Did you remove and reinstall the timing chain & Gears?
Sounds like a piston being stopped by a valve sticking out too far.
Or something big enough got dropped down on to a piston and is stopping it from reaching it's full stroke.
un fortunately i don't think that is it, because we never had the heads off, and no we didn't mess with the timing, only took off water pump alternator belts hoses and thermostat.
well tried the magnet thing. nothing came up. pulled the covers off, un did all 12 push rods, nothing changed. so something must have dropped into a cylinder. at this point my dad is wanting to scrap another van (this one, that will make 3?). since i'm home and already have the engine half ways apart, how hard would it be to disconnect the down pipes and the torque converter? i have the tools and the time to pull the engine to see wtf is up w all this, and as long as my van doesnt get totaled my dad can use mine i guess. either that or i get new carpet interior pannels and a steering wheel.
pull the heads off and look in the cylinders. something must have dropped into one of the intake valve runners and passed on thru into a cyl.
nut or other small part
doesn't take much to lock a piston at TDC.
an hour to take both heads off from the point you're at
can pull engine later if you have to.
heads do go back on fairly easily with 2, one guiding from the doghole and one from the front.
can probably reuse the intake and VC gaskets with lots of Permatex to save money. will require new head gaskets and head bolts, one time use only
yeah i was looking at them an i gotta say, while there isn't MUCH room there's deffinately more than enough room to pull heads off. now getting the manifolds off... that's a different story... i'm thinking tho that something fell down into the lifter holes maybe? idk going to pull lower intake manifold off first, and if i can't find anything down there THEN i will pull heads off.
i'm curious, when pulling the heads off, do un torque them in the same pattern as torquing them down, or reversed? (center outward or edges to center?)
While dropping anything into a cylinder can be catastrophic, I'm curious as to what can fall into the intake port and get through the valve, which opens only about 0.4", and be big enough to cause interference with the piston. When you re-assembled the intake manifold, did you happen to notice any missing fasteners? Also, when you were cleaning off the old gasket, did you stuff rags into the intake ports to prevent chum from falling in? Maybe a chunk of rag got caught in a valve. Maybe some debris got in between a cam lobe and roller.
Well, you'll find out when you remove the lower intake again.
oh snap i didn't see that part. hopefully it's something jammed in the cam or something? although one would think the lifters are in the way of that. oh well i will i examine all this stuff tomorrow after i get done job hunting. 3 months of un employment with no govt. assistance sucks... but i'm trying to push on.
DCRB, try to crank with hands carefully. If engine wont sezung, I suggest it is in oil pan....Well, may be shaft is bent??? before I start 3.0 I usually turn this shaft with 8 mm socket to preoil engine. To access this shaft you need to drop oil pan, unscrew one bolt pump is held with (1/2" ore 13 mm socket) and check and inspect. Well, I saw how one man pulled this shaft up and drop it in hole. It came throught oil return hole and sezed engine. We had to drop oil pan..... LOL!
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And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
was it an oil burner?
how many miles on engine, high mileage on it's last legs?
any major problems with engine other than those fixed recently?
if yes to any of the above, dump the engine and get another, lots of low mileage junke yard dogs out there. lots of Aeros setting in the tall grass in fields rusting away with blown trannys
if no, i recommend pulling that engine to find and correct the problem.
with the skill levels present, working on an engine and putting it back together correctly outside a difficult to work in engine compartment gives a much better chance for success.
will be a real OJT project for you drcb. lots of new skills learned and add to your knowledge base. get or borrow a Haynes, library has them, copy the pertinent pages on the engine.
in depth look will tell you if engine cylinders are worn too far, valve problems, ecetera.
BTW! I use to remove DS, unscrew tranny bolts, nuts that hold rear tranny end, 4 TC nuts and just move tranny back for 2-3". It is enought to drop oil pan and You will not drain ATF, disconnect wiring, linkage..... but cooling lines are to be disconnected so you will loose about 1/2 q. of ATF
When all 6 mm tranny bolts are removed lower rear end of oil pan and then fromt end and pull back and then down...
Do not forget to drain oil first, else shower is garanteed.
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And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
I don't think you can really "drop" the oil pan on an Aeorstar. It's more like lower it enough to clear the crank shaft and slide it back because the front cross member is in the way. So you sort of have to remove the transmission; at least slide it back a couple feet, which requires dropping it enough to clear the tunnel.
good luck and all our support and best wishes on your job hunt.
keep a positive attitude, so critical those first impression. sell yourself and your talents which are unique to you.
perseverance and belief in yourself is the key
clothes don't make the man, but clean cut well dressed first impressions do with a prospective boss.
looking forward to pics of the engine removal and problem solving.
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