Thread: Engine wont spin?

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Hi All,
A friend of mine pulled a running 350 out of a 94 Blazer a couple years ago. He offered to sell it to me for $300. I went to check it out, we tried to spin it and it seems locked up. It was running when pulled with approx 80K miles on it. What would cause it to not spin?...Corrosion in the cylinders or around bearings? Im willing to do a mild rebuild, but dont want to get involved if it needs all sorts of block work. Is it worth it?
Thanks!

How was it stored.........inside our outside (uncovered)? Probably not the bearings as they are protected by a film of oil. More likely the rings are rusted into the cylinders or at least the walls have a film of rust that is stopping the rings from moving. A head gasket could have failed, and a cylinder filled up with water. It could also be hydrolocked, where the cylinder is filled with water and water does not compress.

First step, pull all the plugs, then shoot a bunch of WD40 or down each plug hole, and put a breaker bar on the crank bolt. Rock it back and forth semi gently to see if it will then move. If that fails, pull the heads and see what is going on.

He should have sprayed a heavy oil like fogging oil into each cylinder before storage, and covered it up. I think you have a better negotiating position now to get a better price.

Don

If the engine is realy locked I wouldn't use a wrench on the crank bolt . Some people get over zellious and you could break it off . A better way is a strap wrench around the crank pully. As Don said coat the cylinder walls with WD-40 or some good penitrating oil. Let it set a while then try turning it over. Maybe you could hook up a starter to it and leave the plugs out while trying to turn it. Anyway try to get a better price as hes the one that let it sit with no protection.

That is why I said "gently" rock the crank back and forth.


Don

Thanks for the advice. It was stored in an outdoor shed, definately not the best storage place since its still subject to humidity. I figured the cylinder walls may be rusty like you said. We'll try the wd40 trick tonight. Assuming the walls are indeed rusted (and worn), what is the approx cost for a bore/hone job? I think a few hundred? If so he should give me the motor for free!

Don't use WD40, use a real penetrating oil. Even diesel fuel works better than WD40. Pull the plugs. That'll probably show you which cylinder has moisture in it. If it won't free up with some prybar work, back the valve adjusters off so the valves are closed, and get yourself a pressure washer, make fittings to pressure up the cylinder with the washer, that almost always works!

Here's something you might want to consider.......You are going to tear this thing down anyway at this point. Why not do it now so your game plan will come together more quickly and smoothly. Believe me, you are at the point of tear down now. Give it a whirl.

Originally Posted by nitrowarrior

Here's something you might want to consider.......You are going to tear this thing down anyway at this point. Why not do it now so your game plan will come together more quickly and smoothly. Believe me, you are at the point of tear down now. Give it a whirl.

Bingo, we have a winner.

Richard, Can I get my gold star now?

We took the heads off tonight, and there it was...the #6 cylinder had some water inside and it corroded. The rings were stuck to the wall. We cleaned it up, gave the piston a whack with a rubber mallot, and it came free.

Hey Nitro...you are right, we're tearing it down and starting from scratch and doing a full rebuild. Ill be visiting the machine shop this weekend....What can I expect to pay for a cleaning and bore/hone?

Thanks.

A bunch of cash....I don't want New Yorkers to take offense, but I know your prices are much higher than what I pay here in Az. Before you do your budget, decide (and stick with ) your game plan and then price it out. It can be done affordably and make sure you stay on the shop to get what you agreed upon. Then no problems.

Next time this happens to you ... I have found that a 50/50 mix of Diesel Fuel and Auto Transmission fluid is the best for breaking a seized engine free. Fill all the cylinders and let it sit for a few days to a week.

It will sometimes work to break rings free as well if you have a cylinder with low compression due to seized rings.

No matter what though, it's still rebuild time when anything this "terminal" happens.

Originally Posted by 63BoxNova

....What can I expect to pay for a cleaning and bore/hone?

Thanks.

Quality Engine in Circleville, NY charged me...

$60 to tank my block, hone, and preassemble which included pressing new cam bearings, new freeze plugs and oil galley plugs.

$450 will get the work above plus a bore and new pistons. I elected not to bore.


-Kevin

Wow, it certainly aint cheap. Then again it seems nothing is anymore. Thanks for the input guys. Atleast now I know what to expect.

What are you planning to use this motor for? Drag Race vehicle, then you should bore and hone it to oversize pistons for "that perfect seal". But if your going to use it for a cruise/street motor and it only had 80K on it, you could get by with a reversable drill operated hone with medium stones. I've done that on several Ford FE's with out any real problems. Mic ing the cylinder should tell you how worn they are. The reason for a reversable drill motor is to get a good cross hatch hone job.