Problem with Cobra engine

One can easily tell for sure if an engine is siezed up without opening it. Crankshafts just don't 'jam'.

1) Does the starter turn the engine when you try to start it? 2) Can you turn the engine over by hand? (if it doesn't turn by the starter)

Seems rather odd that the crank 'jamming' wouldn't make some sort of very ugly noise. Plus when you try to start it something nasty should happen... the starter would either stall or make horrible noises.

What you describe happening sounds more like an ignition problem. Like something electronic died... such a crank position sensor. This sensor is used by the computer to tell which cylinder is supposed to get spark.

Describe what occured when you tried to re-start it, and what you mean by 'completely died'.

Thanks for your reply. Actually when I try start the engine, nothing happens just a single odd sound better described as TICK. Thats it. No horrible sound. I have tried it many times and the its the same sound. when I was driving and the rpm was at 6 and then the engine service soon light blinked. I also install a new throttle body 100miles before this happened. No I cannot turn the engine by hand. Electricity of the car looks fine to me, everything is working.

Thank you Fiaz

Brent P wrote:

Do you know what code stored in the computer is?

New throttle body as in an aftermarket part or just a stock replacement? Maybe a nasty misfire did damage inside the engine? I suppose nobody put a scope down through the spark plug holes to see what it looks like in there.

Not be able to turn it by hand isn't good, but I thought about it and it depends on how you tried to do it. With the compression of the engine, just trying to turn the crank pulley might not have enough leverage. Does the starter get hot when you try to start it? It should if it's stalled by a siezed up engine. That is if the battery isn't now too weak.

starter contacter could be burnt out too. It makes that noise, once. Watch the battery voltage as you click it, if it stays high, you may have bad starter/contacter.

I must add that the throttle body on it is by BBK. I haven't checked the starter yet but i doubt it the engine has seized because there was no indication. I routinely check oil and cooling and everything was alright. I ran a diagnostic with a scanner and it was showing something with code P1000. Forgive me for my ignorance as i don't know much about it. Thanks for all th replies.

Brent P wrote:

That doesn't tell much of anything... P1000 OBD-II Monitor Testing Incomplete

When it first died, when you first tried to restart it, did the starter turn the engine?

The only thing that would be a common thread to the engine dying and the click from the starting system that I can think of would be a bad battery or a bad alternator. Same with the computer unable to do anything.

My '97 GT would barely run and was not drivable when a cell in the battery went out. I could imagine that the cobra might be more sensitive to battery voltage or a more severe failure could have the engine shut down.

If you swap in a known good battery, you should be able to at least crank the engine with the starter if there is nothing wrong inside it.

Another thought might be a broken timing chain... other than that, a catastropic failure... but that should have made an ugly noise before engine siezed up. anything I can think of that would lead to not being able to turn an engine should not have been a gentle loss of rpm, but a sudden noise and stop.

I still haven't checked the starter yet but i recall it that when the engine started losing power while i was in 4 gear on the highway, the service light started blinking. I imedietely pushed the clutch as the engine stalled and then i released the clutch in order to start the engine while the car was still in motion. Please bear in mind that i have a manual transmission in the if that means anything. When the car came to a stop, i tried starting it but it made the same sound i mentioned earlier, just a tick.

I forgot to mention it before that when the engine stalled while i was driving the needle in oil guage just fell down. Could it be oil pressure??? Recently I put a new battery in it as the old one gave up, the issue with battery is non existent in my opinion as it is new.

Brent P wrote:

This is really pretty easy. Remove the spark plugs, and the belt(s). Place the trans in neutral. Put a large ratchet on the bolt in the very center of the harmonic balancer, at the end of the crank snout. Try to turn the engine clockwise. If it turns, it's not seized. If it doesn't, it is. It really is that simple.

If it's seized, you'll need to remove the engine and dissasemble it to find out why. But if the crank doesn't turn, that's usually fatal. It often ends up cheaper and faster to replace the engine with a crate motor. It's a little more in parts (but not much), and saves a boatload of money on labor.

