Motor seized? (1 Viewer)

[Sherlocker]

Hey all,

I thought I had a starter / plunger problem. The noise it was making was a grinding, clanking sound. Took the starter apart, everything looked good and when I tested without it mounted, it seems to be fine. I put it back together. When I try to start it, it sounds like the starter is trying to engage a stuck / seized flywheel, motor. The 80 has been sitting a couple of months, and showed no signs of overheating or seizing up prior to this. Its a 94 with 190k. What's my next step in finding if I have the worse case scenario? Thanks in advance.

 

[2fpower]

get a big socket and see if you can turn over the engine by hand.

I have a 94 engine that I am pulling out of a parts car that sounds strong if you need one.

 

[baldilocks]

Could your battery be week after sitting for so long?

 

[Sherlocker]

Thanks for the quick replies, the battery might be an issue. Mine was dead at the time, so I swapped it with my wife's battery out of our LX470. Now that I think about it, that battery might not have the same CCA s that is needed to crank my 80. I will check when I get home tonight.

 

[ozwallaby]

What sort of motor..... petrol or diesel..... if petrol take the spark plugs out and see if it will crank or can be turned by hand..... if it's a diesel take the INJECTORS out and try then..... A WORD OF WARNING IF IT'S A GLOW PLUGGED DIESEL (ie 1HZ) Do not be tempted to take the easy way out and remove the glow plugs in stead of the injectors if you are going to crank it with the starter..... if you have a cylinder/cylinders with lots of water in them, the glow plug holes aren't big enough to let the water out quick enough.... you can still hydraulic the motor.... I've seen it happen....

 

[bloc]

The socket you need for the crank is 30mm. If you don't have one or don't want to buy one, you can remove the window behind the oil pan into the bell housing and see if the flex plate will turn via prying with a screwdriver. Just don't go bananas on it and bend the flex plate.

 

[Howard705]

If any belt driven accesories-AC-Alt-etc-or even ps-It will act locked up-starter can't turn it-you probably can't either but you will see the belt stretching. This is often overlooked when a motor can't turn over. Don't forget to pull plugs to see if hydrolocked from coolant.

 

[Sherlocker]

Ok, thanks again for all the advice, the motor is not a diesel, it is a 1FZFE. I did not get time to do anything with it last night. I am hoping to get to it tonight. I will report my findings.

 

[Sherlocker]

Alright, I have finally got to work on my rig a little. I pulled all belts and the put a charger on the battery overnight. I am getting the same "clunk", so I think I have a worse case scenario on my hands. I am pulling the fan so I can get a 30mm on the crank bolt. I am going to also pull all the plugs and see WTF is going on. BTW what should a good battery that is fully charged read on a Fluke multi meter? I am still hanging on to a tiny chance that it is not the motor.

 

[MLX450]

How old is your starter? It might just be as simple as a failing starter.

 

[sbman]

12.5 or more volts. The battery can still be bad and read that voltage though unlikely. Test it with your headlights on and should still get more than 12

 

[inkpot]

Alright, I have finally got to work on my rig a little. I pulled all belts and the put a charger on the battery overnight. I am getting the same "clunk", so I think I have a worse case scenario on my hands. I am pulling the fan so I can get a 30mm on the crank bolt. I am going to also pull all the plugs and see WTF is going on. BTW what should a good battery that is fully charged read on a Fluke multi meter? I am still hanging on to a tiny chance that it is not the motor.

If you pull the windage pan from below the engine, it is pretty easy to get the socket onto the crank nut. Much easier than pulling the fan.

 

[Sherlocker]

Ok, thanks, I should get to that tomorrow.

 

[jonheld]

12.5 or more volts. The battery can still be bad and read that voltage though unlikely. Test it with your headlights on and should still get more than 12

Not if the alternator isn't running. Voltage will go down with any load on a non-charging battery.
Fully charged battery is 12.6-12.7VDC

If you pull the plugs, the engine can rotate by hand. Reach down and turn the crank pulley or any belt driven accessory. Remove the belly pan and you can get to the crank easily.

 

[Sherlocker]

So, I need to pull the plugs before I try to rotate the crank bolt?

 

[quasi]

I would check with plugs in first, if seized , then pull plugs

 

[MLX450]

Rotate that crank bolt with a 30mm socket clockwise. I was doing the front crank seal in this pic so the fan is removed.

 

[Sherlocker]

I pulled the plugs, and radiator, fan shroud and was able to turn the crank bolt without a ton of force, then it would become a lot tougher, then it would ease. Is this sound like something may be wrong or is that typical? I marked the pulley and i haven't done a full revolution, not sure how much I should keep turning. Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[blkprj80]

Make sure you are rotating the engine forward.
With all the plugs out, it should turn fairly evenly, but you might feel certain spots that seem a bit tighter.
Something sure doesn't sound right though. Did you remove the belts for AC and Alternator?
Every 120 degrees of crankshaft rotation brings pistons to TDC. 1&6 hit TDC at the same time, as do 2&5, and 3&4.

 

[Sherlocker]

All the belts are removed.