hi guys, i just picked up a 77 f250 supercab with a 460 that was supposedly running until 2 weeks ago when the guy i bought it from drove it home and parked it. when he went to drive it 2 days later it wouldnt crank over, you cant even bar it over by hand, any ideas? according to him it wasnt running hot or making any unusual noise, and i checked the oil and it looks fine, and the coolant level is good.

 

Pull all the spark plugs and then try cranking the motor. If it is hydraulic lock whichever cylinder(s) it is will be the one blowing liquid out of them. If the motor still doesn't turn over, the guy is lying to you, he broke the motor and knows it.

 

I've already pulled the plugs so its not hydrolocked. I guess I will have to get it on a stand and see what's up

 

check the starter. buddy of mine bought an engine that someone said was seized and it turned out that the gear on the starter fell out and locked up the flywheel

 

If that's the case, shouldn't you be able to spin the motor in the reverse direction, just a little bit, to check?

 

Maybe, maybe not. But it takes no time at all to take the starter off and check it.

 

True. Should be a ~10 minute job to get it off, and is a good place to start checking.

If it is the starter that came apart and is jamming up the flywheel, how would you get it out without destroying either the flywheel or the bellhousing? Just attempt to spin it the opposite direction of the jam, then try to fish it out with a magnet?

~B

 

Its hard to say but pull it off and see.

 

Also make sure an accessory has not locked up alt, ac ps pump. I saw and engine swapped out when all that was worng was the alternator had locked. up

 

I have seen this very thing...several times....and each time it was on a Ford with a remote-located solenoid type starter. I'm betting this is exactly what's happened here.

 

I had looked forward to hearing the out come on this one, I hope that it was the starter

 

could be starter,... or the bottom could be toast.
I have seen an engine that had been hydrolcoked bend one rod enough that the piston came down far enough that the crank counter weight hit the piston and locked the engine.
1 new rod and piston and it was running again.

 

thats exactly what happened, blown head gasket hydrolocked #8 and bent the rod so much it hit the crank, got it all back together but now i have another issue. it starts up with good oil pressure, around 50 but when its warm it drops to around 7.

 

what was your bearing clearance on the new rod?

 

i didnt take the time to plastigage the clearances, but i did replace all the main and rod bearings. both i and the machinist i got the rod from came to the conclusion that the old bearings were standard as we couldnt find any markings otherwise and they were stamped ford. the only thing i can think of that i might have a problem with is the fact i couldnt find a parts store with a oil pump gasket in stock so i used a light coat of rtv instead, could it be blowing by that once it warms up?