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1985 Peterbilt 359 engine stuck

bam1968

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A neighbor has a 1985 Pete 359 that has been sitting for a number of years. It has a 3406A cat engine. About a year ago I asked him if he was interested in selling it and he said he wasn't ready to sell it at that time. Well he passed away about 6 months ago and his daughter is wanting it gone. I told her I would be interested if the motor was free. Today I went over there and put a breaker bar with about a 2 ft cheater on it and it didn't budge. I don't think it has been started in @ 12-15 years. It has been sitting outside but the exhaust has been covered. My question is what would be the best way to try to get it free without spending a bunch of time or $$ to get it done?? Hell, maybe its not even worth messing with but its a pretty straight old truck for the most part. If I could get the engine broke loose I think it would be worth getting back up and running down the road.
 

RZucker

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A neighbor has a 1985 Pete 359 that has been sitting for a number of years. It has a 3406A cat engine. About a year ago I asked him if he was interested in selling it and he said he wasn't ready to sell it at that time. Well he passed away about 6 months ago and his daughter is wanting it gone. I told her I would be interested if the motor was free. Today I went over there and put a breaker bar with about a 2 ft cheater on it and it didn't budge. I don't think it has been started in @ 12-15 years. It has been sitting outside but the exhaust has been covered. My question is what would be the best way to try to get it free without spending a bunch of time or $$ to get it done?? Hell, maybe its not even worth messing with but its a pretty straight old truck for the most part. If I could get the engine broke loose I think it would be worth getting back up and running down the road.
Borrow or buy a Cat turning tool that goes into the flywheel housing and engages the starter ring gear. That can apply a huge amount of torque to the crank. Much more than trying to strip out banancer bolts.
 

bam1968

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Thanks RZ I will check into that. I have never heard of such a thing but I know a couple of mechanics that might be able to help me aquire one.
 

crane operator

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51%2BAEUkfAuL._SL1005_.jpg


https://www.amazon.com/Engine-Barring-Socket-Caterpillar-3200/dp/B01BVWYFTW

$82, to your door. It might be worth it to pull injectors and put some atf/ diesel on top of the pistons and let it soak?
 

Delmer

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Pull the valve cover and see which cylinder's are open, most likely those are the ones that are stuck.

A portapower with a rigged up line to the injector will spray right into the cylinder. If you can close the valves on a pair on the downstroke, a porta power will break it loose. Or tractor hydraulics like Randy said, you need to remove the injectors that way.
 

Junkyard

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X2 on the turning tool. If you were closer I'd bring you mine. If you have a way to pull it and the tires are up I've had success pulling one in gear to free it up. Brakes released of course.
 

RZucker

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Myself, I would use the turning tool to gently work it back and forth, probably will free up right away. Saw a Cummins that somebody tried to drag start that had most of the ring lands broken off the pistons.
 

92U 3406

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Stupid question but the truck was in neutral right? If it won't turn over with the barring tool, try turning it over with someone holding down the clutch pedal, just to make sure its not the transmission that's piled up.
 

Truck Shop

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Before you do any of that I would pull the drain plug for a second and make sure nothing but oil comes of that pan.

Truck Shop
 

crane operator

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A portapower with a rigged up line to the injector will spray right into the cylinder. If you can close the valves on a pair on the downstroke, a porta power will break it loose. Or tractor hydraulics like Randy said, you need to remove the injectors that way.

I've never tried this, and I'm just going to ask, because I don't know.

How are you going to close the valves, if you can't turn the engine? Are you going to pull the camshaft? And wouldn't you just be more likely to push the oil past a valve, than actually push on the piston? Most likely the valves if its been sitting that long aren't going to seal up real well, would they? I'm talking if its really stuck hard.

The only real experience I have with stuck pistons is in helping a guy who restored old john deere 2 cylinder tractors. He'd buy old tractors out of the weeds, some from mexico/ texas. They were usually stuck, and would pull the heads, and let them soak for a day or two, then get after them with a wood block and a sledgehammer.

They would come loose, and usually a little time with a hone and you could put the head back on and they would run. But some of those pistons were like gallon milk jugs. (730-830 etc).

Truck shop makes a good recommendation, I kind of assumed that he would pull the plug and see if its green looking, but I guess you can't assume too much. A check of the antifreeze wouldn't hurt either, and I wouldn't try to start it with any of the old diesel either. If you're just playing around, a 5 gallon bucket with fresh fuel would be the way I would go.
 

Delmer

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I'm a hack hobbyist, and I've never actually tried a porta power as described. To close the valves on any most engines, push the valve open, slide the rocker and/or pushrod sideways, and remove the pushrod. If that cylinder was open and got wet enough to stick, then the valve might not close on it's own, and might not seal even if it does close. You can tap the valve down with a small hammer with some penetrating oil around the stem, and they will usually pop back up eventually.

To try to force an engine down, you want to find the pair of pistons that are closest to midway down the stroke, they have the most torque on the crank at that point. Even adding air will give you a fair bit of torque while you pry on the flywheel with a prybar through the starter hole, or a barring tool if your engine has that option, as long as you know which way the engine is turning. You can figure it out from the valves, but it's easy to be wrong too.

If it moves even a little bit with hydraulics or a tool then going back and forth easy is the way to go, like a 1/2 breaker bar on the front of the crankshaft, and don't turn it so hard that it sticks and you have to break it loose again to go the other way. If it doesn't eventually go around then you know there's mouse nests or enough rust in there that you don't want to force it over.
 

bam1968

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Thanks for the advice. I made an offer on it this morning. She said she would let me know in a couple of days. I like the idea of the turning tool and will probably order one if she accepts my offer. FWIW when I pulled the radiator cap I couldn't see any liquid but it looked wet. So I don't think it is completely empty. I had planned on pulling the oil drain plug just to see what is in the bottom before I got too carried away.

I also have a feeling the brakes will probably be stuck. A couple of years ago we bought a truck that had been sitting for about 8 years. That engine was free but it took us the better part an afternoon to get all of the brakes to release and it wasn't hooked to a trailer. This one is hooked to a lowboy. I guess, worst case scenario we could just drag it out from under the trailer.
 

bam1968

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Stupid question but the truck was in neutral right? If it won't turn over with the barring tool, try turning it over with someone holding down the clutch pedal, just to make sure its not the transmission that's piled up.
I honestly did not check to make sure it was in neutral..... DUH, I guess I just assumed it was. LOL
 

RZucker

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Or find a starter to sacrifice and do what one of our members from the far north did:

http://www.kingofobsolete.ca/KING'S_BAR_STARTER_WEBPAGE.html

I built a similar tool using a Bendix/belt drive adaptor I pulled from a Detroit compressor drive engine. I used it to salvage the block from the rustiest 12V71 I have ever seen, It actually jacked most of the liners out with the pistons. Managed to save both the block and the crank.
 
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