any ideas how to get this out?

Steve stromberg had a few good ideas: we tried cranking the motor with plugs out...and making the oil pressure push it out- No Go...
tried a magnet - No Go

i guess im down to an EZ out...

okay at this point it is either oil varnish or it cocked to one side due to a groove that has been worn in.

i would take a socket extention and try to push up on it, and see if you can get it to straighten out and drop out. or maybe a brake cylinder hone to knock off the varnish

spent 4 hours wrestling with it.....

im tired.... motor needs to get its act together or go blow up.
DAY 3 of being carless.....

Dude, that sucks.........Hey, theres an idea...have you tried sucking it out??

not in the mood....sorry.

day was wasted today.......

Ok, Sorry Aaron, I will be nice now. It did make me laugh though. If you are replacing the piston, you can drill a 1/8 hole in the center and then put a screw part way in and then you will have something to pull on. Did you try that? Dont give up now, its not even 9 yet.

QUOTE (skline @ Mar 18 2005, 08:55 PM)

Ok, Sorry Aaron, I will be nice now. It did make me laugh though. If you are replacing the piston, you can drill a 1/8 hole in the center and then put a screw part way in and then you will have something to pull on. Did you try that? Dont give up now, its not even 9 yet.

im so done for the night......
tomorrow is Dday- if i can get the piston out...then i can have the engine in the car within an hour.....

then i need to time the motor with the new dizzy.... need an adjustable timing light though.....i know clayton has one...


it sucked...

thanks steve fir helping me out on the phone...you too scott.

IIRC, the oil relief pistons have a round recess in the back end where the spring seats?

If there is, have you tried obtaining a piece of wood that you can jam into the "recess" and try to get the piston to stick onto the end of the stick. Then you can try to turn and pull the piston out?

Otherwise I would attempt to drill a small hole in it to try to screw a screw into it and pull it out with the screw as was mentioned eariler.


Good luck.

On T1 engines the inside of the piston is just a bit smaller than a 3/8" socket extension, so you can tap (lightly) the extension into the piston and then turn it. It's the turning that's the trick, breaking it loose from whatever's binding it. You can apply a lot more force turning than anything else you can do in that tight space. Once it turns it should come right out, usually still wedged onto the extension. If it doesn't then fill it with penetrating oil and turn it again so the pentrating oil can get around and up onto the top side and it should come free. I'm pretty sure the pistons are the same size in the T4, but not certain. If the socket extension doesn't fit then just find something else that will wedge into it.

assuming you're going to replace the piston anyway, a 10mm tap can be screwed in there and will hold tightly allowing you something to grab hold of to rock and pull. all the FLAPS have 10mm taps these days. thread pitch is unimportant, but if you have a choice, i'd get the one that matches the longest 10mm bolt they have, so you can thread that in there and really have a handle you can manipulate.

My suggestion to drill it and screw in a screw to grab onto will work, use a 1/8 inch drill bit and a 3" screw into that hole, it will stick out of the case enough to where you can just pull it out. Good luck today Aaron. Call me if you need anything.

You could use a piston relief puller, vw same thing, vw auto parts stores carry them, it's a T handle that expands in the piston, if you can't find one of those, try an easy out.

Curious - Is this a running engine? How did you come to know that the piston was stuck?

(Artechnic - locate the Russian tea?)