Engines

[Terry Pearce]

Hi Guys, I have a couple of DC deisels that have been in the loft for years and have seized. I have soaked them overnight in deisel fuel,petrol, and immersed them in boiling water, all to no avail.Has anyone any advice to free them. Terry Pearce.

[Allan Jordan]

Hi> Terry, I've had experience with this kind of problem in the past. I've found that
soaking the engine in 50/50 mix of automatic transmission fluid and paraffin works rather well. "DIRE WARNING" DO NOT BE IN ANY HURRY TO TAKE THE ENGINE APART. I soaked my last seized engine for several weeks before I stripped it down. I guess the engines that you have are the type that
have the cylinder barrel screwed into the
crankcase, if you attempt to unscrew the barrel with a seized or very tight piston you stand a very good chance of twisting and
breaking the con-rod. Would you like to
guess how I know this!!! Regards Allan J.

[Terry Pearce]

Thanks for that Allan, about how long to leave soaking in your 50/50 mixture.
Terry.

[Danny Fenton]

I am no expert on this however, I had an OS 40 2 stroke that had not run for 25 years. It was coked up solid. I tried all sorts of soaking methods, but nothing worked. This may sound drastic but I applied a fair bit of heat from an electric paint stripper, I applead it from a distance so that the engines temeperature was raised evenly. Just as light wisps of blue smoke appeared from the head/crankcase, (25 year old castor getting hot) the engine freed up with no effort at all. This obviosly could only be done if you drained and dried the engine. I would hate to think what would happen if you still had any flammable fluid in the engine from soaking!! Once the engine cooled, I dribbled straight fuel in the carb to free it up completely. You may be lucky and the bearings survive, mine have been fine.

[Terry Pearce]

Thanks Danny, All this info helps. Terry.

[Alistair Taylor]

Terry

Maplins switch cleaner is brilliant at freeing up gummed castor.

Once you've freed things up a bit, Fairy Power spray degunks everything in short order. I've used it with stunning results on a car cylinder head, as well as several gummed model engines.

Just don't leave it on too long as it will eventually eat aluminium :o)

Alistair T

[Terry Pearce]

Thanks, Alistair, TP

[Malcolm Fisher]

I always used to use diesels until fairly recently.

I found that any which had "siezed" in storage usually freed up simply by putting new fuel into the intake and exhaust ports and leaving for a while. The fuel can be very "searching".

I use the same treatment for glow engines but use diesel fuel as the "penetrating" medium and have even had them fire when fliupping over after they have freed up.

The heating method also works as does, perhaps surprisingly, injecting cellulose thinner into intake and exhaust, but this needs to be followed up fairly quickly with oil or fresh fuel.

Some folks also reckon soaking in a bath of neat antifreeze - ethylene glycol - and heating carefully cleans engines inside and out but be warned the abtifreeze attacks rubber O ring seals.

[Myron Beaumont]

Hot Redex ??

[Malcolm Fisher]

I don't know about Redex, and only have other people's reports about the antifreeze gleaned from news groups.

In the USA, some folks use a slow cooker to do this, but point out that the cooker will no longer be suitable for its original purpose. Others use a ceramic or glass cooking pot and "cook" the engine overnight at low temperature. Again the pot is not put back into service for food use.

The reports say that the engines so treated come out "as new".

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

There was a note on cleaning engines in Jenny Landels' "Engine Ear" column in RCM&E recently & she recommended boiling the engine in antifreeze (usual caveats about being careful, don't leave unattended, at your own risk, etc etc). Might free off your diesels Terry

[Terry Pearce]

Hi Guys, I would like to thank, Allan Jordan, Danny Fenton, Alistair Taylor, Malcolm Fisher, Myron Beaumont, and Steve Hargreaves, for their advice on my motors. Well after three weeks plus soaking in Allan Jordans 50/50 solution they were still not freed, I then boiled them for ten minutes in 50/50 anti-freeze/water mixture and they came unstuck. Although I have yet to run them I think they will be OK, they feel good. Happy Flying Guys.

Terry Pearce.

[Danny Fenton]

Hi Terry,
I have had trouble with my shiny new J'EN 57 so today flew my WOT4 with a thirty year old OS 40SR freed up with the heat gun, it ran like a top! it would not run for more than a few seconds on a nice new OS8 plug so stuck the 30 year old plug back in! it then ran a treat, now if I can only identify the thirty year old plug so I can get some more.
I have heard that boiling engines in antifreeze cleans them up like new, I have resorted to oven cleaner, how did yours clean up Terry?

[sgt.barnes]

I have restored several old engines to new condition. An old engine hack told me about boiling them in just biological washing powder and boy does it work well, plus no nasty fumes or chemicals are given off. Plus a bonus is you can just wash the pan out and carry on boiling your spuds in it afterwards (dont tell the wife though)

[Mike Rolls]

Don't inhale the fumes from biological wahing powder boiled in a pan - they can damage your nasal passages.

Mike

[Terry Pearce]

Hi Danny, Hi sgt.barnes,The mixture did not clean the motors, I suspect longer immersion is required. I have run them both and they are running sweetly. anybody know where I can get 6&8 BA nuts and bolts, I have been out of the hobby many years and when you ask for them in a model shop they look at you like you are from another planet.
Terry Pearce.

[Danny Fenton]

Terry I know exactly what you mean, I too am from Mars. Somebody has changed everything to metric when we weren't looking! You could try these guys?
http://www.modellersmate.co.uk/nuts_&_bolts.htm
If you mean things like engine bolts, I am using 3mm and 4mm hex heads with nylocs, not the same as good old BA, but things change, I still remember newspaper around fish and chips LOL the fish didn't stick to the paper but the ink was toxic and you could read the headlines on your fish :)

[Allan Jordan]

Hi. Terry, Sorry my patent brew didn't solve your problem. Still, with the A/freeze mixture your engine will be OK in very cold weather> Regards Allan J..TTFN

[Terry Pearce]

Hi Allan, not to sure about that could well have been a contributory factor. Danny, fish and chips from newspaper, nothing quite like it. Mars is a good planet, all sensible people come from there, my wife and some of her friends comes from Venus!!!
Terry Pearce

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

BA Screws!!!!!!!! That takes me back.....!!
Personally I've switched to metric but you can still get BA....a local engineering supplies shop might help or you could try http://www.modelfixings.co.uk/ They do a limited range of BA but loads of metric plus lots of other interesting stuff too....

Thank God for t'internet...how did we all cope without it!!!

Just another thought....some of our club members (mainly the heli guys who like their Zimmerman pipes to look shiny) use Fairy Power Spray to remove burnt on exhaust goo....seems to work well...of course those of us that use a gasket between silencer & manifold don't get leaks but thats another story!!!!

[Terry Pearce]

Thanks Steve, will look into it.

[Myron Beaumont]

Brings back memories when threads were threads Eh Myron !

[Terry Pearce]

It's begining to sound like we are all of similar age, those youngsters sure have missed a lot!!

[Terry Pearce]

Just changing the subject some, do all you guys go to Old Warden in May, it's all new to me but this mass launch thing sounds a whole load of fun, put your helmets on!!