Me and my dad have an 89 XJS that weve been trying to restore together for a while. When we bought it it was mint but had an engine fire. It took us forever to get the wiring harnesses, and all the parts that mount to the motor that had burned, along with the master cylinder. During that time it was in a storage lot. The short story is it ended up in a flood a couple years ago, I dried it all out but it never ran so I couldn't start it. Finally I got the car back home I decided to try and get the project going again. SO today I went out put a good battery in it and tried turning the key to see if the motor spun but I can hear the solenoid clunk the starter out but it doesn't spin the engine. So my guess is its seized. Theres not much room to put a breaker bar on the crank shaft to see if the motor will turn. There is no water in the oil or on the dip stick so my guess is it came in through the intake manifold or exhaust.

Are pistons and liners the same on all V12's The engine only had 50k miles on it. Im thinking maybe I can get away with replacing the liners and pistons on the cylinders that had water in them, then just replace all the rings, rod, and main bearings and put the engine back together. But I am having trouble finding parts specifically for the 89 XJS.

 

Pull the spark plugs first and check for water or get a camera mounted snake with a light. could be bad solenoid or low or bad battery.

 

That, or, before you turn the engine over, take all the plugs out and fill the cylinders with transmission fluid. I actually bought a couple of cans of PB Blaster and filled cylinders on a V12 that had been siting a unknown number of years. Let it sit several days, put lots of towels over the engine, and see if it will turn over then. Turning it over right now will surely ruin any chance of saving it.
The pistons are the same btw on all of the 5.3 engines. Maybe the 6.0 engines as well?

 

I agree with the others about pulling the plugs and squirting in some PB Blaster.

If you want to turn the engine with a wrench it is easier to do it from the bottom. Jack up the car and remove the plastic under tray. You can gain access to the crankshaft pulley and bolt from there.

Before you try to turn the engine with the starter make sure you disconnect the fuel injector harness. If you don't you will fill the cylinders with fuel. If you can turn the engine by hand then try the starter again. Make sure you cover the engine with towels to catch what comes out of the spark plug holes. If the starter will not crank then you have a starter or electrical issue.

If you can get the engine to turn with the starter then let it turn until everything in the cylinders is pushed out. Once the cylinders are dry this would be a perfect time to do a compression test. Don't worry if some of the cylinders are a bit low compared to the others. Most likely the rings are not yet free but they will get better once the engine is running. What you don't want to see is a cylinder with 0 compression. If so then you have a valve problem and the heads are going to have to be removed and repaired.

After the compression test reinstall the spark plugs and reconnect the fuel injector harness.

Make sure you have good oil in the engine and that there is no water mixed with it. Best to change it before you try to start the engine.

If you are lucky the engine will run. It may miss a bit but should get better as the piston rings are freed up and the injectors are cleaned with fresh fuel.

You should try this before you decide to pull the engine. You might be able to save what you have.

Mark

 

Agree with all the above.

The piston/liner assemblies are the same for ALL the HE 5.3 engines. The PreHE has different pistons, but the liners are the same.

The 6ltr is on its own.

When looking/buying pistons be careful, as some markets have 12.5:1 comp ratio (ours is one of them), and others (USA mainly) has 11.5:1 comp ratio, and that variance is in the pistons as far as I remember.

Also, NEVER EVER rotate that engine backwards. Timing chain tensioner damage will occur.

The rings "stuck" to the liners is more than likely the issue, and a good few days soaking as mentioned above will sort it eventually.

 

Yea I was probably jumping the gun, but I lost the engines on both my Lincoln Mark 8 and my 79 Trans Am in the same flood. Both with recent rebuilds....

Let me ask this though Ive heard so many ways to unseize an engine, what worked the best for you guys? Older guys have told me to use Diesel or Automatic Transmission Fluid and Acetone, Younger guys have told me some crazy stuff like filling the cylinders with coke, or grain alcohol. Ive also heard of using PB blaster, or Kroil. What do you guys reccomend? I did come across a website that sells a money back guarantee that their penetrant will unstick a motor.

Oh and my car doesnt have the HE emblem in the back, so what pistons and compression ratio do I look for?

 

If it's an 1989 model, it's an HE engine.

 

I'm 54 years old and have been working on cars since I was 13. I'm not as old as others here but I probably qualify as one of the "older" guys.

As for the quote above, let's look at this logically;

1. Coke - 99% water and loaded with sugar. Sure there is some acid that can remove rust but do you really want to fill your cylinders with water and sugar?

