Frozen Block

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Figure out which piston(s) are stuck and spray hell out of it with ....whatever.....I like Sea Foam Deep Creep.....let it sit a while. Then find a piece of 1/4" plate small enough to fit on top of the pistons and put it on top if the pistons one at a time and blast on it with an air chisel. That will give it some serious vibratory action and work the penetrating oil into all the crevasses.
 
Figure out which piston(s) are stuck and spray hell out of it with ....whatever.....I like Sea Foam Deep Creep.....let it sit a while. Then find a piece of 1/4" plate small enough to fit on top of the pistons and put it on top if the pistons one at a time and blast on it with an air chisel. That will give it some serious vibratory action and work the penetrating oil into all the crevasses.

Just ordered some flat style air hammer bits. Will let it soak for a couple days longer and then hit it with the air hammer once they come in. Should make quick work of it then.
 
Dead serious, heat the pistons up near the ring lands with an oxyacetylene torch and then hit with penetrating oil. Thermal expansion is hard to beat for breaking things apart.
Just don't use the cutting head and keep the flame in motion

Think about what turns mountains into sand.
 
Acetone + ATF is a great penetrating agent, but has the disadvantage that it separates rapidly (in seconds) when sitting. I can't see how that would be effective in a soaking - unless you apply a shaken, not stirred, squirt many times.
 
Gotta ask, what is a 230 block?
I dont see any sign of rust in those bores. I bet it spun a bearing on a rod and seized up. Have you unbolted all the rod caps you can get at?
230 is the last three digits of the casting # of the (supposed) most desirable 400 block, to build a stroker with. Has the most metal in the bottom end.
 
I agree with 512 stroker . suggestion : I took some body parts to a chemical stripper . while there I asked him if he could unstick a rusted block . His response was "Heck yeah , do it every day ". Please , please stop beating on the block .
 
Acetone will penetrate the smallest of openings, then the super slick ATF does it's job riding on the acetone. I've used PB blaster and all the solvents out there, but my 50/50 "Nut Buster" was what worked to get my 50+ year old exhaust system apart without breaking one stud or bolt. YMMV.
 
Yes, that is why I mentioned acetone+ATF as a great penetrating oil. But it separates into both components within seconds, so frequent reapplications of freshly shaken mixture are optimal. Otherwise you might just as well soak the part in ATF...
 
Feed-grade molassas and water, soak it, it will come loose.
A complete dip in a barrel is the best way, plus feed-grade molassas is cheap.
 
I had a piston locked in so bad after a week of soaking, heating the sleeve through the coolant passage but I still had to beat it out, absolutely destroyed the rod.
Because it ate 3 large brass drifts & had to settle with a solid steel rod & a 3 lb sledge hammer. If I did it again I'd try a large breaker bar and see if I could rotate the rod & piston back and forth. But I guess that depends on where your piston is stuck in the bore
 
PB Blaster is my go-to, but it sure is obnoxious smelling... Lots of good suggestions posted. Good luck on getting that piston out.


Put a nail in a cup of Coca-Cola for a few days and see what happens. I’d pass...

I think he meant that junkyard employees use lines of coke...at least the ones around here do
 
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I was able to finally get the block apart and to the machine shop. Fingers crossed. Turned out that the pins were all froze. Real pain in the arse. I'd definitely like to setup a "dunk tank" in a steel drum next time and just let it soak. Made a total mess of my shop floor, tools, etc with spraying PB Blaster everywhere.
 
I get free 55 gallon drums from the local fast food restaurants, complete with vegetable oil. Dunk the block in it for 2 or 3 weeks, then disassemble it. I recycle the oil, and make BBQ's/Smokers from the drums. Win/win. Don't make grills or smokers with any drums that had any petroleum products in them, please.
 
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