Motor locked up?

[jmak06]

So, there may be a post on this already, but I couldn't find one. I just pulled the 420 out of my 98 Eclipse Gs. It threw a rod about a year ago, and has been chilling in my garage since then. I didn't even bother looking at it at the time, because I was extremely angry at it. I had just gotten the new clutch in and took it for a drive. It started knocking really bad on my way home. I brought it home and parked it. A few nights later, a buddy of mine came over, and after a long night of drinking, he wanted to see what it sounded like. So, being drunk and not thinking too well, I went ahead and took it for a spin. The car threw the rod about half a mile later, and I had to push it home with my wife's van. Well, last night I decided to pull the motor. It threw the rod through the side of the oil pan, which is better than it could've been. There is still oil in the motor, and I can put a ratchet on the crank pulley and turn the motor about 2 inches. So, I was wondering if I was supposed to be able to turn it completely, or if I was only supposed to be able to turn it that much. I feel like I probably shouldn't be able to turn it through a compression stroke by hand, but that may not be the case, so I figured I would ask. If being able to turn it this much means it isn't locked up, then I'm going to go ahead and rebuild this motor, if not, then I will go to the junkyard and buy one and rebuild it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bryanwheat]

Pull the oil pan off and look. You will be able to turn the engine over with a wrench, but it will be pretty hard. As i said though, pull the pan and you will see exactly what is going on.

 

[jmak06]

I am going to pull the pan, probably in a few minutes actually. It's sitting on an old tire right now. I went and bought a motor stand for it a few hours ago, and havn't had a chance to get it put on there yet. Should i just use a breaker bar and give it some hell to see if it will turn? I didn't put a whole lot of force on it to see if I could turn it over all the way, because I was worried that since i couldn't, maybe part of the rod was lodged in the cylinder or something. I'll pull the pan and see what's going on though. How much force should it take to turn the motor over?

Well, change of plans. I have to go buy some bolts tomorrow, the ones I have are not long enough to mount the engine to the stand. I did try and turn it all the way over, and I cannot. It only moves about 2 inches either direction, and then it wont go any further. I even tried standing on the breaker bar to no avail. So, does it sound like it's locked up, or is it possible that there is something inside the motor preventing it from moving further?

 

[havlc2u]

JMak
I have pretty much the same thing I can move it a inch or 2 either way but that is it. Did you figure yours out at all? I have not dropped the pan yet. Might wait until later this week.

 

[ThunderChild]

More than likely it is not siezed but the connecting rod is causing interference between the block and crank. U will have to assess the conditon of the block and crank, while probably investing in some new rods.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

This is where drunken stupidity lands you.

1 : Compression will cause the crank process to be resistant by hand but it is very much a task which can be performed. Try removing all spark plugs so there is no compression in the other cylinders.

2 : Pull the oil pan, you'll have to replace that anyhow, and inspect the engine.

3 : Look for signs of scores/scratches on the crank, damage to the cylinder walls, and crank play. You most likely scored the crank by doing what was done and it will need to be removed, inspected, and repaired if possible.

4 : Pull the head. You're going to be replacing at least a piston/rod and thus you'll need access to pull them and install them.

5 : Do it sober.

Good luck.

I am going to pull the pan, probably in a few minutes actually. It's sitting on an old tire right now. I went and bought a motor stand for it a few hours ago, and havn't had a chance to get it put on there yet. Should i just use a breaker bar and give it some hell to see if it will turn? I didn't put a whole lot of force on it to see if I could turn it over all the way, because I was worried that since i couldn't, maybe part of the rod was lodged in the cylinder or something. I'll pull the pan and see what's going on though. How much force should it take to turn the motor over?

Well, change of plans. I have to go buy some bolts tomorrow, the ones I have are not long enough to mount the engine to the stand. I did try and turn it all the way over, and I cannot. It only moves about 2 inches either direction, and then it wont go any further. I even tried standing on the breaker bar to no avail. So, does it sound like it's locked up, or is it possible that there is something inside the motor preventing it from moving further?

Mhm..

More than likely it is not siezed but the connecting rod is causing interference between the block and crank. U will have to assess the conditon of the block and crank, while probably investing in some new rods.

Uh...?

Standing and putting that much force on the crank and it not turning has either determined that it is seized or you have now scored the cylinder wall. either way it's time for a rebuild.

 

[ThunderChild]

If it moves 2 inches then stops, I'd put money on he rod end being between the block and crank journal. Yes the motor is boned and a rebuild is most certainly in order. I just finished rebuilding my freinds 420a, not much clearance between the bedplate/cylinder wall and crank journal.

I guess it is possible that the piston seized right at top dead center, but it'd be the first I've ever seen. Anythings possible tho.

 

[jmak06]

Well, It's been a few days since I posted...and in that time, I have pulled the pan and assessed the condition of the motor. It appears as if the piston just exploded. The rod looks to be melted off about halfway down or so, and the piston is mostly sand particles. There are a couple peices about the size of a quarter or so, but the rest of it is just pieces of varying size, all about the size or a little bigger than a grain of sand. I havn't checked to see what kind of scoring or anything there is yet, but I'm sure there is alot of damage seeing the condition of the piston. The whole rod is there, and the bearings seem good, so I'm not so sure what would cause this. The EGR valve is completely full of carbon, so I doubt it was doing its job. Also, the reason I couldn't turn the motor (I know, I'm an idiot) is because I bent the starter plate when I was pulling the motor, and the bolts to the clutch kit on the back of the flywheel where getting stuck in the area where the starter goes through the plate.

 

[bryzenga]

I'm in for pics.
Might be cheaper at this point to find a good running shortblock and put it back together.
Depends how bad those cylinder walls and crank look.

 

[jmak06]

I'll get pics as soon as I can. I don't have a camera at this point in time, so I can't take any yet, but I feel like buying one would be of use to me in the future also, so I might as well get one soon. I can buy a complete motor from the salvage yard near me for $150 dollars, so I'm probably going to go with that route. The motors have a 30 day warranty, so I could install it, and then take it somewhere to get checked out. I'm not looking to do any performance upgrades to this car. It already has an AEM cold air intake, megan racing headers and downpipe, and Apexi N1 catback exhaust. It's basically just my daily driver (well, it was anyway) and I don't really care about making it any faster.

I did think about trying to turbocharge it because I have an extra turbo in my garage, but I don't think it'd be worth the hassle.