#4 Piston really jammed

[Bluebelles Mom]

I am beggining to think that I may have to support the engine from underneath then remove the plank from above and perhaps pull the head in order to get at the piston from above. Any thoughts on this before I try this approach??? I really want to get this car back on the road by this weekend guys.

[xirdneh]

not sure what you mean by jammed?
i assume you are working from underneath with oil pan removed
crank is in place
kinda tight in there
cant get a grip on the #4 rod
did the crank get turned a bit wedging the rod against it and the block
are you still trying to twist the rod and piston assy so it will line up with crank
taking the head off will not help with any of that
it will just allow you to push down on the piston
so if you rotated the crank even a little you may have bound op the rod
just rotate it a bit the other direction
be carefull about the other rods getting bound up when you do it
if you can get the caps on them and the nuts finger tight they will be ok while your messing with #4

[Bluebelles Mom]

not sure what you mean by jammed?
i assume you are working from underneath with oil pan removed
crank is in place
kinda tight in there
cant get a grip on the #4 rod
did the crank get turned a bit wedging the rod against it and the block
are you still trying to twist the rod and piston assy so it will line up with crank
taking the head off will not help with any of that
it will just allow you to push down on the piston
so if you rotated the crank even a little you may have bound op the rod
just rotate it a bit the other direction
be carefull about the other rods getting bound up when you do it
if you can get the caps on them and the nuts finger tight they will be ok while your messing with #4

Yes, I am working from underneath. I can rotate the crank in either direction for a bit but the piston has turned some 10 or 20 degrees in the cylinder and it is jamming up against the crank...not the journal (as near as I can tell). The other rods are in place with the caps on. I simply can NOT get that last rod to line up or even move. I was thinking that if I took the head off I could push the piston up from below enough to either free the rod from the crank or even get it high enough to twist it from above. I am at a complete loss for what to try next if that won't work. I can't get anything up into that space to pry with.

[xirdneh]

something has to be wedged in there or the rod end is trapped between crank and block
you should be able to twist and push it up (use a long wood dowel) once it is untrapped
you will not be able to twist it from top side (head removed)

[Bluebelles Mom]

something has to be wedged in there or the rod end is trapped between crank and block
you should be able to twist and push it up (use a long wood dowel) once it is untrapped
you will not be able to twist it from top side (head removed)

Like use the dowel on the underside of the piston? I can try that. I have tried moving the rod with the crank moved to different positions...no luck. I will go get a dowel tomorrow morning.

[xirdneh]

i would use the dowel on the wrist pin area inside the piston
or on the rod end flat spot next to stud
not much surface there