Poor life choices - C4 content

Day-7(2-hours): Minor progress - and setbacks.

I pulled the spark plugs, they were all fairly clean with no sign of oil nor any inconsistencies across the cylinders, which seemed like a good sign. So I installed the new batter & climbed in to check the status of the electrics.

When we picked up the car last weekend the key was already in the ignition & turned to "run", and the car was in neutral. Not wanting to risk discovering any problems we left both controls as-is. Since then I'd moved the shifter throughout it's range, but had no reason to mess with the key. My first discovery was the tumbler might need replaced, as it took several minutes of work to get the key back to the "off" position & be able to remove the key. The door lights were on, and the "security" message was flashing on the display. I tried the windows/wipers/lights, but none responded. I tried turning on the radio & was greeted with "1:00" on the display, but that flashed off after about a second, and none of the controls had any effect. I went over to the fuse panel, and checked & reset each one. They were all good, but the contacts were a bit crusty.

I climbed back in the driver's side and tried giving the key a crank. First thing I noticed is that pressing inward on the tumbler made the "check engine" display go on & off, but turning it to the "crank" position did nothing. I messed around with it a couple more times & did hear something that sounded like a server running briefly up in the engine bay, but no attempt to turn over.

Then I grabbed my breaker bar & tried turning the engine by hand again, now that the plugs were out. It wouldn't budge. So I tried cranking it one last time & did hear the starter engage, but still no crank.

So, any good tips to free a (hopefully mildly) stuck SBC?

Oh, the fuel pump arrived to day, which was earlier than expected, so I'll get the tank cleaned & it installed tomorrow.

I also picked up some spray adhesive today & got some of the loose fabric on one of the seat bottoms reattached.

Spray WD-40, seafoam, or even ATF in the plug holes and gently try working the engine back and forth.

Some sort of light oil down the plug holes then rock it back and forth with a breaker bar on the crank bolt, might take a couple days of soaking and rocking to get it to pop, be patient. Also a solid idea to pop the flywheel dust shield off so you can verify the starter didn't just fail spectacularly and lock the engine up that way.

I always used marvel mystery oil in the plug holes and let it soak for a day or two

Thanks for the tips!

I have Freeze-Off soaking in there now, but I'm pretty sure I have some ATF and/or MMO on the shelf I can pour in there too. I also had the thought last night to pull the serpentine belt off & make sure none of the accessories were locked up, though I think I'd still have seen some wiggle from the engine? I'll pull the flywheel cover too & check that. Aeromoto also offered his borescope for me peek inside & see how everything looks, so I'll probably start with that before I put any more fluid inside.

MMO FTW!!!

ATF has never let me down. It's cheap and at the very east worth a bit of time to try.

Day-8(3-hours): I pulled off the serpentine belt, all the accessories turn freely, so that's not the problem. Then I pulled the flywheel cover and confirmed the starter wasn't stuck engaged into the flywheel.

So I broke out Areomoto's borescope to see what the cylinders look like inside, but it's too large to fit through the spark plug holes. Then I dug out my MMO, but sadly the tube on my funnel is alsto too large. For now I sprayed some Brakleen in each cylinder until it was running back out. I'll engineer a revised funnel/tube device & try the MMO too.

I went back to the gas tank & decided to finish cleaning it out. Here are the before & after pics.

After that I started swapping out the fuel pump. Hopefully I'll have time to finish it up after dinner.

Is dinner over yet?

In reply to Stampie:

Lol, yes. And it looks like someone took my engine to a frat party!

I made a cardboard template of the harmonic balancer bolts so I can fab up something fixed to attach a bar/pipe/whatever onto, but of course I got rid of my scrap steel back in IL...

So I continued working on changing the fuel pump, but I need to solder on new wires & by the time I found some suitable wire it was quitting time.

So look down behind the battery. On the 91 there was a junction block that was very susceptible to water, and i had to pull the connections and clean/grease them every couple years.

In reply to patgizz:

Thanks Pat, I'll check that out!

You still have the borescope?
Id be sticking it in any hole I could find.

JohnRW1621 wrote: You still have the borescope? Id be sticking it in any hole I could find.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

I seriously pondered how different this $80 one from Harbor Frieght could be from the $$$ is they use for a colonoscopy.

