Before you do anything, take that pry bar, crawl underneath and bang on the starter. Simple stuff first!
Help! She died today and won't turn over -UPDATE it's a spun bearing
- Thread starter Cgn1976
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
whitey45
SILVER Star
If you cant turn the engine over with a pry bar, the starter will never turn it over. I have never seen a starter jam a flywheel. If the starter makes a big clunk, its trying to turn the flywheel, hitting it will only cause more damage. You should be able to grab the fan and turn the engine a few inches. Check your distributor! Sounds like it seized do to no oil pressure. Then you tried to turn it over , and the ground wire connection was the high resistance and burned up from the high load on the starter. Just a hunch, but I have been a mechanic for 30 years!!
- Thread starter
- #23
So I replaced the distributor a year ago and while it was only the 2nd time I ever did one, I very much was careful to make sure the gear engaged. I felt that subtle difference of making sure it seated all the way. Confirmed today nothing has moved and it's fully seated.
- Thread starter
- #24
The motor won't turn. it's seized
picking back up...I had to go there for a bit for work. I pulled the starter and tried again to turn the motor with my crow bar. It' ain't turning even a little bit. With the starter off, I put the pry bar on the teeth of the fly wheel to see if it would move. Locked up tight!
Where do I go from here? Is it rebuild time? ugh...
I'm parked on the damn street and am gonna have to change that before the neighbors freak out. Pretty sure I can manage getting it up the hill and next to the house with some creative hand winching and rope to a tree right there. Guessing I gotta find a shop that'll pull this for me. I know of a rebuild shop that'll do the engine.
picking back up...I had to go there for a bit for work. I pulled the starter and tried again to turn the motor with my crow bar. It' ain't turning even a little bit. With the starter off, I put the pry bar on the teeth of the fly wheel to see if it would move. Locked up tight!
Where do I go from here? Is it rebuild time? ugh...
I'm parked on the damn street and am gonna have to change that before the neighbors freak out. Pretty sure I can manage getting it up the hill and next to the house with some creative hand winching and rope to a tree right there. Guessing I gotta find a shop that'll pull this for me. I know of a rebuild shop that'll do the engine.
Last edited:
RUSH55
SILVER Star
You need to find out what’s keeping it from turning. An engine is not going to just suddenly seize while driving down the road. Did you not have oil in it? Did you leave a random bolt in the air cleaner that is now lodged in a valve? Pull the starter and put a socket on the front pulley nut and turn the engine over with a breaker bar if you have to. Make sure the transmission is in neutral.
whitey45
SILVER Star
Is the oil level ok? You can pull the distributer and spin the oil pump( long slotted screwdriver chucked up in a drill) I once unseized an f engine this way and it ran fine for years after. Priming the pump gets oil back into the journal’s and will free up) now it could be a thrown rod sticking out of your engine block, spun rod bearing,etc. process of elimination. I would pull the distributer and check the end of it and make sure the tip that engages the oil pump didnt fail?
- Thread starter
- #27
Pulled the dipstick and it looks a little down but not crazy. Still on the dip stick for sure. I changed the oil less than 1000 miles ago right after I did the valve stem seals. Not burning oil like she used to and doesn't drip at all, but I was thinking the lowered level could be the culprit. I'll try the oil pump spin and see after I get it topped off. Not seeing anything externally on the block and as far as a thrown rod or rod bearings, I'm getting over my skis pretty quickly here! Should I pull the valve cover and take a look there?
As for break bar on the pulley, I essentially tried that. I managed to get my crow bar on it and with the starter out actually bent the tip on the end of the bar trying to turn the motor. It's definitely not moving. Nothing fell off the air cleaner or nothing obvious is missing that I can see that might have gotten in there through the carb but who knows. Something clearly has it not spinning
Is it out of gear?
RUSH55
SILVER Star
You tried spinning it both ways?
- Thread starter
- #30
That's one thing I can confirm
- Thread starter
- #31
Thought about trying that to see if it'll move at all but there's this one way connector thingy on the end of the pulley that lets you stick a pry bar on it but only for a clockwise turn. It's rounded so you can't spin it the other way. Gotta get under there and pull the skid plate to see if I can get at it from below. I think my plastic 6 or 7 fin fan blade and shroud make it so I'll have to pull the radiator to get a wrench on there to try to go the other way on it.
I bet I could take the starter back off and try to pry on the flywheel teeth a bit to see if it will budge at all going backwards.
