VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Motor won't turn

Today I went out and started my 28 Sedan. It ran great for about 30 seconds, then quit. I tried to start it again, but the starter wouldn't turn. So I got the crank out and found the motor wouldn't turn. Any sugestions as to where to look. There was no unusual noise, etc...

The starter may be hung up on the ring gear. Try puttting the trans. in third gear and push the car backwards a little. That should be enough to "pop" it loose.
Dan.

You may also try placing tension on the fan belt and use the fan to rotate the engine. If the engine was only operated for a few seconds, and no unusual noises, I would expect that no serious damage has occurred.

When you find the solution please return here and post the results.

If the engine was running and stopped the starter is not likely the problem. Did the engine quit suddenly or begin to slow down and then finally stop? Or did it stumble or miss and then stop? If it stopped suddenly there could be something between a piston and the head. Forcing it could destroy the piston and/or head. As an example, if a valve dropped down then it could lock the engine. I would pull the head cover and check the valve train first. If all looks good then proceed.

I would not try to force the engine to turn clockwise. Try to get it to turn backwards (counterclockwise). Putting in second or third gear and rocking back is a good first step. If it does not move (you can mark the fan belt or pulley with chalk or pencil mark or ? as an indication of movement or note the position of the fan blades) then you have a potential serious problem. Again DO NOT try to force the engine to turn with too much force. If a piston is stuck then you can bend the crankshaft! There are many potential failures: broken ring, cracked piston, lack of lubrication welding the piston to the cylinder wall that could stick a piston.

After trying the above post the results of your examination and we can provide more specific help.

It seems that Dan got it right. The starter was hung up on the ring gear. I guess that the engine must have stalled by its self, and when I tried to restart it with the starter it got jamed. However, I didn't try to force things (thanks for the advise Chipper), I removed the started instead. Once the starter was free, the engine turned as it should. After inspecting the starter and bendix drive, I reinstalled the starter, and "Betsy" cranked right over. Thanks for the help.

Scott

Scott, one thing you may want to do in the future, if you already aren't doing is to RETARD the spark all the way before starting the engine. I have done the same thing when the engine stalled because I forgot to open the petcock below the vacuum tank and when I mashed the starter button on the floor the engine kicked back, fortunately it didn't break the starter drive or jam the starter like yours did.

I try to remember after shutting the engine down to retard the spark so it will be in position for the next start up. Sometimes a chronic case of CRS makes me forget to...

Sure glad that it was not any more serious. You may find that you will need to replace the spring or shim the starter a little or just pull it away from the flywheel as you tighten the bolts. When the starter bendix gear locks the there often is not enough free space between the gears when meshed or the spring is weak. I can also be that it stopped just past TDC on a cylinder so the starter spring can not roll the engine back a few degrees and free the gear.

When I was in college a friend had a 51 Olds with Pontiac transmission. It was one of the single lever and slider types. It would lock between gears if you were not real careful in down shifting. We always got a kick out of peoples faces when the motor would rev-up the car not go anywhere, a guy would jump out push on the front fender, jump back in and then speed down the street. Albuquerque was never the same. We sure don’t want to see you have to repeat the procedure for your starter.

In this case I did have the spark retarded. That's why I was confused. No unusual noises or anything. Just one of those things I guess. But what a relief when she just fired right up.

It must have been old Murphy messing around with his laws again!