willysmjeeps.com

I just saw this on Powerblock - they said it was a new product and Joe was demonstrating it on a stuck engine. He said all you had to do was remove the spark plugs, spray about an ounce in each clylider, wait 15 minutes and it will turn. I know there are plenty of variables there, but I was wondering if anybody here has tried it on a stuck engine or anything else for that matter? Maybe it's like PB Blaster or something.

Matt

I'd be skeptical. Probably works like any other snake oil. And like you said, many variables at hand. A stuck engine could mean anything. If they had an engine they could break loose in 15 min with that, I bet the same result could of been had with any penetrating oil. Its just WD40 paying them to show it off.

I thought it was probably about the same thing as Kroil oil or anything of that nature. I haven't checked my parts jeep engine since I bought it - maybe I'll have something to try it out on one day.

Matt

Keep in mind that stuck engines are not only stuck by pistons in the bores. Valves in stuck in the guides will also stop you from rotating the crank. One should never assume one or the other is sticking the engine. One should always just pull the head and the valve side cover and determine what is really stuck.

Yeah, the pistons were free on one of my engines, but I had an exhaust valve stuck on it. The other one was just the opposite - 1 piston stuck. I might just buy some of it to see if it works as good as PB Blaster - I'll look for it when I go to pick up my wheel hub seals tomorrow.

I use to work on small generators in the Army and had to mess with seized engines on 4.2Kw gen sets, the operators would run them out of oil frequently. I would first try draining all oil, pull plugs and then fill the entire engine up with diesel fuel and let it sit at least 24 hours. Diesel would usually work. I'm skeptical about just spraying any kind of oil/lube on top of the pistons and it working after only 15 minutes.

Since they did not assign a value or a way to compute a value for just how stuck the engine was they can do the test on several engines and advertise the results on the one that freed up the earliest.

These are "Witches Brew" claims and should be taken with a grain of salt.

I have been mechinicking since 1962 and Diesel has always been the first choice for soaking stuck pistons with kerosene, Ford Type A ATF and good ole Marvel as the alternates.

Stuck pistons usually mean stuck rings as well. That is rings stuck in the piston ring grooves. The result of freeing a piston from the cylinder wall but not freeing the rings is a big time oil burner or damaged piston ring lands.
Bottom line is breaking it loose is fine so long as you intend to followup with a teardown to visually inspect the rest of the moving parts for damage before taking the jeep on a trip.

The worst stuck-engine I have come across had rusted main and rod bearings. Soaking the pistons and dragging it around the block popping the clutch did nothing.
An L-head in the parts bin has been soaking since september with ATF in the bores. I'll give a report in the spring when I uncover it.