freeing up a stuck 1300 single port vw

As some of you may know I'm currently working on a Kristi snow cat in the build thread forum and I thought I might get a little more traffic over here.

This engine ran well when I bought it back in 2008 but thanks in part to me not turning it over while it sat and also to the strange disappearance of the air filter somewhere along the way, it's currently seized up.

Just wanted to poll the audience on what might work to free up this engine. It's kind of a tight squeeze mounted sideways in the front of a very small fiberglass body so pulling it out isn't as easy as the beetle engine removal competitions you see at the vw shows

I have pulled all 4 plugs and squirted some ATF inside each cylinder the last 2 days but the temps haven't been much above freezing so that can't help. I had a long torque wrench on the crank bolt today and over 250 ft lbs won't budge the rotating assembly, the bolt did tighten a little but I stopped for fear of breaking it off like I usually do when this sort of thing happens

Any thoughts or advice is very much appreciated. Might go grab a can of penitrating oil tonight but I'm about out of ideas beyond pulling and rebuilding, something I would like to avoid on this particular project.

You mean a 1.3 liter bug engine moves that thing?

Wow.

I'm going to get the thing off the trailer and inside the garage tomorrow. Hopefully a few days above freezing will help get things moving again

Stick a bullet heater on it for an hour and try again - is it possible to tow the rig with something else and use the drivetrain to rotate the engine?

In reply to DWNSHFT: Correct. All 40hp needless to say it's got short gears

In reply to Dietcoke: unfortunately no chance of that. The tracks are in pieces so it can't be broken free with a tow.

Is there any evidence of rodents in the vehicle? Powar recently bought a 76 bus with what we thought was a frozen engine. When we finally wrestled it out and separated the trans we found that mice had clogged the bellhousing so solid the engine wouldn't turn. Once cleaned out it turned over just fine.

that thing is awesome!

Try turning it backwards and if you get any movement, then rock it back and forth until completely free.

I'd remove the heads and see which cylinder barrels will pull off the pistons. They may not all be seized.Then undo the rods of the stuck ones if you're fortunate enough to have been able to remove the opposite barrel.If you can get the stuck piston and barrel off the engine it will be easier to work free on the workbench. If two opposing cylinders are seized you're on your own.

Years ago I had a neighbor who restored antique farm tractors. He revived many stuck engines without pulling them apart, some had been stuck for decades.

He would pull the spark plugs and pour Marvel's Mystery Oil or Kroil down the plug holes and let it sit for a few days. Then he would try to turn the crank with the biggest breaker bar I've ever seen. He would try to turn it both ways. If it wouldn't turn he'd give it a few more days to soak up the oil, he might have added more as well.

If it moved at all he would work it back and forth several times, give it more oil and let it sit a few more days, then repeat the process. He said this worked for the majority of engines, even some that had been pulled from swamps.

Ive had more than one VW motor that wouldn't rotate but when I pulled the heads I found nothing or at most a very light rust ridge. Quick clean up and heads back on and they worked fine. Sounds like pulling the heads is a bit more of a challenge for you in that vehicle but I'd pull the motor and do it right.

Marvel Mystery Oil or kerosine and heated building and patience

Man that motor looks too clean on the outside for it to be seized up that bad. Throw some wezeal piss down the cylinders, pull the head covers and spray the carp out of them and get it warmed up and I guarantee that thing will spin over.

Dumping stuff down the heads is a serious pain in a VW due to the boxer engine not allowing it to get all the way around the piston and rings.

I'll do my best to update the questions.

Pulled the starter earlier today. No evidence of rodents although that's a crazy story and I will never forget to check that now.

No movement either direction on the rotating assembly

Pulling the head wouldn't be to bad on one bank, But the firewall side is pretty tight. Probly easier to pull the whole thing

I like the tractor neighbor story. . . Exactly the kind of post I was expecting with this thread. I stopped pulling on the wrench today because I could totally see myself breaking that crank bolt. Probly not an issue with those old tractors but I will go pick up some mystery oil for sure.

A warm place to sit, oil and patience seem to be the recipe here. Thanks everyone for the input. Never wrestled with a stuck engine like this one so I can use all the help I can get

Pull the starter make a 1/2 thick plate with a hole in the center to bolt on in place of the starter then use a pry bar on a tooth using the plate as a fulcrum you get more torque then off the bolt due to better leverage ratio.

There was a liquid that was made just for this and promised a 100% money back guaranty to free up but I've lost the link...and never needed it.

I have lit fires in the cyl with small tinder to boil acetone with ATF to free up frozen motors before. Heat makes growth and thin oil all help the penetration.

I tried the method above yesterday except making the plate. Good idea since I can't afford to shell the bell housing on this one.

I recently had more luck with a freshly charged battery, and just repeatedly bumping the starter than with a breaker bar. Of course I had the cylinders oiled, and the plugs still out.(im not sure how a chevette starter compares to that of a VW) Like you it was on a engine that had run fine, and you wouldnt have figured it would have seized up in such a short amount of time

The interwebz tell me that the 1300 engines are becoming rare. That might indicate taking a more conservative approach rather than the "bigger breaker bar" approach.

Like wearymicrobe said, getting the juice into a flat four is going to be tough. I also agree the weaselpee.

Who says you can't just fill the cylinder with penetrating oil? Leave the plugs out when you try to turn it. Well not all the exhaust valves will be closed so you can't fill all 4 cylinders. What have you got to lose? As long as you don't break anything trying.

agreed.. drain the oil, fill the cylinders.. when it all winds up in the sump, drain and see if it can be turned..

sergio wrote: Who says you can't just fill the cylinder with penetrating oil? Leave the plugs out when you try to turn it. Well not all the exhaust valves will be closed so you can't fill all 4 cylinders. What have you got to lose? As long as you don't break anything trying.

Because they are sideways and the plugs are at the bottom of the head.

The plugs are pretty high in the chamber, I'd think that filling from the plug holes should get enough in there that creep will take care of the rest if you give it some time.

I've said it here before, Rislone is what I use for stuck pistons/rings, or long derelict engines. Grandpa used to pour a few ounces in the cylinders of farm equipment when storing for the winter.

I'm sure MMO, PB Blaster, ATF, or any other of a number of different concoctions would work. Rislone is my go-to, snake oil for just this scenario.