engine will not rotate

[cre]

Originally Posted by suprabahamut

cre how do you tell if the pistons are moving can you look into the spark plug holes

Twice I've said have someone watch. Another way that works well (sometimes better) is getting a dowel just large enough around that it'll stand upright in the sparkplug hole but still move up and down freely. Mark it with a pen somewhere you'll be able to tell the difference if the piston moves as much as 1/8". Turn the crank and watch the dowel to see if it moves up or down.

By now you could have already pulled the cam covers, the cams and valve buckets to see if a spring snapped or a keeper failed. Then all that would be left are pulling the oil pan and checking on the flywheel. I understand though, time's tight and you don't have all the tools?

[jfunez]

well..to begin ,getting a little more info from the guys you bought it from would be very helpfull, as far as I understand..the engine has been sitting with no oil or coolant for over a year... first thing first.

1... remove all belts and try turning the engine with a breaker bar...
this will eliminate a zeised a/c compressor or alternator or something.

2...make sure supra is in neutral...dont forget to block wheels.

3...if none of this works, its possible that AT some point water got in the
combustion chambers and created some rust or a rust lip in the
cylinder wall that prevents the cylinder from going past it..
3.5 if this is the case ,remove the spark plugs and put engine oil or wd 40 or any rust penetrant in the combustion chambers, let it soak and try again to turn the cranck.

4..check for holes on your engine block...some of these are dificult since they tend to end up under the intake manifold near the starter..

[suprabahamut]

I have looked today uner the car and tried what cre said with checking the pistons, how large could the hole be because I have not seen any thing inperticular yet, but some more information to tell all you guys with the pistons now it will only turn less clock wise and counter clock wise than the day before

[suprabahamut]

with the inspection plate on the transmission to the engine can you take this part off I saw it in the haynes manual it did not say any thing about removing it and if you can will you see where the starter connects with the fly wheel and find any thing jamed in to it

[cre]

If it's moving even less it sounds more like either a thrown rod or shifting debris.

For lubing up siezed pistons either penetrating oil or ATF work quite well. The detergents help free it up better than motor oil or WD-40.

I've seen holes in the sides of block ranging anywhere from 1 square inch up to 6" round... it really depends on which rod, what part of the wall and which block casting you have.

[btwilson86]

If you remove the inspection plate, it'll show you a portion of the flywheel where it connects to your torque converter. Also, undoing the 2 bolts for the starter and removing it will tell you if you have anything jammed in there, or any evidence of damage on the flywheel teeth and starter gear. However, the removal of the inspection plate for checking the flywheel is really only helpful if you can turn the engine over with a breaker bar... Which we all know you can't at this point.

[night-rider]

I have the same problem as this guy exept heres the difference, my car was running fine other than i know my head gasket was starting to go but it wasnt overheating or anything i drove my car on my lunch brake a few days ago and then i parked it and i tried starting i after work and it njust clunks so we pulled it into the shop and watched the flywheel as i tried starting it and it will only move about an inch, i also tried turnign the crank by hand and could only move it about an inch , remember the car was running FINE when i parked it and only sat for a couple of hours, what could this be?

[Jjona5]

Your headgasket blew and the cylinder filled up with coolant as it cooled. Take the plugs out and I bet the car will turn over...