I actually did put it to use last night(on the car). I couldn't remove the flywheel cover because the trans cooler lines are in the way, so I used the borescope to peek in and make sure the starter wasn't stuck against the flywheel.

Well, that too but I wonder did you put it in the gas tank?

I'd put it down the ac vents to see if there is mold/mildew.

Maybe pull back the door card a little and see into the door internals without door card removal?

Does it look like the cassette tape will turn because that makes for a good way to adapt in an aux cable?

In reply to JohnRW1621:

I'm sure there's bound to be a little funk in the vents, it's been parked in the Louisiana sun for a few years. I don't plan to be inside the first time I turn the blower fan on.

I think I will peer into the intake, since I have everything removed before the throttle body. The gas tank has good access & I just cleaned it last night so I know there's nothing to worry about there. Peering behind the door cards & under the dash would be a good idea though...I discovered those mud-wasps are dormant during the winter & hatch in spring. They generally don't sting people, but that doesn't mean I want to be trapped in the car with them either.

I'm not sure on the stereo yet, but I'll probably sell it regardless. People pay stupid money for these, even non-functional ones. The speakers too.

Day-9(1-hour): It was chore & errand night, so not much progress.

I almost have the fuel pump reassembled. I had to rewire it due to different connectors, and the last one is being a bit stubborn. I took time to clean the sending unit while I was in there & im glad I did - it was 90% non-functional.

I also tried rocking the engine, but still no motion. I hooked up the battery again & tried the starter, it still engages fine, but that's it. However tonight the radio seemed to be working. There was no sound, but the antenna is broken, so I wonder if it auto-mutes the static?

I received the hatch & hood struts today, so I'll work on installing them, getting the hatch attached, and then finishing cleaning out the hatch area tomorrow night.

On borescopes, you can get really small ones (I've seen them as small as 5.5mm) for cheap now on amazon/ebay that plug into your phone or computer.

Day-10(1.5-hours): More setbacks than progress, but that's the way it goes sometime.

I did get the fuel pump put back together and ready to install, except it didn't come with a gasket, so I'll need to get/order one. No urgency on it until the engine turns anyway.

I received the hatch and hood struts yesterday, so I hoped to get the hatch & struts installed. That required removing the interior targa bar trim, which I discovered requires removal of the targa top. That works out conveniently, as I plan to plastidip it anyway to hopefully seal the cracks.

The targa top removal tool is basically a small ratchet with a long T40 torx bit on it, and it(along with the lug key) were in the 15-gallons of water in the rear storage compartments. I'd had them both soaking in Evap-o-rust for a day, and fortunately it worked wonders. Unfortunately the tip of the targa tool was rusted too badly to use.

I have a T40 bit, but it's too short to reach. At that point I'd pretty much reached the end of what I could do with what I have, so it was time for a trip to Lowe's. They didn't have a long bit, but the one they did have was slightly longer than mine, so I got it. Sadly it didn't quite work, so it was time to dissect it.

Even after extracting the bit from the socket, it was still about 2mm too short for me to get a grip. So I'll weld a short extension on it & give it another try.

I also picked up a piece of steel and sacrificial socket I can make a tool to bolt onto the harmonic balancer. Something like this:

So tomorrow I need to get into welding mode, although I don't have gas for the new welder so I'll probably just flux-weld these.

Your continued positive progress on a car with a stuck motor is impressive. I'd be moping around kicking things until the motor was free.

mazdeuce wrote: Your continued positive progress on a car with a stuck motor is impressive. I'd be moping around kicking things until the motor was free.

I also dig it....but it's also winter here in da south,Miles to go before we Sleep Lots of love here.

""

$10 targa bit on ebay

mazdeuce wrote: Your continued positive progress on a car with a stuck motor is impressive. I'd be moping around kicking things until the motor was free.

This engine is like Legos compared to yours! But since the goal is an LS swap I'm far more concerned with the rest of the car anyway - I just hope to be able to get it driving with this one, as an LS donor is a good 6-months away $$-wise.

In reply to GTXVette:

It really is perfect garage-weather now.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

I may revert to ordering that, but for now I have the bit & a welder, so I might as well give that a shot while I'm already welding.