2. Grain Alcohol - Will not remove rust and has no lubricating properties. Any useful oil that is in the cylinders will be washed away. Waste of time.

Don't forget that anything you put in the cylinders will end up in your oil. Does water, sugar or alcohol belong in there? NOPE!

What you need is an oil based product that will dissolve rust and lubricate. PB Blaster is very good. Most penetrating oils will work. Marvel Mystery oil would be my second choice.

Mark

 

PB Blaster FTW!

 

Not sure how valid it is, but Popular Mechanics claims Marvel Mystery Oil is best for this purpose:

WD-40 Oil Alternatives - The Case Against WD-40

 

Not the same engine at all, but my daughter had a 2001 Toyota Celica with the 1.8L 4 cylinder. We were second owners, as my cousin bought it new. Mysteriously at about 155000 miles, it started using oil dramatically. Like a quart ever 150 miles! Did some research, and come to find out, it was common problem on these engines. The piston manufacturer only put one oil return hole on the bottom (oil control ring) gland. After 150000+/- miles, that hole gets stopped up, and the rings start sticking. Wild difference in compression ratio as well. Like 40lbs low to 310 on highest cylinder. Anyway, I filled the cylinders with PB Blaster and allowed it to sit a couple of days. Then spun it over, and put new plugs in. It smoked like crazy for about 25-30 miles. I thought I had ruined it. Low and behold, it stopped smoking, and went back to normal oil usage. PB Blaster it is for me in these situations. FWIW, I also connected a small vacuum line to a unused port on the intake, and allowed the engine to pull Sea Foam into it prior to this, so not sure it didn't have something to do wit it.
All I know, is that if a seized engine is turned over, there is more than a great probability that IT WILL damage the engine if not lubricated well!

 

US spec Cr is 11:1 on your engine.
I am a great believer in ATF and acetone 50/50. But I am sure the PB stuff will work as loads of US based guys love it.
Greg

 

Yep, old as hell itself.

We dont have PB?????, or Marvel?????, etc here.

I have used Diesel fuel as a penetrating fluid since 1968, and also ATF of later years.

Money back ????????, must be a USA thing, but I would not waste an email for any of that offering. How anyone can make such claims in 2016 is beyond my old grey matter, way to many variables in any application.

Floods is floods and stuff gets totalled. Sometimes, with heaps of TIME, TLC, some of those things can be resurrected, some will remain totalled.

Remove the plugs, fill the cylinders with a decent dose of your choice of "stuff", and go to Vegas for a week, then attempt to rotate that engine by hand, and see what happens.

Some time ago I resurrected a PreHE that had sat in the shed for 15+ years without spark plugs etc, so basically stuck under the bench until trash day arrived. Some guy wanted it for a "special", so I filled it with ATF, screwed some plugs in by hand, left it. Some weeks later I began the process , and it SLOWLY rotated about 20deg.WOW. Poured some diesel fuel in the holes, plugs back in, went on holidays, came back, and got 1 full rotation out of it. He collected it, I gave it away, and stripped it for a look see. Some serious rust remains in the bores, (honed up a treat) so new rings, bearings, oil pipe o/rings, and away it went. Same pistons/liners etc. OK, not the same as a flooded engine, but without sparkers in it all sorts of stuff went down those holes in that 15 odd years, included a couple of episodes where I washed out the shed floor with the pressure washer, and it was really an engine I was going to drop at the scrap metal yard ONE day.

Based on the very little I know about your flood, as in time under water, how deep, etc etc, I would give it a go before stripping it. Cost would be $40 maybe for ATF and some Diesel fuel.

 

Hi Greg

PB Blaster is readily available in Australia. the manufacturer is located in Sydney.

link to website here Blaster - PB Blaster

hope this assists
regards
Bernard S in Myrtleford Vic

 

i mentioned here;(someplace), diesel fuel and mystery oil,50-50, has worked wonders for me since 1949,damn i'm gittin old!

 

Figured Id give you guys an update, only had rust in 2 cylinders, but I filled all 12 anyway. I bought 2 gallons of PB blaster and used a garden sprayer to fill each cylinder to the top until the PB over flowed. Its been a week but so far no dice. Ive been going out every day and turning the key so maybe the starter will jar the motor a little every day and hopefully break it free. I did put an adjustable wrench on the crank bolt, I couldnt get a ratchet between the pulley and electric fans. The engine wouldnt budge that way either. As of now Im keeping my eyes out for a parts car coupe.