Ok guys I really need some help here. Im almost 19 so I still havent learned everything about working on trucks.

I have a 1994 Ford F-150 XL, 300 4.9L Straight Six with a 4-Speed E4OD Automatic transmission. When I got the truck it had roughly 216,000 miles on it, it now has 233,000. About 6-7 months ago the transmission went out in it, it took me a while to get the money to have anything done to it and my cousin and I rebuilt the transmission. At the beginning we (my father, cousin, and I) decided to just convert it to a 3-speed manual on the floor, our attempt was not successful because as we learned parts from late 70's to 80's models dont work well with the 92 and ups. So I ended up with the intake manifold, exhaust, alt, smog pump, steering column, brake pedal, driveshaft out of the truck. About a week to a week and a half ago we finally was in the position to try and start the truck. However nothing happened when I turned the key. We quickly came to the solution that the motor was locked up, since the exhaust and intake manifold was off and it allow moisture to settle in the engine. Well after alot of straining and some marvel mystery oil we got the motor broke loose. 2 days ago I finished everything up except for one small piece to weld onto the exhaust. I got in the truck and turned the switch... The motored started turning very slowly and never could get enough speed to get the oil pump working good or get enough spark to completely start up. Well after several failed trys we took all the spark plugs out and trying again, it turned over a little faster but no much. Also by this time my starter was smoking, with this failure we accepted defeat for the night.

Now I know of two possible options.
1. Get a new starter that is heavy duty, because I believe the current starter is weak anyway considering it is the original as is alot of the truck, also the battery is brand new and is suffeicent to power the truck.

2. Pour marvel mystery oil into each cylinder and let it set a day or two and try again.



Do any of you have any other possible solutions to help me get my beloved truck out on the open road again where she belongs? Please reply to this if you do, and I know that rebuilding is also a possibility but a last resort also.

 

First off, welcome aboard!

Secondly, some thoughts... Make sure your battery has a fresh strong charge to it. The motor only needs fuel and spark to run, so if you are getting both to the cylinder, you should be good. If you pulled the distributor, are you sure it went back in correctly. Also, you did tranny work. Those little buggers can sometimes get bound up when putting everything back in. Were you able to freely turn the converter after the housing was bolted up to the motor? If you were not having problems with the starter before, I doubt that is your problem now, but you can always have those tested at the local parts store. You may need to start from square one and retrace your steps...

Sorry, just my $.02's --Mike

 

Have you tried turning the motor over by hand? If so and its still stuck try this. Remove the sparkplugs and fill the cylinders with diesel fuel. Leave it for a few day and try to turn it over by hand again. Probably just the rings stuck to cylinder walls. Its worked for me a few times. Don't give up! Just keep the cylinders full with diesel and it should come free. Make sure you change your oil once it frees up!! It will be full of diesel! Hope this helps

 

The good news is that I don't think sitting for a couple of weeks will lock up an engine. The bad news is that a trans swap is full of potential problems and I think you have run into at least one of them. The first thing I would do is put a torque wrench on the crank nut and record howmany Lbs/ft of torque it takes to rotate the crank. Then remove the transmission and check torque again. Then the bellhouseing, clutch and finally the flywheel. Checking after each one. Since this is the only thing you have done that is part of the rotating mass, something in there is causing the drag. Good luck.

 

I have to agree with holland501. Never thought about the tranny change causing the prob. Definently look into it!!

 

Yes, especially if the converter didn't engage the oil pump, or did you make sure the converter had "float" before bolting to flexplate?