S416-8 398 #1 Posted Sunday at 01:52 AM I picked up a complete tractor only to find that the engine is seized. Now I have never had to work on one of these and looking for ideas. I did pull the heads, sprayed the pistons with SeaFoam penetrating oil, put the heads back on and letting it sit.. any oth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
702854boy 793 #2 Posted Sunday at 03:20 AM Try pouring some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peter lena 9,893 #3 Posted Sunday at 12:04 PM @ S-416-8 KROIL IS KING for breaking down rust , pricy , get a small pourable bottle , like to put that on a working unit , so the vibration and related use , draws it in , often leaves a rust stain , thats your que to penetration , also use , rislone , zinc oil additive , for related ring varnish , like a 10-30 valvoline , for added cleaning , effects , none of my engines smoke , engine heat and varnish break down is what you want , do not scream the hell out of it , wake it up easily , also run this in on a seperate , gallon / more of heavily treated fresh fuel , drop / clean out carb fuel bowl , recovered a number of engines , pete 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gasaholic 382 #4 Posted Sunday at 12:21 PM 10 hours ago, S416-8 said: I picked up a complete tractor only to find that the engine is seized. Now I have never had to work on one of these and looking for ideas. I did pull the heads, sprayed the pistons with SeaFoam penetrating oil, put the heads back on and letting it sit.. any oth OK umm big question - ho do you know the engine is seized? Did you pull the motor and pop the blower shroud off the front and check for mouse nests or jammed starter or some debris fell down and jammed flywheel up against shroud? I've seen many such issues with engines mounted like that that came in deemed "junk for parts" that the person simply did not or could not be bothered to spend the time and effort to pull the engine and actually look ..... 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 12,167 #5 Posted Sunday at 02:56 PM "One man's trash is....." sometimes another man's trash! Until it becomes a WH treasure... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 66,244 #6 Posted Sunday at 11:26 PM Have you attempted to rotate the engine backwards? Could be one of the magnets from the flywheel came loose and is jammed against the stator. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S416-8 398 #7 Posted 15 hours ago that I haven't done but will thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S416-8 398 #8 Posted 15 hours ago On 5/31/2026 at 10:56 AM, ri702bill said: "One man's trash is....." sometimes another man's trash! Until it becomes a WH treasure... well I ended up having to buy the D180 and a d160 and a snowblower just to get the 180.. 160 cranks has good compression and is a workable project,, the 180 well not clue yet.. not sure what to do with one of them,, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peter lena 9,893 #9 Posted 3 hours ago @Gasaholic found more often than not that VARNISH IS WHAT LOCKS UP AN ENGINE ? its a reheatable liquor , while still in its pre hardening stage , the hardening is what locks up / glues itself . would also , try a short 6 pt socket and long 1, 1/2" pipe on to a breaker bar , for a solid leverage advantage , personally think KROIL is the ultimate rust buster , $ but more than worth it , another thing about engine varnish , for years now been using adding rislone ZINC , to every oil change , specs on bottle , every oil change , none of my engines smoke , and run with total ease , would also use a 10-30 valvoline oil for enhanced , cleaning / flushing , wake up an engine slowly , SEPERATE GALLON of heavily treated fresh fuel , eliminate existing , hoses on tractor , thats another issue . brought back frozen engines , more that worth a try . zinc breaks down varnish , my oil changes are like coal oil , pete Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 66,244 #10 Posted 3 hours ago I have shared this before. I worked in a service station when I was in high school. We had a customer that was his own worst enemy; he was told by a relative that his engine was "varnished up" and that was the reason the lifters were clattering. Rather than coming to us to talk about it he went to the paint store and got a quart of Varnish Remover, do you have any idea how bad an engine smells after running it with that in the crank case! When we pulled the oil pan there was stringy stuff hanging from the oil pump pick-up and globs of gunk everywhere. I wish I had a picture to share with you. After we replaced the engine with a good used one we made him pledge that he would come ask us prior to doing dumb things like that again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites