Thread: Restarting an old engine

Originally Posted by crash

Getting to the spark plugs is a real PITA on this beast. Will have to pull the plugs and put some ATF in. Will be awhile before I get around to tearing the heads off. Stuck valve is my guess as well. I wanted to avoid pulling it apart but will have to now. One more thing to add to the list.

firstly, if you can turn it over to a point where it stops turning going one way and also stops turning going the other way,

it's not siezed....

but, in my opinion, it is most likely got a valve wide open that is stuck and won't spring back,
so that is why it will not turn over completely.
with the effort you have imparted so far, the head of the valve has been hit a few times and the stem is now probably bent.

the only way to fix this is remove the heads.

to persist is to impart further damage to the engine.
one of the nasty things that could now happen if you manage to run it , is the head of the valve breaking off with resultant gross damage to the head, piston, cylinder walls.

basically lunching the engine.

blacknight dave said it before me,
stop, pull the engine.

Originally Posted by Tank

You are going to have to dismantle the engine, sticking it in a tub of diesel and ATF will cost a bundle and you will never get the oil out of the water jackets without hot tanking which involves dismantling the engine, bite the bullet, Regards Frank.

(1) The cost is not a burden as when finished you put a cover on the drum and use the stuff time and again. You can use second hand ATF saved from your own oil changes.

(2) Silly me naturally thought that as it had not run for 25 years he is going to pull the engine and give it a rebuild, not try to fire it up and hope for the best.

In the end, what's this engine worth to you? Check that no valves are stuck open by lifting the rocker covers and having a look. Tap the valves with a soft face hammer and see which ones bounce back. Then CRC or whatever penetrating oil is your fave, pull out the plugs and spray it in. The rust may be very minor and diappear with the first crank. It's up to you. In my youth I met a few rusted up motors that took brute force to break loose but then ran OK if a bit smoky from marked bores.

Originally Posted by bee utey

In the end, what's this engine worth to you? Check that no valves are stuck open by lifting the rocker covers and having a look. Tap the valves with a soft face hammer and see which ones bounce back. Then CRC or whatever penetrating oil is your fave, pull out the plugs and spray it in. The rust may be very minor and diappear with the first crank. It's up to you. In my youth I met a few rusted up motors that took brute force to break loose but then ran OK if a bit smoky from marked bores.

i'm not in the business of fixing silly mistakes,
so my advise is totally my opinion,'but to try to start it is silly,'it hasn't run for 16 years, has a blockage that stops it turning over fully.
beating the valve to loosen it may do that, but it is a bad approach to something that is so far from regular maintenance.
if he was to get it running and then get it on the road, it may fail in a most desperate situation.
why not fix it now before so that the engine will also be roadworthy?

i don't understand this 'on the cheap mentality'

Originally Posted by harry

i don't understand this 'on the cheap mentality'

Tapping the valves is for diagnosis, not loosening. If none stick, proceed to the next part of the diagnosis. It could be something as simple as caked combustion deposits that have fallen off. Seen that before. Once they have been softened by CRC and/or blown out by compressed air, the engine may turn just fine. If not, proceed to dismantle.

Its always better to do the simple checks first.