Engine won't turn

[bell007]

Hi I am new to this, but here goes I have had my 1964 Convertible in storage for the last 5 years, i used to work abroad however i recently retired, I usually fire it up every 10 weeks and take in for a long run. The last few weeks it as been run out every day with no problems, however on Monday I came to start it and thought the battery was flat as I heard a limp start front he starter motor. I went for charging the battery over 24 hours which I did however the next day I tried again and had the same result again. I then tried to turn the engine by hand and with the starter handle and could get no movement. I then took the plugs out and tried to turn it again with no luck. I rang Rob on the tech tips hot line who was very helpful suggesting a number of ideas, rocking the car in reverse, removing starter motor, removing distributor etc again with no luck. I am now thinking that I will have to bite the bullet and take the engine out and investigate deeper, could anyone please advise is there anything else I could do or try please advise

[SUE482]

Most unlikely to have seized solid in a couple of weeks, a few things to try, make sure its out of gear
Is it actually locked solid with no movement at all
Get someone to press the clutch while you try to turn it over by hand
Try and turn the engine the opposite way using the big starting handle nut and a big spanner
Report back

[bell007]

Thanks will try in the morning, as said it was running really well the day before and we have done about 500 miles since we have returned so hopefully the engine is not seized.

[Trickydicky]

Did you notice any unusual noises or anything different the last time you parked it up? could help diagnosing the problem.

[bmcecosse]

Why on earth would removing the dizzy help??? So - have you removed the starter?? Did the engine then turn on the handle with starter removed? It's MOST unusual that the engine will have seized.....something must be jamming it. If it still doesn't turn with starter removed - has anything broken off the starter and fallen inside the bellhousing? Check if the water pump and dynamo will turn - slacken the fan belt to check. Has the water level dropped at all? As above - please report back!

[bell007]

Hi thanks for all the responses, as said I am new to this so some my actions may not be the right ones however despite taking the starter motor off it looked in good working condition with no broken bits the recoil mechanism dry and in good order. The engine won't budge and does feel jammed. The day before there were no unusual noises the water and oil levels are good with no leaks, I did turn the water pump by hand which seemed ok.

[bmcecosse]

Well - I guess I would start by taking the head off.....although trying to turn it the wrong way is well worth trying. I suppose something could have dropped down inside the bellhousing and be jamming the ring gear.....hard to imagine what. Is it completely solid - or does it move back and forth even v slighty? And as mentioned above - have you tried with the clutch held in - in case something has come loose in the gearbox?

[beero]

Take the plugs out, I wonder if the head gasket has leaked water into a cylinder. The piston will not compress liquid and a small amount would not show up in the radiator level.
Have you tried putting it in 4th and pushing the car back and forth?

[kennatt]

original post says he has had the plugs out.Bit of a mystery,just happened overnight ,very strange.

[bell007]

Hi, I have tried depressing the clutch then rolled the car forward when putting into 4th gear as soon as i did the the wheels locked the engine has not moved at all. I have tried this back and forth and also as suggetsed tried with a big spanner to rotate the engine but again no luck no movement

I was thinking to firstly split the gear box and make sure there is nothing untoward s happening there and then as suggested with will have a go at taking the head off and see what is happening with the engine. I am away for the weekend with the arrival of a new granddaughter plus hope to get to the Morris Show at the weekend so this will have to wait till next week I will keep you updated.

It is really strange why this has happened as it was running so well the day before, however thats life and these things are sent to try us, if you any other suggestions on my course of action they would be most welcome many thanks.

[bmcecosse]

It is indeed a great mystery. I wonder if something horrible has happened in the timing chain area - I had a Mini engine once that split the bottom timing cog for some reason - it ran fine till switched off - and then the (duplex) cog fell to pieces.... It didn't wedge the engine - but it wouldn't start of course - but something like that happening could I suppose wedge it.

[bell007]

Hi, sorry for the slow response (new granddaughter arrival), a quick update as to what I found with the seized engine. I took the cylinder head off and found that it had been leaking for while, surprisingly with very little water loss. With the head removed the engine would still not move so I decided to take it out as it would be easy to work on. With the engine out as suggested I removed the timing chain cover nothing untowards found, without going into all the detail, what I did find was starting at the front and slackening off each of the main crankshaft bearing bolts and trying turn the engine which was was tight until I finally backed off the rear bearing con rod the engine then freed itself. I did find some scoring on the bearing as though there had been some pick up, the crank shaft didn't look that bad at all, the piston assemblies looked good, The only other anomaly noted was a chip on the cam shaft so whether that had something to do with it I don't know.

I took the engine to the local engine specialist to have the head reskimmed and camshaft damage polished out whilst ordering new bearings and gaskets etc. I chatted as to what had happened, his view was potentially one of the causes could be due to the car not being used for long periods (I used to work abroad) the oil pump may not be working as efficiently as it should be doing and not giving sufficient lubrication to the bearing and hence to subsequent failure.

I have got he engine back and it is already to go back in So hopefully i will be able to get the car back on the road with no more problems, thank for all your advice.

[bmcecosse]

And hopefully with a new oil pump fitted!