Best Fix For A Stuck Engine - Viewers Choice. Marvel Mystery Oil, vs ATF, vs Acetone, vs Vinegar

We took four rust seized pistons and gave them a 24 hour soak in solutions chosen by our viewers to see which one would give us the best chance of saving a stuck engine.
Automatic Trans Fluid, Marvel Mystery, White Vinegar and an ATF/Acetone mix.
In the end, only one stood out as a clear winner.
#projectfarm #classiccar #engines
*MERCHANDISE:
*SOCIAL MEDIA:

[buslife]

I can’t say enough good things about MMO. It has saved my butt lots of times, made me easy money and also saved me lots of money. The latest save was a 1956 330 Desoto hemi that had been stuck for 30 years. I poured some in each spark plug hole, removed the oil pan and hung the motor from my gantry crane. Then I slid a pan of hot coals under it and let it warm up to about 150 degrees. It broke loose with a screwdriver on the flywheel. Spins nice and free now. I have a picture of the setup but I’m not sure I can attach pictures here. I did this on thanksgiving weekend. It seemed the appropriate time to roast that turkey. MMO works much better if you can warm the motor up. It’s best miracles are when the motor will run and you can add it to the oil and fuel. Then it will remove carbon deposits from the combustion chamber and valves.

[garysgarage.]

I have a tote half full with vinegar I toss rusty parts in. They always come out completely rust free. The vinegar is well used and black like old used motor oil but still does it's job perfect.

[beachboardfan]

Put the failed ones in the vinegar to see if it frees them up as well?

[chrisvandecar]

Now soak the other three in the vinegar to see if it frees those other pistons. Great vid, as always.

[LimitedGunnerGM]

Project farm is a real world product testing Channel. Good stuff!

[jmshssk]

Project Farm or not, youre still a pretty cool guy to watch. I learn something new evertime i watch your videos. You've got a wealth of sensable knowledge and wisdom to learn from.

[ronosga]

I knew an old guy that his first step to unseizing and engine was to use distilled water. He would reactivate the rust then dry it out and use penatrating oil and he was a very smart guy, that restored many steam and early gas engines.

[zcarzach]

I'm not a chemist but I read a lot, and I restore old woodworking tools as well as cars. The trouble with vinegar, or any acid-based cleaning technique, is that it can cause hydrogen embrittlement of iron. I'd be reticent to use it on a part that is subjected to intense stress out of fear that it would cause cracking later.

[iydeqir]

While this wasn't at all surprising, it was good to see old ideas and practice again well validated. I've been wrenching on old machines for better than fifty years and this correlates with long experience. Thanks, Tony.

[jontrudell]

I've used Food grade white Vinegar to clean out several Gas tanks with Great success! Its cheap, easy & non toxic. It Eats rust like crazy.

[stevophillips]

When I worked as a heavy line engine tech at a Ford dealer in the 1990's. Ford had this additive that cleaned carbon up really GOOD! I forget the name on the small brown bottle. I used to use it on the heads combustion chambers, and intakes.

Fill up the pockets, let it sit a few hours while i did other things. Go back and ALL the carbon was gone, then wire brush it for faster results. That stuff was awesome to clean up parts, even the piston rings....Even though I was replacing the rings anyway, so did it to those a few times only.

Years ago, my dad had a van type RV, driving thru the desert back home to Arizona, from S Cal, he blew a radiator hose on a steep grade. All he had a lot of in the camper was ATF, so he fixed the leak, and filled the cooling system with the made it home fine, 100 miles without cooling issues, but dayyyyum that was a mess he had to clean up later laughed and he said "yeah well, liquid is liquid, and it worked" I Miss the ole man

[derekbowbrick]

C.L.R. and a six pack, C.L.R. to soak them and beer to help with the watching.

[Daniel-fdwp]

It’s amazing how an item we can find in the grocery store can definitely do its job to free up those rings.🤷‍♂️👍👍👍

[highwaymen]

Another material to try is polyether amine sold as CRC turbo and intake valve cleaner. It's the same additive as Tektron that's used in Chevron gasoline.

[thesetruths]

I have a 2005 5.3L automatic 4x4 Yukon with 223, 000 miles. It holds 6 qts of oil. I changed oil (10w30 conventional) and filter (walmart brand base filter) before a 6, 500 mile mostly intestate trip from CO mountains to Mid-Atlantic to South and then back up to CO mountains.

In the first 4, 000 miles of trip Yukon burned 1.75 quarts of oil. Before making the last 2, 500 miles of trip (uphill to CO) I added .75 quart MMO (conventional formula) to bring level to Full.

It burned none in 2, 500 miles to and around CO before I changed the oil/filter. So it went from burning 1.75 qts in 4, 000 miles mostly downhill driving to not burning any in the next 2, 500 miles of uphill and mountain driving.

On the trip I averaged between 16.8 and 18.1 mpg, checked by gallons and miles tracking and compared to vehicles MPG gauge. The computer was very close, always within .1 to .2 mpg.

Can someone explain this dynamic?

I'm going to test it again on another 3, 500 mile road trip soon to South and back to CO again. If I have to add a quart I'm going to add 1 qt MMO to see if it stops the consumption again.

[Torakitty]

Down side to white vinigar. If you do not rinse it off pronto it will rust back quick fast and in a hurry lol.

[crankyyankee]

I used marvel oil to free up a stuck Briggs and Stratton one-lunger. I poured some into the plug hole and filled the case. After letting it sat a few hours I turned the crank back and forth until I got a full revolution. I spun it over about fifty times or so, added a little more oil through the plug hole, and let it sit. I drained and refilled the crank then replaced the plug and after a couple cranks it took off. after a little smoke, everything ran fine. I really never expected to save the engine without tearing it down but it is still running after two years.

[ElectronikHeart]

Personally I use acetone with 10/20% atf.

Acetone works pretty well on its own but after that the cylinder walls are so dry it makes the rusty rings stick even more to the walls.

Acetone works best when it's carbon sticking the rings.
Vinegar is the best choice if it's rust sticking everything in place.
But the exposure should be as short as possible as it will eat the walls and rings.

If you don't want to disassemble the engine after that the engine will require a very good clean for sure. And lube it as fast as possible to prevent it to rust again as soon as the vinegar is out.

ATF, it's doing nothing else but lube it up and free some debris. It's mostly acetone doing all the job.

[peterrudy]

There are White vinegars that have different percentages of acidity . I've read where cars that had been sitting for years and engine had seized . Were unseized by the use of Marvel Mystery Oil . By removing spark plugs and pouring it down each hole and letting it soak and then to manually turn the engine over .

[johnstuartsmith]

Totally (or 90%...) off topic, but I'm amazed at the great job that tomato ketchup does on cleaning copper. Smear it all over the tarnished copper, leave it for an hour or two, and rinse it off. (Consider ketchup as vinegar in a gel formulation.) Ketchup or vinegar can also enhance the flavor of Tater Tots and fish and chips, while Brasso or Seafoam won't. So there's