I did manage to get this little piggy back to her bed and off the streets. Hand winch, a tree, some long cable and a little nudge the from the Sequoia got it done. Minor scuff on the rear bumber was the only damage, so that's was a win. At least I can work on it now and if I have to pull the rip cord and send it somewhere I can roll it back down. to the street.
whitey45
SILVER Star
Put it in 4th gear and rock it back and forth to see if the engine will break free( helps to have s little man power) If it will spin counter clockwise, that usually means rod failure.
I am so sorry to say I am learning a ton from this process, I truly hope it turns out to be something very minor. A fluke of sorts
- Thread starter
- #34
Read a thread last night where you helped a guy about 10 years ago on an old orange 40 that sat for years, where the oil pump spin with a drill trick worked! Praying for a similar miracle here!
I've gone back through the event in my head and remember it as it just sort of stalled. No bang. No Clunk. No jerking. No noise at all. Seems like a thrown rod would make a noise of some sort, right? It just stalled rolling out of a stop sign turning right into a street. Tried the starter while it was still rolling. Little clunk I think, so seems like probably was seized right there. Not sure that the ground wire had much to do with it, although who knows. Sitting there in the street it would click the starter weakly one time when I turned the key then go dead, like the lights wouldn't even turn on... so I clearly also had the ground issue right then as well.
Thinking about the oil being a little low, does anyone think that would be enough to cause this to seize up? The level on the dip stick now after a few days sitting is right above the low indicator line, so it's low for sure but not bone dry. My pressure gauge works (was how I knew I stabbed the dizzy right last summer) and I never noticed it low, but if I'm being honest I probably haven't monitored that one as closely as I guess I should have. Like I said, I just changed the oil less than 1000 miles ago and it's not a leaker, so I didn't think much of it. Again hindsight? I suppose the tube off the breather tube back to the air cleaner is sucking oil fumes and consuming oil. I feel pretty stupid right now.
Last thing, I did try the 3rd gear rock her back and forth a bit and it didn't break loose. It does roll an inch or 2 either direction but hits a hard stop and returns the other way, so not loose. Maybe I try that with the plugs out?
Gonna pull the dizzy and spin it and maybe dump a little oil down the spark plug holes (read that on a thread last night) and hope for the best, because it seems like a rebuild on an F is gonna be crazy expensive or not doable at all based on impossible to find parts. Seeing rebuilt 2Fs for crazy numbers online last night ($4000-$6900!!!). I think it means find a used 2F locally for a rebuild or a V8 swap??? I'm soooooooo far over my skis at this point I feel like that dude on the old Wide World of Sports intro on the ski jump!
WarDamnEagle
SILVER Star
Pull the plugs to ensure the engine is siezed. If not then change the starter or knock the crap out of the one you have.
whitey45
SILVER Star
I would confirm dist is ok, and get a drill to see if you can get some oil pressure, this will confirm if it was an oiling issue( not likely the pistons are seized. When the crank bearings lock up its game over. I once had a 6 foot cheater bar on a crank and could hang from it!!!
- Thread starter
- #37
As far as the dizzy goes, I put in a brand new OEM vacuum advance unit from Mark's Offroad right after I bought the truck last summer. Seems like an unlikely culprit to be the failure point, but you never know
whitey45
SILVER Star
Not saying it failed, just need to confirm it. Oil pumps rarely fail, its usually the dist not seated all the way or the drive pin breaking.
I wouldn't beat yourself up on the oil level. It's measuring above the low mark and these engines have such large oil volumes, that I doubt very seriously that this is the issue or even caused the issue, especially when driving on the fairly flat streets of Albuquerque.
Also, if you need an engine, keep an eye out for a 2F. They become available every so often and a running one can usually be had for less than $2k. I've shipped a 2F about 550 miles via yrc freight for $125 too, so shipping shouldn't be prohibitive if you find one near a yrc terminal.
Also, if you need an engine, keep an eye out for a 2F. They become available every so often and a running one can usually be had for less than $2k. I've shipped a 2F about 550 miles via yrc freight for $125 too, so shipping shouldn't be prohibitive if you find one near a yrc terminal.
You have confirmed that the engine is locked. Next thing I would do is to pull the plugs and look to see if any of them are damaged. A foreign object or broken valve can drop down in a cylinder and beat up a spark plug. Pulling the plugs will make future efforts to turn the engine easier as well. Following the plug removal, take off the valve cover and look for anything suspicious under there. Spin each of the pushrods by hand to make sure there aren't any bent ones. Lever down on each of the valve stems with a big screwdriver to ensure that they push down. If all this passes muster, drain the oil into a clean bucket and strain it for pieces of metal.
