Seized Engine

[PearlWhiteGT]

Picked up this 2002 Yamaha Kodiak 400 4x4 for free. My buddy's neighbor was getting ready to haul it off to the dump. Asked him what's the deal with it and he said had been running fine and then one time he went to start it and it would turn over a bit and make a clicking sound coming from under the seat which I believe is the solenoid and couldn't get it to start. After that it stayed parked for about 2 years outside. Said he didn't have time to mess with it.

I got it home but didn't have a battery for it. Tried connecting my battery jump pack to it and see if anything would happen. With the key on no dash lights or headlights came on. I tried jumping the solenoid but just sparked a couple of times. Figured I'd try to turn the engine over by hand next.

The internals of the pull start are missing so I removed it to get to the crankshaft bolt and removed the spark plug. Put my ratchet on it and it wouldn't budge at all, not one inch. Feels completely locked up. I tried filling the cylinder with WD40 for a few hours to see if it would help but no luck. I added some marvel mystery oil into the cylinder and let it sit overnight and still no help.

I decided to remove the starter and make sure it's not locked and it spins freely. I removed the crankcase cover to see if maybe something looked broke back there but all looked good. At this moment I plan on letting the mystery oil sit for about a week and see if it frees up anything which I doubt.

Without have to tear into the engine do any of you guys have any tips or tricks on what I can do to try and get it unseized?

 

[5030]

My only comment is... WD40 is worthless. Try Sea Foam or a 50-50 mix of ATF and acetone and let it soak.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Kroil or blaster is by far what worked best for me, WD40 is way down the list...

Kroil is better than ATF and acetone, but it isn't cheeep.

SR

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

My only comment is... WD40 is worthless. Try Sea Foam or a 50-50 mix of ATF and acetone and let it soak.

Thanks, the ATF and Acetone are next on my list to try.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Kroil or blaster is by far what worked best for me, WD40 is way down the list...

Kroil is better than ATF and acetone, but it isn't cheeep.

SR

Thanks, I'll look into the Kroil as well. At this point I think it will take a miracle to get it free.

 

[shooterdon]

Another vote for Kroil

 

[5030]

Kroil or blaster is by far what worked best for me, WD40 is way down the list...

Kroil is better than ATF and acetone, but it isn't cheeep.

SR

Not really. but you are entitled to your opinion as I am as well.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Not really. but you are entitled to your opinion as I am as well.

Thankyou for that, but it's based on un-sticking several "stuck" old engines.

SR

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Came across this when searching the web. This is on rusted bolts but how would it compare to a seized engine? I have no issues with trying the Kroil or ATF/Acetone mix or both.

The Machinist Workshop magazine studied the most popular penetrating oils to see
what did the best job of removing rusted bolts by measuring the pounds of torque
required to loosen the bolt. I'm not sure just what flavor bolt they were using
that would take 516 pounds of torque but it must have been a monster.
These were the results they published:

Penetrating oil: Average load:
None...................................516 lbs.
WD-40.................................238 lbs.
PB Blaster.............................214 lbs.
Liquid Wrench........................127 lbs.
Kano Kroil..............................106 lbs.
ATF-Acetone mix......................53 lbs.
�The Auto Trans fluid- acetone mix was a "home-brew" mix of 50-50 ATF-acetone.
The home brew tested better than the commercial products in this test. Note that
Liquid Wrench is about as good as "Kroil" for about 20% of the price.�

 

[TractorTYMe]

Do you have a borescope available to do a peek down the lightening hole?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I used Liquid Wrench for many years and liked it, and then tried Kroil and it seemed to work better for me, so I stayed.

It just could be that it depends on what metal its being used on to pick the winner too.

SR

 

[dodge man]

It’s possible it wouldn’t start years ago because it was locked up, as in thrown rod, dropped valve etc. it won’t hurt to try, it looks like it cleaned up pretty good.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Do you have a borescope available to do a peek down the lightening hole?

I do not have one.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I would start taking the head off, even if you have an upper end failure as long as crank and rod is solid, it is easy enough to rebuild with new parts from E-bay.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

It’s possible it wouldn’t start years ago because it was locked up, as in thrown rod, dropped valve etc. it won’t hurt to try, it looks like it cleaned up pretty good.

This is something I'm thinking as well. Maybe it locked up when he tried starting it and that's why the solenoid was making a clicking sound.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

I would start taking the head off, even if you have an upper end failure as long as crank and rod is solid, it is easy enough to rebuild with new parts from E-bay.

I might try removing the head if I can't get it free after a couple of weeks. Just limited on space and time at the moment.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Well I gave it another go. I couldn’t move it with just the ratchet and socket so stuck a breaker bar in there and gave it a few taps in both directions with a mallet and it broke loose. I can now spin it over.

Should I fill the cylinder with some PB blaster and let it sit for a couple of days before draining the oil and putting in new oil? Or is there something else I should do? Any other steps to take with it before trying to actually crank it over?

 

[plastikosmd]

Personally I like magic mystery oil
Cover piston let it sit
I would have typically removed head to give a light scrub to the piston walls where rings stuck

Sometimes they run
Sometimes they don’t last long

 

[jjeff]

Sweet ATV and it was free! I've seen older junk non running ATVs sold for up to 1k or at least asking that much. Having replaced ATV parts over the years they are pricey. Yamaha holds there value well and are pretty durable in my experience. Imo If you have some know how it's worth putting some time and parts in it Worst case if you have the time part it out. I need to find neighbors like yours lol.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Yeah, let it sit for a few days with MM, then turn it over with sparkplug out, change the oil and filter and sparkplug. Check fuel delivery if it looks clean and working. Maybe take carb off and clean the bowl and all orifices. Then send it.