As some of you know I have been cleaning, checking wires and straightening things out in the engine compartment. Along with that I have replace most gaskets on top to include the distributor seal and the top cover gasket. since the distributor was out I checked it out to make sure all was fine. know to the part stumping me, before removal of the dizzy, I had hand turned (the proper way) to TDC. I went to put the dizzy back,(had pics of hoe it was set in originally) but could not get the right alignment. Did some checking up in the manual, and on line, and most I read was to set the alignment marks to 10 degree BTDC for correct alignment and of course make sure the distributor is at the 1A or 6B. So I start to hand rotate the engine and only got so far and seems to locked. I can think of two possibilities, one it sat since last Oct so I may need to put a tablespoon of Marvel Mystery oil down each plug hole, or 2 (hate the thought of this) the tensioner may be bad.

was thinking of waiting to tear off the water pump, again and other parts, get the electrics hooked back up, which can be done anyway and see if it possible turn then and hope that I do not here any funny noises. All I can say, Them Dam Gremlins
get ya every time

 

Too early for a drink, just.

With the distributor OUT, does the engine rotate by hand without "locking up"?

The tensioner broken has never locked an engine in my time, just a super loose chain, and a hunting engine, and sometimes a rattling sound, but not always.

If the engine is OK without the distributor, then the issue is the distributor, and/or its drive and driven gear. There is documentation of teeth parting from the jackshaft, but I have never seen it.

If its locking up without the distributor, then gremlins are at play, and systematically reversing where you have been will find it.

A PreHE I had here many years ago had similar, and the owner had changed the spark plugs, THATS ALL, and the method he used was about the length of War and Peace, but the engine would not rotate 360deg, it would lock solid about 10deg short.

MUCH verbalising by me, and it turns out he knocked over the magnetic tray of nuts and washers whilst the plugs were out, and was a washer short when finished with the job. GUESS WHERE IT WAS????
Got it out with a magnet on a stick, but it took days to find which cylinder, and then retrieve it.

 

Hey Grant

Thanks for chiming back Guess I forgot to mention, the distributor is out as I was checking it cleaning, and replacing a couple of parts.. the engine turned only about a 1/4 turn then stuck, can not move it forward or back a bit. I checked down the spark plug hole with a scope, and also
used an extender magnate down them to to make sure nothing went down, that was last night and am going to try the magnate again tonight if I go to the garage

I also removed the valve covers (again) rechecked the chain, that looks good, the tensioner looks good also, then figure it would not hurt, slacken off the cam bearing bolts, try to turn and not luck, so re torqued them.

I am thinking of just finishing up getting the wireing back in place and most of the other parts, lower the car off the jack stands, and rock it a bit in park, then in drive (sometimes this helps) and add about a spoon of Marvel Mystery Oil down each plug hile (car has been sitting since last Oct) and see what happens.

In my old age LOL. if I rember to follow up on this I will let yoou know what happens or if it turns by hand again before

 

That is odd.

If were something down a plug hole, the engine would physically rotate the other way until that same piston came back to the top, where it would jam again.

To lock solid like that is serious.

Rocking it in P ar D will do ZERO, as there is no mechanical link between the engine and running gear on an automatic in the same way a manual trans system is. P locks the trans at the propshaft. D will do ZIP, as there is NO hydraulic pressure to make things happen.

What have you had apart to give me a clue as to what it might be??.

 

Refresh my memory...was this engine running prior to removal of the distributor?

Have you tried to remove all of the spark plugs and then rotate the engine?

If you are standing at the front of the engine and have a wrench on the crank pulley bolt, you should be turning the engine clockwise. Are you turning it in the correct direction? If you still have spark plugs in the engine is your wrench big enough to overcome the cylinders on their compression stroke?

You said that you had the valve covers off and that you have a scope. Have you tried taking the cover off again and using your scope to look down where the chains are? Maybe something fell in there or you could see if one of the chains is binding.

Mark

 

Safari, yes the engine was running, all plugs have been out and basically the top of the engine is stripped. I have post on the compartment clean up and all that I have been doing. I did run the scope down thw chain area and seem to see nothing obstructive, even ran a magnate pickup stick down there to as well in the plug holes. while everything is off, plug hole, and intake port holes were and still are blocked, so I doubt anything went down. The car sat not running since Oct, so that in there may be the problem, just needs a small amout of ol put down the plug holes. Oh, and yes whike apart it did turn easy and I did turn in the correct direction

 

has anyone mentioned a stuck valve ?

BB

 

OK, that answers a lot for me.

My first suggestion is take the bungs out of the plug holes, one at atime, and pour some ATF (Automatic Trans Fluid) down the hole for each cylinder. About an egg cup in each, or if that does not equate, a large spoonful will suffice.

Let it sit overnight, and then carefully try the rotating again.

The bores will have rusted by now, since it has sat that way in winter, and atmospheric conditions dictate that.

Continue persisting with it, and as you know, clockwise only. I believe you are a careful operator, so a slight (about 2mm at the crank pully) rocking in the anticlockwise should not do any harm, but NO more than that please.

The rust will be on the exposed sections of the liners above where the pistons last stopped. It will only be what we call "surface rust", and will scrape off without damage with that fluid in there. That fluid will eventually find its way past the pistons and rings, but will leave a residue behind. It will smoke like crazy when you fire it up, but will burn off after an hour or so.

 

I was thinking in the same way, and you confirmed it for me. Although it has been yrs upon yrs since I worked this far on a car just needed a memory jog
guess great mind think alike LOL

 

Just wanted to let you know, got it turning again, thanks for confirming my ideas with help of yours. Been a while to answer back but it has been sooo hot out my way that I just got back down the garage 2 nights ago, got a bigger breaker bar, and tried "rocking" it nothing, thought to myself SH$$, scoped everything again, cylinders and down the chain area all looked good, the thought I would try something out of the ordinary, took a 90 degree angle pick I have, fit right to lift on the tensioner, gave a slight pull a couple of time, then rock the wrench and got it turning. Did pour the Marvel Mystery oil in as mentioned before so that may have been the big thing that released it, but it it turning fine, easy around a few times. Now so I can get back to it if only the high humidity and dew points would go down