Time for a stroker!

Sounds like you lost oil pressure. How is that oil pump driven? With no rocker arms, I do not know what the valve train noise would sound like without oil. If you did continue spinning the rotating assembly with no oil pressure/oil flow, a lot of major damage can occur very quickly. Bearings don't last long with no oil.

Just a general FYI for anyone still reading this thread, if your oil pressure indicator reads low/no oil pressure, always assume it is telling the truth. Stop spinning the engine immediately and begin your troubleshooting process from there.

How long before?

If the needle dropped when you pushed in the clutch after it stopped running, then it's because the wheels were no longer turning the engine.

If it occured before,while still running apparently normally, then had no oil pressure, so it's going to be messed up inside. An engine will run for a short while without oil pressure. A short while, sometimes minutes, sometimes seconds.

The mustang's (as of the mod motor in them anyway) is a binary.... it's either on or not. The needle reads zero or something in the middle of the range depending on if the engine has pressure. I would have prefered a light given that operation. The light would draw my attention immediately while this little needle requires a scan to catch but offers no more information than a light would.

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Brent P) wrote in news:z7WdnZpmr6cj0erYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Yeah, but it will make all kinds of racket during the process - rods and mains knocking, etc. He reported no such noise.

I would think so, that's why I mentioned the timing of it... my guess would be pushing in the clutch resulted in the engine no longer turning, and of course oil pressure ending.

I still think he either needs to go through the excerise of releasing the resistance to turn it by hand. At least see if the engine can turn. If it does, then move on to why the starter isn't turning it, and from there find out why it stalled.

Alright here is the update. I tried to to turn the crankshaft after removing the plugs, belt and in neutral and it didn't turn. I tried it with a wrench but couldn't turn it. I don't know how much does it take to turn it but i did try. It made the same TICK sound when i tried to start it. My battery is also weak so don't know what should suppose to happen when i try starting it. How do i know the starter or the alternator is not working. Well, when i turn the key to start it, it doesn't make the sound when normally starting does nor did it that day after when the problem arose.

Let me add that recently I also had problem with my clutch and had to replace it with a new one and the old battery gave away after when i drove the car home from the workshop. I swapped the battery with a new one fully charged and put the throttle body in it. Drove the car from home to work and back which is less than 2 km in city and after two days on the highway the problem occur. Don't know if there is a connection with the clutch or something but just wanted to add it.

Brent P skrev:

doesn't sound good... But I've never turned a 4.6 by hand...

Are you sure the battery had the problem and not the alternator?

I don't see something wrong with the clutch causing the engine not to turn, but stranger things have happened I guess.

Give it a go with a freshly charged battery... what do you have to lose? just time with the battery on the charger.

Then it's seized. It doesn't take much force to turn it over. Bite the bullet, quit yackin' about it, pull the motor and rebuild or replace.

Yeah, I have realized that the engine is history. I don't know how or what it will take to replace it. The best option is to get a new one. I searched for a cobra engine an dit will cost about 3500-4500 US$ used on ebay. I am also playing with the thought about going ballistic and buy a new 04' Cobra engine by MBR(mcallisterbrothersracing) for 14,999 $. I know it is overbudget but I was going to spend anyway on mods etc on the original engine. I'll just have to convince myself to spend that much on it. What do you suggest. Please bear in mind that I am not a rich kid with lots of money etc. who wants to spend money left and right. It's just that I am a enthusiast and don't want to part with the car. If you know what i mean.

As i asked this before, Is it possible to rebuild the original engine and put it in a classic mustang. Will it fit?? As i mentioned before that I am in Denmark and people are not used to this kind of stuff. The mechanics are only good for repairing when it comes to put a new part. The labor cost is very high. It's just that my brother and I want to go that way if it can be done. Otherwise the engine will be sold in this state or maybe rebuild it and sell it later.

Many thanks to all of you for helping me out. It is highly appreciated.

drop in? No. The 4.6 is far too wide for that. A significant amount of modification has to be done to the car to make it fit, including changing the front suspension to get the shock towers out of the way.