Seized engine

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AndyK

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Out of the blue last night my car wouldn't start. Whilst turning it over and scratching my head the starter motor jammed and no longer turns the engine. I fear this is due to something jamming the engine as the starter still has power. Any ideas what this could be?

Any help gratefully received. Especially if it's of the 'oh, it's just the ...... ' type!
 
Have you popped oppen the valve cover to see if something broke?

Did it make any stragne noises, any other odd behaviour prior to the incident?

This isn't exactly a lot of info to go on.
 
As x_atlas0 says we don't really have enough information.
However it is possible that your starter has given up the ghost.
If you can you could try push starting your car assuming it's not Automatic....
Another check which might be safer is to get a socket on the big nut on the front pulley and see if the engine will turn over IGNITION OFF!!!
or if your car has a manual gearbox put it in gear, jack up one rear wheel and see if you can turn it
Naturally spark plugs out would make the job easier
HTH and let us know what's happening
Malc
 
Another check which might be safer is to get a socket on the big nut on the front pulley and see if the engine will turn over IGNITION OFF!!!
or if your car has a manual gearbox put it in gear, jack up one rear wheel and see if you can turn it
Malc
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd suggest the jesus nut trick, but the clearance is so small, and the chance of banging up the radiator so high, it is almost not worth it for the average DIY-er. Plus, you have to have the huge socket handy. It is still a very good trick, just not something I'd do with the engine in the car.

The jack and spin is a good idea, though. Just be sure the E-brake is off.
 
This is a long shot, but you might want to check the wiring to the solenoid.

I went out to start my 88 635 the other day, and it went "click", just like the engine was jammed. I charged the battery, but that didn't do any good. I even tried rocking the car in gear so I could be sure it wasn't somehow seized...

Then I noticed one of the power takeoff wires on the positive battery terminal was loose. On some cars the solenoid is powered somewhat indirectly. About 1/2 turn with a 10 mm wrench and it started right up!

HTH

S
 
If the starter is engaging and the engine is not turning over you'd be able to feel it try to turn. It doesn't feel good, trust me! A starter that's not getting enough power will click but not feel like its doing anything (just noise).

- something dropped into a carb and in jammed in a valve/piston.
- coolant leak into the cylinder and it filled up (hydraulic lock).
- broken rocker arm and something jammed.

Nothing good, that's for sure. Although, now that I say that I just remembered that last week my brother-in-law's PT Crusier did the same thing. We jumped it with two different vehicles and it engaged the starter but sounded like the engine was seized. Turned out to be the battery! Weird. Guess it was shorting internally and wouldn't let enough current through. Not sure, but it was strange.

Dan
 
Thanks for the advise so far,

Unfortunately i wasn't driving it just before it went wrong, but my friend swears it was perfect! He parked up and when i went to use it an hour later it turned over fine but wouldn't start. Then suddenly it stopped turning.

I towed it round to a local mechanic last night, this morning he says he thinks something has dropped into the cylinder. Sounds nasty.
 
Yeah, if it isn't the starter itself or something else electrical, it can be nothing good in the least.
If it drove fine, then I'd be concerned about the mechanic trying to scam you. I've had one try to push a complete engine replace when it was just a bad gasket. However, if you have a good relationship with the mechanic, then never mind.

Best of luck.
 
I'd still demand to witness the crank nut test. if there is something in a cylinder, then the engine should turn a bit and then stop. reversing it should take it around the other way and it should stop before a full turn is complete.

If the engine turns all the way around, then it is probably somethign in the starter.

You could also do a quick check. Pull the plugs.. are they all intact? Pull the valve cover and check the valves. If one is missing, or if as the engine turns the rocker goes really loose (because the valve is stuck open) you have your answer. It is possible (but not likely) that it wouldn't start because a valve was loose and it was turning over because the piston was closing the valve...until it bent...However, a single cylinder should not keep the engine from running...so this is probably not the problem.

Another possibility is that something from the carb dropped in. But this would need to be rather small to make it into a cylinder. The valve space is not very large.

Finally, it could be a timing chain, but that would have made quite a racket on its way south...

My money is still on a starter issue.
S
 
An update.

The car is back on the road. After a little searching I found an old BMW mechanic nearby and when i described the fault he straight away said 'oh, i know what that is, had one do that 30 years ago!'

The fault was that the injectors were locked open and had filled the cylinders with petrol, thereby hydraulically jamming the cylinders. (So dang wasn't far off)

Sure enough, at very little expense it works and he has also tuned it better than ever, so all's well that ends well.

Andy
 
An update.

The fault was that the injectors were locked open and had filled the cylinders with petrol, thereby hydraulically jamming the cylinders. (So dang wasn't far off)
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity... did you replace the injectors or was the mechanic able to 'make them work again' and if so, how did he do that?

Cheers
 
FYI guys-

Rotating a flooded engine with plugs out goes way beyond dangerous!! Picture a 10ft jet of aerosol petrol looking for arcs (dangling plug wires) etc.....

Always be aware of this potential hazard!!!
 
The mechanic fixed the injectors.

He was out when i picked up the car so didn't get the detailed report. Next time i speak to him i'll try to find out more.
 
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