Looking for advice - crank shaft will not turn past TDC

Hmmmm. Did you verify that the timing belt was the cause of the engine failure? Is the engine completely locked, or does it turn freely until you get cloes to TDC?

I did not answer both questions ... To my understanding, it was leaking water and the thought at the time was that the water pump was the only problem. It was not until he got into the process of changing the water pump that it was apparent that the timing belt was frayed. The water pump shaft was noticeably loose (would moved side-to-side). When he started to replace the timing belt, I got a phone call telling me about the crank shaft not being able to turn completely to TDC. He then removed the spark plugs to insure that it was not a compression issue. When he turns the crank shaft (with a socket wrench on the pully nut) I was able to verify that the pistons all move up and down and none of the spark plugs showed any signs of any impact damage. We turned the cam(s) to see that they turned freely and verified that their position did not affect the fact that the crank shaft is unable to be turned all the way to TDC (form either direction).

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Bob

Qslim wrote:

Sounds very unusual. Did you try it with the timing belt off?

Pull the oil pan and see what's interfering with the crankshaft from underneath. Is it possible that he hit something while driving and dented the pan????

Anyway, I suggest strongly, the oil pan removal direction. Don't buy anything else (gaskets or the like ) til you have a sure diag on the stoppage. I am not aware of "interference " or non for the given model. So there is still the possibility your engine is in reality, an interference engine.

Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply

MUADIB®

Alright, so then the engine did not fail, is that right? I'm just trying to understand what exactly went on. If the engine was running when the timing belt was taken off, one would figure that something happened during dissassembly. If the engine stalled or broke down, you could be looking at several different places for the cause.

DUMB idea. If there is something SOLID preventing a piston from reaching TDC, then physical damage WILL result from using the starter to force the issue.

You should take this opportunity to keep quiet.

Camryamnesty wrote:

No ... We pulled all the plugs when we thought it could possibly be a compression issue ... shined a light down in each ... could see the pistons moving ... no sign of anything obviously wrong.

Philip wrote:

I agree with Phillip on this one, don't try to turn engine with starter. If engine is an interference engine the starter will probably bend a valve or dent a piston. Have you asked your local dealer if this is an interference engine? If it is you won't be able to turn engine completely with the timing belt off. You could also try setting timing marks to correct position, reinstalling the old timing belt and turn engine by hand to see if interference is gone. HTH, davidj92

Absolutely NOT. DO NOT try to turn the engine with starter. You can really break something then.....bend a rod , a valve , bust a piston. Even be careful when turning by hand.

Ken Day

Here's a possible scenario. Since the engine was steaming it obviously was very hot. Maybe you blowed a head gasket , got water in the cylinder and when it was started the water in the cylinder created a hydraulic lock and bent the rod. It could possibly be bent at such a point as to allow the piston to move almost to the top of the stroke , but then hang up.

I rebuilt a Honda engine once that had exactly this problem. If they hadn't tried to restart it after hearing the noise the first time they cranked it up over , they may have gotten by with just replacing a rod. But in this case , after cranking it again , it busted the piston and also scored the wall so bad the block had to bored. Crank also had to be turned so I did a complete rebuild.

Just a guess. Be sure and let us know when you find the problem I for one , can't wait to hear what is wrong. Sorry for your problem , but I do like a good mystery every now and then. This is a head scratcher for sure.

Ken Day

Did you ever find the problem ? Thanks

Ken Day