Well here goes ...get a empty coffee can fill it about half to three fourths way full of oil ...even drain oil will do ...heat it up hot...almost to a boil ...put on some real good insulated gloves and pour it into the spark plug holes...the heat will help to work the rust loose...expansion and contraction.
I learned this one from a guy who used to buy cars cheap and let them set around for a year(or two) before he would drive them ...alot of rusted motors that guy unseized !

 

i have also seen a broken fuel pump prevent the engine from turnign over.

 

You might try dropping the oil pan and seeing if you can "lever" the crank with a padded crowbar or a solid piece of wood. If you break a few teeth on the flywheel trying to use the starter, it'll ruin your day.

 

Oh, by the way. I've got the same truck and engine/trans as yours and you'll like it when you get it going. I use mine as a plow truck every year and up here in the Sierra Nevada mountains, we get LOTS of snow! Only drawback is that in Calif. you can't do any mods the the engine.

 

Sometimes when a vehicle sits for a long time, the belts can get stuck in the pulleys. Loosen the belts up and check it......its worth a shot.

 

Alright, loosened the belts and pulled off the fuel pump to see if either of those had something to do with the problem, but they didn't. I just pulled the oil pan, and there's nothing wrong under there either, everything looks mint.

From what I can figure the piston rings must still just be siezed up (2 bottles of Mystery Oil and half a can of penetrating oil later) Tomorrow I'm going to try heating some oil up (maybe with some Mystery Oil too...) and pour it down the holes.

This is driving me nuts because under the surface the whole motor looks perfect, as soon as I can get her to crank, I know she'll run, it's just the anticipation is maddening.

Anybody have any more recomendations, let me have 'em!
Thanks,
Taylor

P.S. VLS - I'll be long gone out of Cali in a year, so I won't have anymore worries about all the excessive automotive laws...

 

You still torquein' on that crank pulley bolt? You may want to remove it with an impact wrench and replace, like I said before... Then with the right socket, you can pull on it all day. (Use flex handle and a snipe, if needed)

Mark

 

since you have the pan of i would try a 2x4 and a hammer on one of the crank webs,hit it both ways maybe it will jar it loose.

 

I'm going to replace the crank pully bolt, it keeps rotating, but never moves the motor. and I'll try the 2x4 trick today... Thanks

 

That does not sound good!!!

 

The crank pully bolt “keeps rotating”? Is the bolt stripped and rotating in the crank?

If so, +1 Torque1st “that does not sound good”.

 

stop twisting on that crank bolt, go buy a chain wrench thats large enough to go around the harmonic balancer and has a handle long enough to give you some good leverage...with all the oil and stuff put in the cylinders it will free up eventually...with a chain wrench you can try to nudge it one way then try the other way to work it loose...plus your not messing up your flywheel or harmonic balancer and crank bolt.....patience is a big virtue here..

 

Do you mean rotating in the socket as in the bolt head is rounded off?.If all's well with the crank bolt I would put the oil pan back on and hook up an air compressor to each cylinder untill you find one that has both valves in the closed position.You will need an adapter to thread into the sparkplug holes but I had one with my compression gauge.Once you find one fill that cylinder with PB BLASTER and the rest of the cylinders can be soaked with some blaster as well but be careful how much you put in because you don't need the added trouble of something called "Hydraulic lock".Reinstall the sparkplugs and then get yourself a a little propane torch with a rosebud flare tip and a Fire extinguisher and startheating the sides of the engine block, it may help to remove a couple freeze plugs.You don't need it red hot but hot enough to help loosen things up.Now hook the aircomperssor to the cylinder with the PB Blaster and pump it full of air.If the engines any good it will pop loose.This trick always works for me including a 1949 Cadillac that sat for 35 years in a brickyard shed.I think what happens is that the air pressure forces the PB Blaster down around the piston untill it eventually pushs the piston down.You may need to switch the airline to a couple other cylinders if it don't pop loose on the first cylinder but it will eventually spin the engine over enough to free it up.I did a 63 Mercury and it finally poped loose on the 3rd cylinder attempt.Keep in mind if the engine is "blown" then you can forget it and start looking for a new engine.

 

Looks like I'm just going to pull the motor and figure out what's wrong with it, and in the meantime run over to pick & pull and pick up a donor motor for $100. It's still seized, and I just removed the radiator, which the inside of turns out to be one hell of a rust pit. What's the best method I should go about for seperating the flywheel from the tranny, since I can't turn it to get to all the bolts? That's the main question...

I do still have the patience to work on the old motor, but on limited time and resources, here's an update:

The truck is on my friend's property, which after all the hassle of getting it there, was reported to the county for some violations (including having a junkyard without permits). Their inspection is next month, so their deadbeat property manager has now actually shown up to repair everything, and had most of the abandoned cars removed.
My 79 was almost towed away while I was at work, along with one of the kids that lives there's Yota and an old Scout. Thankfully my buddy was there to tell the wreckers to leave them alone.
I'm now on a tight scedule to get this thing running on very little $$ before they try to haul it off again (They'll get my truck when they pry it from my cold dead fingers!). Also the constant rain has been a problem, with the truck being outside in the mud, and on top of that I haven't been getting enough sleep before work because I'm currently living in my 70 F250 2wd (in the cab, I'm just short enough to fit...) and it leaks like all get out when it rains.
Sorry folks, just had to vent there for a moment...
Any input will help. Thanks.

Taylor

 

Sorry to say but the only way to pull them apart without damaging the torque converter is to pull the engine and trans. at the same time. It is easier if you take the dog house of the truck first.