What a pain in the a-$$!
Awhile back I purchased a Ducati Motor basically at scrap value due to the piston being seized (among other issues). Well I started stripping all I could off the motor in order to clean it and rebuild, but the piston proved to be a royal pain. Frankie came over awhile ago and tried driving it out with a block of wood but to no success. So then the motor sat with penetrating oil for a few days.
That is... until that fateful night that I decided to pick up a propane canister from Home Depot and try heating up the cylinder, and then taking an ice cube to freeze the piston. This rapid expansion and contraction of the metals in theory should free things up.
So lets go...
After getting the torch lit I started moving the flame in circular motions around the cylinder walls making sure not to localize the head in one area for too long. Frankie had warned me that it is possible to burn holes in the piston if I wasn't careful. Once you are satisfied with heating the cylinder, set the torch aside and quickly place an ice cube on the piston. Remove the melted ice cube and take a piece of wood and hammer the end of the hardwood to release the piston.
It worked! As you can see in the picture above the cylinder is raised up higher than before. Simply prop up the cylinder from contacting the engine casing and repeat the entire process again, heating up the cylinder and then freezing the piston with ice cubes. Repeat this process until the piston can be removed from the cylinder.
After about 10 minutes I could finally assess the situation. The piston looks filthy, and the cylinder was somewhat rusty, but it did not appeared scored. I still think I will take it to a machine shop to bored over.
You can see where the water from the ice cube resists the oil on the cylinder.
Stay tuned to see how the rest of the build goes!
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