Stuck piston rings

[califkid_66]

Does anyone know what I could put in the cylinders to free up the rings the car was ok when parked sat for 10 years engine turns but doesn’t start  compression is about 50 lbs per cylinder
I put marvel mystery oil in the cylinders let it soak it went up a bit but not enough to run
The engine is a ford Lima 2.3 from 1974

[BDA]

I’m confused. Will it turn?

I would have used Marvel Mystery Oil too. Was it exposed to the elements? My motor sat in my garage for twenty years and I had no problems. Of course it was new with only a couple of hours on a dyno.

[califkid_66]

It was in a carport a bit humid but the engine was not seized marvel mystery oil did help but I need something better the compression is so low that the engine won’t start

[EuropaTC]

Marvel isn't something I'm familiar with but it's a penetrant oil isn't it ? If the engine turns freely then I'd just put some 20/50 down the bores and see what that does to compression. 50psi sounds very low, is it uniform across all cylinders ?

It could be a valve problem if they've been extended off the seats during the lay-up and got a bit of corrosion, in which case oil in the bores won't solve it.

[4129R]

I had the same problem on a TC 1558cc engine.

I had to take the pistons out and very carefully ease the piston rings out of the grooves in the piston, and clean up the rings on emery paper and the pistons using wire wool.

I know taking the pistons out is a big deal, but as the space between the pistons and the bore is very tight, any liquid you pour into the head will find it very hard to ease or dissolve the surface rust.

Unless you can get rid of all the rust, the rings will not move independent of the pistons, so will not seal correctly. All the rings have to be released, or the piston will not give a gas tight seal, so the compression will be low.

[califkid_66]

The engine is not seized  I did a compression test I had 50 lbs in cylinder 1 I poured a little bit of 5w30 or 10w430 not sure to see and the compression went up to 90 I was expecting to see a bit higher

[kram350kram]

Try a mixture of diesel fuel and automatic transmission fluid. That concoction usually can get through any opening. After a few days pressurize the cylinder with compressed air and let it sit again. Drain it, change the oil and do a compression check again.

[califkid_66]

I put the whole bottle of mmo Im letting it soak meanwhile I’m working on other projects I will try another compression test this weekend if it didn’t improve I will put a mixture of transmission fluid and diesel

[Clifton]

Running it could help. I recently bought a lower mile Toyota JY engine that was low on a few cylinders until I ran it then everything was good. It did not sit for years in humidity though.

[Richard48Y]

As suggested, some diesel mixed with the MMO helps penetration.
I used that mix to get a Jag XK-120 going that had sat outside for over twenty years.

[califkid_66]

It doesn’t want to start and mmo did not work yet

[TurboFource]

You have a 2.3 in your Lotus? Are the hydraulic valve adjusters stuck? Timing belt good? Did it jump time because it won’t start if it did (did it shear any teeth off the belt on your first start attempt etc.) . If the cam timing is off your compression test numbers are useless also.

Just rebuilt this 2.3 Lima Turbo …..

[califkid_66]

No not in the lotus  it was my dad’s cars
Some were parked for many years and all have some issues
The 2.3 Lima had around 50 lbs compression per cylinder but when it was parked
It was running great it and had very low milage  Im trying to get it started but with
compression that low it won’t start also my dad did move the distributor so it might be off a little

[TurboFource]

I would confirm cam and ignition timing