This is only slightly off topic. When you get to the bottom end, you will greatly simplify the reinstallation of the distributor drive shaft if you put a couple of punch marks on the brass gear and bronze bushing before you remove them. It is fairly common on this list to get questions about the correct orientation of the distributor AFTER the whole thing is buttoned up. I use two punch marks.
There is another option, I think, though maybe not a slam-dunk. Generally speaking an engine that has seized from sitting too long has either rust in the cylinders or crankshaft / big end journals. Assuming the engine is on a stand you could begin by flipping it down and start by removing the crank. From there you can soak the cylinders well before drifting the pistons out, carefully with plenty of lube, with a slide hammer.
the above poster are correct afaicā¦if you have enough spanners, one should get in there, if not, some mods with an angle grinder, and heat bend to suit
dismantled many frozen XK-XJ engines, never cut a chain (not that would be the end of the world)
the worst case is it can be insanely difficult to get the pistons out (due to piston rings frozen in lands and rusted to bore)
My trick was to remove the crank, beat the frozen pistons down past the frozen point, ball hone the rusty bits, then beat the pistons back up and out.
I had a case with a fully rebuilt XJ engine, bloke had left the plugs out and it had become locked.
He gave it to me for nothing, but 2 pistons were utterly immobile, even using a sledgehammer
I drilled them out
Holy crap!!! I never had any that bad!
Even my 1.5 hp John Deere hitār miss, with a cast iron piston, that had been sitting 40-odd years, wasnāt that bad.
Maybe a 20 ton shop press would have moved them. did pre soaked in penetrant for 1 year !
had to drill and shatter pistons, rings completely seized to wall
I have another of interest, very early '51 MKVII engine, fully rebuilt by Jaguar Dealerā¦but seized!
been meaning to strip this motor for ages
did an āAir Crash Investigationā on it a few years back, and with the assistance of Rob R, we ascertained the rebuilder must have left a vital spacer out of the water pump, leading to its bearing failing, and probably an engine overheat
Greetings All,
Not doubting you Nick, but Ihave never seen a lower end rust in the shells. Is this something you have seen regularly?
I have however seen pistons seized in their bores
Thatās the proper way to do it ā¦ but you have to get the head off first.
Nope. Only once. An 1800 MG engine that had been left out in a junk yard for several years. I needed the head but figured Iād salvage the crank. Journals all rusted tight, but then again so were the cylinders.
Similar story, opposite end of the fieldā¦Dad rebuilt a customers 10-4 HeeHee, ca. 1963. Customer flaked, and eventually just signed over title. Car sat in back 40, bonnet on, but no carbs.
Fast forward 24 years: I dragged it into the shop, to see what condition itās condition was in: like all big Healeys, the tin worm had beenā¦voracious. Oh, well, letās pull the head and see how badly stuck the engine is (remember: it was brand-new rebuilt, in '63).
MUCH to my surprise, the bores/head had zero rustā¦whaaaaa???
As Dad and I were staring, agog, at the unrusted bores, valves, and head, I turned to him and asked, āDo you recall what assembly lube you used?ā
It turned as smooth as buttah! So, I clamped the head back on, ginned up the carbs, put some fuel inā¦ and the damn thing RAN!!!
To this day, and even counting on our dry climate, I have no idea how that happened.
Yep. I have used a 3" (76mm) hole saw to separate the ring lands from the rest of the piston & rod.
All things considered, looks like the best option is to cut the chain.
I agree Paul , I found the pic on the net
Looking at this picture from the Manual , I find it hard to be leave a spanner canāt get on the bolt head , looks like there is room , in any position the cams is in .
I may have to take some pics, since people donāt seem to want to believe me. It is certainly true that there are positions of the sprocket for which both bolts can be reached relatively easily. But there are also positions where it is much more difficult to get to both. Imaging in the picture above, for example, that the sprocket is turned another 15 or 20 degrees clockwise.
I havenāt resorted to destroying wrenches to try to make it work. I would prefer to destroy a chain that I intend to replace anyway instead.
Tim
Hi Timā¦yes you are correct there are positions where the bolt heads cant be accessed/removed and its not uncommon to have to turn the crankshaft to move the chains to get the bolt heads in the desired positionā¦you cant move your crank so the simple answer is cut the chainā¦you are replaceing it anywayā¦All the bestā¦Steve
Has anyone suggested soaking with a de-rusting solution? Itāll work on the rust on the rings and the bore at the same time.
Yea, trans fluid/acetone will lubricate, but you need to break that bond first.
Are you able to loosen the upper chain tensioner and rotate it so the chain has some slack?
I faced a similar situation in 2002 with an XK140 engine that had sat outside for umpteen years with no cam covers.
I loosened the tensioner and removed the cam shaft bearing caps. Then I was able to tilt the cam shaft up enough that I could make the chain jump a tooth at a time and get the bolts around to where I could get a wrench on them.
No safety wire doesnāt bother me: properly torqued, they wonāt come loose. I never rewired them.
You did not? Well, no safety wire is probably better than the job shown above, or what was on my IRS before I had it outā¦
Robās idea could work, if the tensioner is just slack enough so the chain hangs down a little too far, but at this point Iād really cut it and call it a day.
Why not hot tank the block with the seized pistons? 
