56 short hood

[gmcdeadhead]

im in the process of tearing my 56 short hood down to restore , and i wanted to start gathering parts , gonna be a while before it gets done , because its farming season now and that takes priority , does any one no the gauge size of the wires that is used for the selector switch and other electrical parts, the length doesn't matter because i'll just buy it in a roll and make my own ends , thanks

[BYW200]

I would just measure the size (gauge) of the old wires from each location that are coming from the generator going to the tap control, so that they will carry the proper amperage. The rest of the smaller wires are 12 gauge.

[gmcdeadhead]

yes , thank you i will , just thought with all the guys rebuilding and restoring sa 200's they would no off the top of there head , thanks

[gmcdeadhead]

i had some time yesterday to rip into the 56, tore it all apart , heres some pictures of it

[gmcdeadhead]

[BYW200]

Inside the engine looks pretty clean. The rest of the machine is in good shape. Doesn't look like anyone has been into it .

[gmcdeadhead]

either no one has been into it since 1956 or it was redone at one time, but i dont think so, the only problem im having now is trying to free up the one stuck piston, ive put all kinds of liquids down that cylinder to try to free it up , but nothing is moving that piston, i guess ill just take it to the machine shop and let them get it unstuck, other than that , every other item on the welder looks to be pretty good

[charlie53843]

make mixture diesel fuel, acetone and automatic transmission fluid,, she move after soaken !! looks very clean like BYW 200 said me would rehome sleeve put it back together if nothing is wrong with stuck piston

[gmcdeadhead]

i tried every liquid combination known to man , even bought some expensive kroil, i even smacked on the piston to shock it loose, nothing, l'll try a few more things when i have some time ,

[BYW200]

What does the top of the stuck piston look like? Are you trying to turn the crank or knock that particular piston out the top of the block? If turning the crank is hard, it could be something has jammed it somewhere inside the engine or maybe something has got caught on the generator side or flywheel.

[gmcdeadhead]

the engine is on an engine stand , no flywhell, nothing inside of motor is jamming it , the older gentleman i bought it from said he bought it off his neighbors kids who left it out with out a cover over the exhaust pipe and water got in and locked the piston up , i tried with a wrench on the front bolt , and tried hammering the piston down , no luck heres some pictures

[milomilo]

Take the connecting rod caps off and see if the engine turns. If so get a chunk of 3/4" plate and every day add a pump or so on the potrtapower till it breaks loose.

[gmcdeadhead]

i will do that next time i get some freed up time to work on it, maybe this weekend, , i'll definitely post on the progress

[Woznme]

You got the head studs there. Rig up a bar or plate drilled for the studs, put a packer plate between the bar and piston and wind the nuts down. That'll shift it. Hammering will just damage the piston.

[gmcdeadhead]

maybe i'll try that this weekend if i have some free time, thanks

[WLDNWALT]

I have a 56 short hood and it has been a great machine. I did have to replace the shunt coils which was a lot of work and I replaced the exciter coils also.
I had a salesman from Lincoln Electric tell me that Lincoln messed up building those machines because they do not break!
They are not engineered to fail after so many years.

[gmcdeadhead]

thanks for the info, post a couple of pics of your 56, i still did not get a chance to work any more on it , to many other things to do first ,

[kolot]

remove the cap on the connecting rod bearing and carefully rotate the crank away from the connecting rod. might be a good idea to put some rubber fuel line on the threads of the connecting rod bolts to protect them and the crank journal. Take a wood 4x4 and shave off the corners till it will fit in 1 of the bores, then use a mallet and the 4x4 to tap the piston down to get it moving. A little torch heat on the cylinder won't hurt either. Just make sure everything else is not stuck, many years ago I snapped a camshaft getting on a crank with a pipe wrench and bar thinking a piston was stuck, it was the valve train that was hanging up. lesson learned.

[duaneb55]

I'd pull the crank out completely and that way it's totally out of the picture. I've had to press stuck pistons out with my 20T press and the one I have in mind was a bust as it would require sleeves and being outfitted with intake valve seats which these Continentals weren't originally equipped with. Too expensive for what the block is worth.

[gmcdeadhead]

im gonna try to get to it this weekend, have other things that have to come first, but thats what im going to do is take the crank out completely , and then work on getting the piston or pistons out , might be two that are stuck, we'll see, i'll keep you updated , thanks

[gmcdeadhead]

ok , i got the crank out and three pistons, i put a block of wood on the piston with the angle iron tightened down, it doesnt seem to budge at all , im not gonna force anything. im gonna leave it like this until i can go to the machine shop and see what they can do , that might be a week , when i looked at the bearings on the crank and connecting rods . they were all from the factory, not even scratched up, i bet this motor has barley 300 hours on it , to bad some dumb kids left this machine out in the rain

[12V71]

Try putting a 100 watt light bulb in the adjacent cylinder and leaving it while you wait. Did that once on an old IH tractor engine, the heat broke it loose after 4 days of constant pressure.

[46JDD77]

I read once where a welder mechanic would put shop towels soaked with diesel in the cylinder a lite it and let it burn. Says it does wonders for a stuck cylinder. The best penetrating fluid I’ve found 50/50 kerosene or diesel, and automatic transmission fluid. I broke a seized SA200 engine free with it last week. Good luck.

[gmcdeadhead]

i tried all the combinations of fluids known to man to get it unstuck, ive had the pressure with the angle iron on it for a week now , tightening it down some more every other day, its bending the iron, i wonder if i apply some heat to the block with a torch , maybe i'll try that later .

[duaneb55]

Have you tried smackin' it with a big hammer with the pressure still on it?