

I think this photo sums up what challenges I face with this project! When you don't have a clue, just grab a couple of fittings and a garden hose at the local hardware store!

Nothing solves an electrical problem like cheap tape and butt splice connectors.

I recognize all of that stuff! Shower sump pump on the right, water pressure pump on the left. Even the floor with oval cutout and water heater plumbing are familiar.

Most of my plumbing was a bit neater, but I had wire nuts on the shower pump myself.

Can't wait to see your improvements!

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Looks like the weather will hold. Oh the list of items to accomplish! Seal the forward hatches, pressure wash the whole hull. Yes, oh yes, a clean boat. I feel like I am visiting a crack house the way she looks now.

WayWeGo wrote:I recognize all of that stuff! Shower sump pump on the right, water pressure pump on the left. Even the floor with oval cutout and water heater plumbing are familiar.

Most of my plumbing was a bit neater, but I had wire nuts on the shower pump myself.

Can't wait to see your improvements!

Thanks Way! Both the wife and I feel like things are finally moving forward.

Oh! that picture hurt, that's bad, but just like mine when I got it.
Glad you got the engine freed up, that will be a load off.

Good luck

Looking at that pic.... OOMPH... I think I am gonna throw up!