Messed up putting in piston and don't know what to do next

[abesaleh2011]

I had almost no compression on a LoBoy that had been sitting in a field for quite some time. So I decided to try my hand at lapping the valves and replacing the piston rings. Everything went well with the valves. Then I got to the piston rings which went well on the first two, but each piston I added made the tractor hand turn slightly harder...I figured it was from honeing and adding new rings...more drag. Anyways I got to the third piston back, the one that is semi blocked by the oil pick up and this is where things went off the rails.

I got the piston in with the new rings but realized that the crank shaft was in the down position (I had lowered the piston in order to work around the oil pick up when unbolting the bottom) so I turned the hand crank to bring it back up to top dead center. Well, the connecting rod didn't cooperate and moved to the left and is now stuck behind the crank. I didn't jam (i can wiggle the connecting rod slightly back and forth) but the yoke part of the connector rod is wedged behind the crankshaft, and I believe the only way to get it out of this predicament is to reverse the crankshaft slightly.
So has anyone had any luck in reversing the crankshaft so I can realign the connecting rod...It sure would be nice is the hand crank went the other way
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Mike in Louisiana]

Have you tried to turn the fan backwards ?

[Dave Downs]

Remove starter, pry on flywheel teeth

[Eugene]

I'm assuming this is an in tractor overhaul.

I'd remove the starter. Other suggestion. Block of wood on one of the two opposite crankshaft throws, not on rod cap or rod bearing surface. Tap block of wood upward.

[Dale Finch]

What about using the PTO to turn the engine?

[tst]

did you measure the bore and to make sure you have the correct size rings, did you set the end gap on the pings before installing ?

[abesaleh2011]

I measured and it was standard size specs still. I did try to turn the fan blade but the belt just slips. I will try engaging the pto and turning that pully to see if I can back it off. Maybe try to put some wd40 or oil down the pistons that I did change already to make them slide a little easier.

[staninlowerAL]

A friend told me that a SA starter will fit a cub but turns in the opposite direction. If you had access to one you might try it to "bump" the c/s in the opposite direction.??????? Just don't want to make bad matters worse!!

[Don McCombs]

Use a big pipe wrench on the “barrel” of the crankshaft pulley.

[Waif]

No on using W.D.40 to lube cylinders and pistons.
Yes you will get some break in wear that way. More likely not what you want when no lube happens.
But regardless ; if you need to spin the crank by hand much (like you already are) W.D. is about worthless for leaving a residue.

Rebuilding and what happens at start up should be your focus when it comes to what lube id used where.

https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2013/0 ... and-lubes/

[abesaleh2011]

Well I got it turned back with a pipe wrench and slowly turning the pto backwards. Got all the new rings on like the directions said, honed the cylinders some, and put it all back together and I still have almost no compression in cylinder 1. Can’t figure out why, don’t see any cracks, valves seem to be moving fine and I adjusted them all and lapped them all. Any ideas what could be the issue?

[tst]

do you have an air compressor ? you can put air in the cylinder and see where it leaks out, the carb, the exhaust or the crankcase filler, it will tell you where the problem is

[Eugene]

Any ideas what could be the issue?

Valves.

[abesaleh2011]

I ordered a leak down test kit, will take a few days to try this out.

[abesaleh2011]

Any ideas what could be the issue?

Valves.

I checked the valves a couple of times now and they seem spaced correctly with the feeler gauge. I took them all out and relapped them and they all seem to be moving correctly when turning the tractor over by hand. Is there something else I should be looking for?