Seized

[markdept12]

Hi Everyone,
Vans been running fine but over the last few weeks then the starter has been click clicking and having difficulty turning the motor over if I had left the van with out using for a few days. Never hot or overheated and has plenty of oil in it.
Took the starter off today and it's working fine. Tried to move the van but it wont budge. jacked up the back the diff is all ok. took the belts off and the water pump alternator and power steering pump are all free. Am going to try turning over with a socket on the pulley tomorrow.
The van was in neutral at one point and I couldn't move it then either. May bee the gearbox seized? May bee it wasn't in neutral as I remember lifting up each side of the back wheels and turning them. Cant believe it. it was running fine and sounding good. had engine service and cam belt 2 months ago. could this happen if the cam belt has snapped?? ok Chums any ideas would be great please. All the best mark

[WildGoose]

I'm not too clear from your post, is the engine running or not?

If not, take a peek into the oil filler with a torch when you turn the engine over by hand, that will tell you if the cambelt is doing what it should. (There should be movement of the rockers).

[markdept12]

Hi, Thank you for the reply. It's not running, will only turn 1/8th of a turn on the starter with 2 battery's. Thinking about taking the injectors out spraying in a load of wd40 and after a while trying to turn over by hand with the injectors still out. Just hoping it'll be salvageable and I don't have to get a new engine.
Years ago I did this with a motorbike and it went on for years after being seized solid.
Thanks for the info ill have a look at the rockers if i can turn the crank at all. I am thinking though if the belt had broke and everything twanged i would have thought i would of heard it when i parked up last.. hummm will investigate tomorrow. Cheers Matey... mark

[nicky d]

mine did this for apparently no reason, parked it up on a night, wouldnt turn over. managed to get it going again eventually, put a socket on the front pulley, hard to turn, kept turning it over with a torque wrench and it got easier, got it to turn on the starter eventually, it started and belched out a load of blue smoke, drove it 1/2 mile, it started smoking heavily, and then revved up on its own outside the house.
stalled it, took off the rocker cover and one of the 6mm thread bolts had come out of the rocker shaft and the rocker was filling up with oil, so the non- turning was due to the oil in the ports making it hydraulic
worth a check

[knighty1981]

if you can move it by hand, don;t just keep going in one direction... go one way till it stops hard then go the other way till it stops hard... keep going forwards and back until you get it free !

I freed off an old 6 cylinder 11litre engine off this way when it was full of water...... still runs a dream now ! (surprised!)

[markdept12]

Hi Chaps , thanks for the replys.
Nicky, will take the rocker off and have a look at that today. would be great if thats what has happened. I got my fingers crossed.
Knighty, will give that a go as well, just waiting for the rain too stop. will let yas know what happens.
Big thanks Chaps. mark

[markdept12]

Ok Chaps,
Put a torque wrench on the crank nut today, I could move it back and forth about 1/8th of a turn but then it was up solid. Did this for ages and eventually it went over that solid point, then it was turning over real nice and easy. So me thinks the Hydo lock sounds like it. Ill have a nose at the rockers tomorrow when the sun shines If not oil from the top could it be anything else? Aaaaa I'm thinking if the head gasket had gone then water would go into the top of the cylinders causing this effect.. Big thanks Chaps great info. mark

[bazw]

i would take the rocker cover off and have a peep at the valve train , it could as wildgoose said be the cam belt if it jumped a few teeth then forcing it to turn may have bent a push rod or broke a rocker

[markdept12]

Thanks Baz, will do tomorrow.
Just charged up the battery and put the starter back and she fired up first time every time and ran like a dream with no od noises, Brilliant. So when the engine was locked up tight the starter wouldn't look at it and the solenoid just clicked. now I've freed the engine the starter turns it over no probs.
So after about 4 days of sitting on the drive the same thing happens every time, the engine just locks up and wont turn. now just need to find out why tomorrow. hoping itll be the oil in the rocker draining down like Nicky said. Hopefully it wont be the head gasket gone, but I never noticed bubbles in the expansion tank water in the oil or white smoke from the exhaust.

[markdept12]

Hi Chaps, took off the inlet manifold and all the ports were black with soot carbon but the second port in was really coked up with thick burnt wet oil making the hole much smaller than the rest. So can anyone tell me whair the oil would be coming from please? I thought maybe a inlet valve oil seal is leaking but thought if that was the case the valve timing would have to be out or the valve stuck open to cause the oil in the inlet manifold?
If the head gasket was gone between an oil journal and the cylinder how could oil get to the inlet manifold? it's the banana manifold and has an egr valve.
I took the rocker cover off and checked all the bolts were tight and the rockers were all coming off the pushrods.
there is no smoke when the engine is running. 96,000 miles p redge
Chaps any Ideas would be much appreciated. all the best mark

[markdept12]

Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Whayyy Chaps, got it sorteddddd.

The oil is coming from the rocker cover up a pipe that joins onto the inlet manifold and whair it joins is the cylinder whair all the oil is. yeeeee haaa! Big thanks Guys for all the replys. mark