[AT] JD B resurrection contemplation

[Spencer Yost]

Not to be a wet blanket on all of this stuck piston fun, but I would say a solid three out of five pistons I get out of a bore are unusable for one reason or another. Either the bore is in such bad shape the engine has to be rebored and fitted with new pistons, or the piston ring grooves are in horrible shape, etc.  Turning the engine upside down on the stand and cracking the off the top of the pistons is something I tend to do more of these days:  Takes five minutes and the pistons then come right out :-)  I do realize some replacement pistons are very expensive, and that determines how hard I try before taking the easy way out.

I did unstick the engine in the Massey Harris mustang one time with a concoction of diesel and ATF.  Took about a month with nearly daily woodblock pounding(crankshaft had been removed).  I must admit it cleaned up nicely and ran great afterwards.  That engine was the exception. Many of the old list members remember my restoration of the Pacer. I tried everything for months to get those pistons out and I never could.


Spencer Yost