[SEL] Freeing up the piston on new toy

[Patrick M Livingstone]

Ron recently had this new toy arrive home:
http://www.oldengine.org/members/pml/ronsengines/04121601.JPG
http://www.oldengine.org/members/pml/ronsengines/04121602.JPG
http://www.oldengine.org/members/pml/ronsengines/04121603.JPG

So today we decided to see if we could get the stuck piston to move. Ron is
on light duties due to a recent operation but having the fork-lift certainly
helps.
First job was to move the engine into the shade as it was another very hot
summer's day. The crank guard came off fairly easily. These are much easier
to remove and replace than on the earlier style Australs. The early ones are
a pain in the neck and I can see why they are often missing. It is
interesting too see how much has changed on this "New Austral" to my early
style one.
I removed or loosened the rockers and other bits attached to the sideshaft
in preparation for its removal while Ron unbolted the bearing caps so we
could lift the crank enough to get the rear gear guard free and drop the
sideshaft. We left the big end connected as even connected it would give us
the travel we needed to do what we needed to do.
Ron used to fork to provided the lift on the flywheel while I closely
watched the crank and as soon as the flywheels had some weight on them the
piston moved! Ron did not believe me at first but the dirty mark in the bore
where the piston had been was good evidence. Before going any further we
checked that the sideshaft was not stuck. You would not believe how many
engines have broken sideshaft gears from people not checking this first. 
We put the bearing caps back on and gave everything a further oil up and
with a bit of effort we soon had the engine turning over freely! What looked
like a big job turned out to be much easier than we thought. The other 3hp
Austral looks to be in much poorer condition to this one so I think the
piston will be a lot harder to remove but todays engine seems to be in quite
good condition so it will make for a nice little project :)

Patrick M Livingstone
Leichhardt NSW
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