frozen 4 108 Perkins

[Lost in Hawaii]

At a loss as to what the procedure is for a crank that will not budge
I am concerned that if I try with a bigger breaker bar something will get damaged . The gearbox, pump and alternator all turn freely
has anyone been through this before ?

[svRaison d Etre]

Did you remove the fuel injector is there a possibility of water in the cylinder?

[tkeithlu]

Welcome to the forum, Lost.

As said, water in the cylinder(s) is the first thought. If you pull the injectors and don't find that water is the problem, add some penetrant oil to each cylinder, let sit, and try again. Realize that you will have to change the crankcase oil. Check it early in the game for water as well. If the cylinders are empty, penetrant has been added, and it's still frozen, that's a rare case, and likely was sitting so long that it's essentially one block of metal.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

If you pull the injectors and don't find that water is the problem, add some penetrant oil to each cylinder, let sit, and try again.

PB Blaster is the go-to brand for this step.

Good luck!
LittleWing77

[skipmac]

A little more information would help to diagnose the problem.

Is this an engine that was running and now is frozen? Have you ever seen this engine running? Was it sitting and for how long?

[capt jgw]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

likely was sitting so long that it's essentially one block of metal.

If it got salt water in the cylinders that wouldn't take long.

[Cpt Mark]

Perkins are notorious for hydrolocking which is what happens when water gets into a cylinder. Checking your oil, is the color normal or is it milky white? That is a sure sign of water.

As said above, pull the injectors which is easy, and then put a socket on a breaker bar and see if you can manually rotate the engine in either direction and if so, can you now turn it over 1 complete revolution? If you can't get it to budge or only a very little then suck out and water sitting in the cylinders and start flooding the tops of the cylinders every day and see if the level goes down. Try and turn the engine with the breaker bar. I did this for a couple of weeks before I finally got some movement. After that it wasn't too long before I could fully rotate the engine. Change the oil and filter, put it back together and fire it up. Run it for a bit then change the oil and filter again.

[longjonsilver]

Try using a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone. The ATF seeps everywhere and the acetone turns the rust into a brittle substance. Soak it everyday. You would be amazed how well the stuff works. Cheaper as well.
jon

[Celestialsailor]

I would agree with others on possibility of water intrusion on the cylinder closest to the exhaust elbow. Remove that injector. If you find water in that cylinder, remove all the injectors. If the engine turns over (by hand) drain the oil and see if any water made it's way to the crank area. If all goes well, reassemble, start, let it come up to temperature and change the oil and filters again.
Do not use force with a breaker bar.

[CaptAirman]

We hydrolocked our 4108 earlier last season, injector removal is a super tough procedure especially with the bowman heat exchanger. Ultimately I decided I didn't have the right tool for the job (injector puller) and had the local mechanic check it out. We're still not clear as to the root cause but a tear-down and checkout of the exhaust elbow is prescribed. Removing injectors, turning it over, fogging oil down the injector ports, re-install, turn over again, change oil 2 or 3 times. Oil analysis still shows elevated silica and salts, so that might not even have been enough. As has been said, don't force anything. If you blow your starting fuse, jumping it will only lead to blowing out a starter or breaking engine internals. Ask me how I know

[Lost in Hawaii]

so after several weeks of spraying diesel oil into the injector ports after removing them by slipping a nylon line under the loosened collar then putting constant upward tension on the line, I have managed to finally free the crank !! what a relief .
now I will start cleaning it out changing oil etc.
thank you to all for the great advice

[r spicer]

Originally Posted by Lost in Hawaii

At a loss as to what the procedure is for a crank that will not budge
I am concerned that if I try with a bigger breaker bar something will get damaged . The gearbox, pump and alternator all turn freely
has anyone been through this before ?

Does the word REPOWER upset you?

[r spicer]

Does the word ‘REPOWER’ upset you?
Chances are 99%, the show is over.
Spray lube on motor mount bolts, get out tool box or checkbook. I feel yer pain<.>

[marcjsmith]

hopefully after 4 months he's figured it out.


my Perk 4108 was locked up as well (the northern nights genset fired right up so I had high hopes for the perk). boat was on hard for over 3000 days. was able to get it freed up using marvs and pb blaster and occasional pressure from a Big breaker bar over the course of several weeks. Slow and steady won the race.

borescoped the cyclinders and all looked good. so far burning 1/2 qt over 20 hours of use

[kaisardog]

Wow, that is great that you got the engine unfroze. !,