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Well ain't this just peaches and cream.

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OT, but this is what my "other" engine I've got apart had waiting for me in four cylinders. Hopefully this TR3 won't be as cruel...

badpiston.jpg
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]If the plugs are out, engine can't be hydrostatically locked[/QUOTE]

I missed that the plugs were out.

But..........what is the oil level in the crankcase? It could still lock up if the pistons can't move down from the bottom end, whether the plugs are in or not.
 
Brosky said:
what is the oil level in the crankcase? It could still lock up if the pistons can't move down from the bottom end, whether the plugs are in or not.
Click to expand...

Oil level is ok, I changed the oil before I put the car away. Just double checked it to be sure; it's 2/3rds of the way up between the lines on the dipstick.

Pulled the distributor and drive gear. It turns fine, and the engine doesn't turn with the dizzy out.
 
Well, I dropped the oil pan and took a look. I didn't see anything immediately obviously wrong. The crank, rods, liners, pistons all looked as normal as I could see without taking anything apart. I also didn't see any evidence of any large amounts of antifreeze in the oil.

I'm wondering now if maybe I've got something jamming up the flywheel? The problem did start right after I'd put a new starter on. Could something have come off the new starter, I accidentally got something in their while the starter was off, the ring gear broke, etc?
 
Did you install a new hi-torque starter? I had one of the bolts that mounts the unit to the housing work its way loose and caused minor problems before I caught it. ??? Just a thought.
Gordon
 
For coolant to be on the top of the cylinder head is obviously a big concern. That would seem to be due to a blown head gasket, cracked head, or some failure where coolant made its way into the oil pan then back up.

Maybe not, but I can't see how coolant would make it up there unless the coolant found its way into the compression chamber or oil pan.

Regardless of that issue, which may have another cause, the coincidence of the engine seizing after you put a new starter in has me concerned.

I'd put the transmission in neutral and pull the fan again. If it's seized, I'd try going backward. If it moves backward but only for a half turn and then freezes, that would seem to indicate the possibility, mentioned above, that a valve broke and is lodged into a cylinder.

If the engine won't move in either direction, I'd pull that oil pan off again. Was the oil full of coolant? Are the connecting rods all intact?

If still no answers, I'd pull that starter again. Just for kicks I'd bench test the starter, holding it firmly in a vice. I realize that if the ignition isn't on, the starter gears aren't engaged anyway, but I'd want to rule out anything strange about the starter.

Good luck.
 
KVH said:
For coolant to be on the top of the cylinder head is obviously a big concern.
Click to expand...

I agree, it's a big concern. Just not sure whether it's related to the stuck engine or not.


KVH said:
I'd put the transmission in neutral and pull the fan again. If it's seized, I'd try going backward.
Click to expand...

Doesn't move an inch, forward or backward, gearbox engaged or not.

KVH said:
If the engine won't move in either direction, I'd pull that oil pan off again. Was the oil full of coolant? Are the connecting rods all intact?
Click to expand...

Couldn't see any coolant in the oil that came out of the sump. Rods, wrist pins, and bearings all look intact. I obviously can't really look at the bearings without taking things apart, but otherwise I didn't see anything amiss in there.

KVH said:
If still no answers, I'd pull that starter again. Just for kicks I'd bench test the starter, holding it firmly in a vice. I realize that if the ignition isn't on, the starter gears aren't engaged anyway, but I'd want to rule out anything strange about the starter.
Click to expand...

Even with the starter physically removed, the engine still won't turn. So even if the starter were bad, it's not the main problem here.


I'm going to try and get some time today to get into the timing cover and see if everything is ok up there. If so, I don't see a lot of choice but to pull the engine out and go over it on the bench.
 
There was a thread last year about a stuck engine. In the end it turned out that the heads of the bolts for the flywheel(?) were too tall and bound up the engine. Any chance of this being something like that?
 
Silverghost said:
There was a thread last year about a stuck engine. In the end it turned out that the heads of the bolts for the flywheel(?) were too tall and bound up the engine. Any chance of this being something like that?
Click to expand...

Pete: Yes, that was me.

In addition to the actual cause, there were many excellent suggestions from the TR guys here.

You can read the details here:

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/ubbthreads.php/topics/507860/1
 
Silverghost said:
There was a thread last year about a stuck engine. In the end it turned out that the heads of the bolts for the flywheel(?) were too tall and bound up the engine. Any chance of this being something like that?
Click to expand...

Probably not that specifically. The engine has 2K miles on it since it's last rebuild, so it's something that just happened to it, rather than something immediately wrong with the last rebuild.
 
OK - so let's let it sit all day and try rocking it tonight. Fingers crossed.

Still seems really odd. Guys - did a coolant passage way crack and let coolant into the bore somehow? Would have to be a heck of a crack, no?
 
tdskip said:
Guys - did a coolant passage way crack and let coolant into the bore somehow? Would have to be a heck of a crack, no?
Click to expand...

I'd think if that happened, I'd see a lot of evidence of antifreeze in the block. I really didn't see anything but what was on top of the head. Now, if it's up there, it's obviously down below too, but it wasn't a ton. That's why I'm currently leaning to the conclusion that the coolant is an unrelated problem to the stuck engine.
 
Over time and with coolant in it the water can "wick" thru some mighty fine cracks!

Has anyone suggested the "Weasel Pee" concoction? 50/50 acetone and ATF? Shake vigorously and pour it in. Mebbe a half cup per jug. If the MMO is already in there the 50/50 mix may not work as well, the acetone is so much lighter it floats on oil. But the stuff REALLY works.


...jus' sayin'...
 
tdskip said:
I agree with Doc that it wouldn't take much coolant to rust her solid over the course of a couple months. (sorry)
Click to expand...

If thats IS the case, then the MMO seems the best route, and hes already doing that.

Speaking of the starter again... are ALL the bolts for the starter out? Or did you put them back in the holes? If they are in the holes, maybe pulling them back out will have a happy ending. Just thinking maybe the starter came with some new bolts and they could be long.
 
In fact, it wouldn't necessarily take any coolant at all. Long time ago, a friend of mine left his freshly rebuilt (maybe 1000 miles) MGA in my driveway while he went off to boot camp. Couple months later, I tried to move it to longer term storage, and discovered that the rings in #3 were permanently stuck to the cylinder walls, apparently just from dew & humidity through the open valves!

Soaking, pounding, heating all proved useless; years later he finally broke the piston to get it apart.
 
What you guys are forgetting is that it spun over just fine for about five seconds with the new starter before it locked up. If the piston was stuck from corrosion, it wouldn't have spun at all.

Here's the sequence of events again:

Old starter spun slow.

Pulled old starter out, put new starter in.

Spun good, for five or so seconds, then stopped and engine can't be turned over manually.

Pulled new starter out, engine still won't budge in either direction.

Disconnected all accessories, engine still won't budge.

Pulled valve cover. Saw evidence of coolant, but not bucket fulls and no "mayonnaise".

Drained oil and pulled sump. No evidence of coolant, nothing wrong on the inside from a cursory visual inspection.
 
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