[VB] Help! Locked Up Engine that Ran 2 Weeks Ago - Puzzler

[cdreike]

What is a 1/2 head?ChrisSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------From: Avocado Tom Tarka <avocadotom at gmail.com> Date: 7/24/21  5:43 PM  (GMT-08:00) To: "<vintagebus at type2.com>" <vintagebus at type2.com> Subject: Re: [VB] Help! Locked Up Engine that Ran 2 Weeks Ago - Puzzler Following up...I looked at in a little more detail and it's binding between TDC and ~12ATDC, which would seem to point to something binding as the piston iscoming back into the cylinder.  And the cylinder seems to be on therepretty well (no wiggle when I attempt to move it by hand).---  "We are MoTown.  We are professionals.  We're here to get the job done."On Sat, Jul 24, 2021 at 2:58 AM Avocado Tom Tarka <avocadotom at gmail.com>wrote:> Greetings Volks!>> I just found myself in a bit of a bind, where my engine which ran when I> pulled it two weeks ago will no longer turn over.>> I'll run through the whole saga for completeness but the basics are that I> pulled the engine to replace the transmission and ended up pulling the 3/4> head as well because the #4 spark plug broke off in the head.  I just> torqued the 1/2 head (I usually torque the heads when the engine's out if I> can), and when I went to set the valves: no go.  The engine doesn't turn> over by hand (with or without the rocker arm on).  The 3/4 head is still> off, as my plan was to put it on tomorrow.  Help?>>     - Tom> (full disclosure: I'm cross-posting this to thesamba because I'm a little> freaked about needing to get this engine back up and running)>> Full Story is as Follows:>> Background:> Bus is 1967 with stock transmission.  Engine is 1600 SP I rebuilt ~35,000> miles ago.>> My plan was to pull and replace the transmission on my 1967 bus.  I> figured I'd do a compression check before I pulled the engine, just to see> if I should be tackling anything else while the engine was out.  I recalled> that the compression on #4 might be low, but my notebook is currently MIA.>> Compression was good on cylinders 1-3 (115, 112.5, 115).  When removing> spark plug #4 to check the compression: it broke off.  Doh!>> [u]The Saga[/u]> 1. Pull engine.  Pull 3/4 head.  Remove broken spark plug base with> extractor.  Take head to the machine shop to check threads and valve guides.>> 2. Clean outside of engine and check endplay.  It's at 0.009" (no surprise> there, I knew it was off).>> 3. Attempt to remove gland nut: no go without the engine being in a more> stable place (instead of on blocks).  Decide to wait until the engine is> back to a longblock, then deal with it.>> 4. Clean off built up carbon from the top of the #3 piston.  Can't recall> if I did the #4 piston or not.  Currently, the #3 piston is close to TDC> with #4 all of the way in. (This seems like it could be important or could> be a red herring...unclear, but I thought I'd call it out.)>> 5. Pull the rocker arm from the 1/2 head and torque the head nuts, first> to ~7 foot-pounds using the initial sequence, then to 22.5 ft-lbs using the> second sequence.  None of the upper nuts move in either tightening> sequence.  The lower nuts, particularly the middle two, do tighten during> the second sequence.>> 6. Reinstall push rods and rocker arm after cleaning. Remove flywheel> lock.  Attempt to turn the engine over by hand from the pulley: engine> doesn't move more than 1/2 inch.>> 7. Remove rocker arm and push rods (in case I screwed something up) and> attempt to turn over engine.  Still no dice.>> I'm at a loss.  If I had adjusted the end play, I could see the engine> being locked up (I've had that happen before).  I can't imagine that> torquing the heads would have any impact though.>> My best guess is that the base of the #4 jug moved a little forward or> that somehow one of the rings on the #4 piston got caught on the edge of> the jug somehow.  It seems really unlikely that that might be the case, but> I just can't think of anything else?>> Any ideas?  Engine has oil in it, and like I said: it ran fine when I> pulled it, has decent compression (for a 7:1 ratio), etc.>> Thanks!>   Tom> --->   "We are MoTown.  We are professionals.  We're here to get the job done.">_______________________________________________vintagebus mailing listvintagebus at type2.comhttp://type2.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/vintagebus