help! engine siezed

[scott]

i was motoring for the 1st time in a long time. doing about 55 mph down the frwy when the line from a newly installed water temp gauge shorted against the starter selenoid. all of a sudden it feels like i'm losing power so i pull over and shut down. a small flame is jetting off the water temp line right where it made contact with the starter selenoid. i blew it out, wired the line up so it wouldn't make contact again. tried to start and nothing. pulled out the hand crank and couldn't budge the motor. towed it home, removed the starter. it spins freely and the gear looks good. try the hand crank again and no go. put it in 3rd and rocked it, no go, the fan doesn't move at all. i'm off to the auto parts store to get a new oil catch pan so that i can drain it and pull the oil pan. oh yea, recent oil change and oil preasure was 40 psi at idle, 60 at a rev. what killed my motor?

[LH Drive]

I'm still new to Series Rovers but have had this happen to me on another make. I would check the distributor and see if the points are fried up. Maybe the locked up motor has something to do with the timing chain or thrown rod.

[scott]

no timing chain, just gears. what i'm thinking is the starter shorting and engine siez'n was just a co-winky-dink. i'm thinking oil pump failure and now dry cylinders with stuck pistons. pulled the oil pan and everything there looks good. going to try some marvel mystery oil in the spark plug holes and let it sit for a while.

[yorker]

you replaced your chain with gears?

I had something similar happen with my '65, the pad the timing chain rides on came off and jammed the works, later it broke the end off of the cam when I tried to start it.

[Moose]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Scott. I don't think the wire shorting and the engine seizing are related. You say this is after a recent oil change? How many miles ago? You switch brands of oil filter? Spin-on oil filter adapter by any chance?

It's not unknown for the adapters to be put on backwards and still work with some oil filters, but not so well with others. Don't ask me how I this.

Oil pump failure could be a cause of you problem. I know it's not unheard out, but how often do oil pumps fail, given they should be the best lubricated part of the engine?

Good luck and I hope it's not too serious.

Brett

[scott]

i'm a potato head, there is a timing chain. oil pump works. i do have the spin on oil adapter. had it for years. done a few oil changes since installing it. had about 15 miles since the oil change. wasn't paying attention to the oil preasure when things stopped work but befor i left badvibes driveway the newly installed gauge was reading 40 at an idle. with a rev it went up to 60. i notice this cause i just installed the new gauge and was checking it. i remember telling badvibes that that's the highest i've ever seen it. usually it was about 20 at an idle and 45 while driving. i'm thinking it's the main bearings on the crank. i think i'll start shopping for a 200 tdi. if i gotta pull the engine to change bearings i might as well do the dzl conversion i've been wanting.

[Moose]

Yeah, I got about 12 miles on mine before it seized after an oil change. Turns out the new and improved filter wouldn't let the oil circulate through the filter the wrong way round because of wrongly installed spin on adapter. Funny thing is it had been on the wrong way for over 10 years and count less oil changes and it always showed good oil presure.

I'm thinking diesel conversion to. Seems to be the best way to go.

Brett

[scott]

the filiter i've got on is a fram HM16.

moose, when your's seized what went? the main bearings?

[daveb]

have you tried to turn the engine over with the spark plugs out?

have you pulled the valve cover?

[badvibes]

the filiter i've got on is a fram nm16.

moose, when your's seized what went? the main bearings?

Scott-

The old filter was a Cooper Z1159. The Fram I put on was a NM16. EDIT: CHECK THAT # AGAIN COULD IT HAVE BEEN AN HM16? I'm running a Fram TG16.

Jeff

[Moose]

the filiter i've got on is a fram HM16.

moose, when your's seized what went? the main bearings?

I use a Fram PH8A equivalent filter. When my engine seized, it was the main bearings. Don't know how it went so far starved of oil. I had the crank ground, added new main and con rod bearings and all was well... after switching the oil filter adapter around the right way. If yours is installed with the oil pressure port pointing up and towards the front of the engine, then it is installed correctly. In that case, you'll need to figure out another reason for your engine to have seized.

Brett

[scott]

... If yours is installed with the oil pressure port pointing up and towards the front of the engine, then it is installed correctly. In that case, you'll need to figure out another reason for your engine to have seized.

Brett

mine faces to the rear but given the way oil filters are made, one big hole in the middle surrounded by a ring of smaller holes, i don't understand how having the adapter 180 degrees off would make a difference for some filters and not others

[daveb]

on those cheap frams the bypass valve must not work very good. turning the adapter upside-down reverses the flow through the filter. NOT a good thing.

did you pull the spark plugs yet?

mine faces to the rear but given the way oil filters are made, one big hole in the middle surrounded by a ring of smaller holes, i don't understand how having the adapter 180 degrees off would make a difference for some filters and not others

[scott]

pulled the spark plugs, still no go. pour 1/2 oz of marvel mirical oil in each spark plug hole in hopes that it would help the cylinders break free but i'm thinking it's the main and rod bearings that are stuck

[greenmeanie]

I wouldn't write it off just yet. I'd start disecting her one level at a time until I found the problem. As Daveb says pull the valve covers and inspect the valve train. I'd then pull the ancilleries, the timing cover and then finally the head which isn't a huge job on this engine.

If your in luck it will be something simple and cheap and if you're not in luck at least you'll know what killed her. I would be more worried if something machanical had gone with a loud bang.

On my brother's 110 V8 we though the engine had siezed. We decided to do a strip before replacing it and found that it had been extremely heavily coked. A piece had broken off the buildup and was stopping that piston from passing through tdc. Only cost was a set of new gaskets in the end.

Just being the optimist here. Diesel swaps are not cheap.

Cheers
Gregor