I did something stupid, please help....

[msggunny]

Put my 2.25 back together and put it back in the frame. When i reassembled it on the engine stand i was not able to fully rotate it as the crank flange's dowel prevented it from rotating fully. Seeing as it went together ok, and would move somewhat freely but not a full rotation, i figured there was no issues.

Well today i tried to rotate it around fully with the hand crank, no joy. I was able to turn it slowly with a pry bar on the teeth of the fly wheel, but it would hit a spot where it wouldnt budge at all.

I tried the starter, nothing.

I checked the push rods, they seemed really tight with the exception of the 2 furthest out board ones. The one at the very rear of the engine actually had about 1/4 of space from where it hit the rocker arm.

I thought something wasnt right so i pulled the oil pan to see if maybe using a thinner gasket was making the front connecting rod hit the pan and jamming again. (see picture)

Nope, didnt help.

So i pulled the head.

Still the same.

I didnt remove the camshaft, but i did pull the oil pump.

Before i tear the whole front off, is there any way the cam shaft could have moved with out taking the front cover off?

The pistons didnt have the "arrow" showing the direction they are supposed to go back in, but i am pretty sure i put them back in the right way.

Im confused. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Pictures:
This is what the oil pan looked like when i pulled it the first time. It may have been the source of the knock i was chasing. There was a thick gasket originally used and the one i put on it this time was the thin one.


This is the position where the engine stopped rotating. I sprayed the cylinders down to see if maybe there wasn't enough lube and they were sticking.

[gudjeon]

This is good food for thought for anyone rebuilding an engine. Make sure you rotate every time you add a piece. Then if it sticks, you know it was the last thing you did.

Good luck. See if it will rotate be hand without the sump cover.

[Sputnicker]

It's not clear what all you had apart, but the 1/4" gap in the rocker assembly sounds suspicious. Check to see if all your cam followers are in place and at the same height. Also check the distributor drive gear that's driven by the cam. If I remember correctly, there's a bolt on the side of the block that secures the housing that holds the drive gear for the cam and oil pump. Since you have the head off, you can remove the cam followers and distributor drive gear assembly and see if your obstruction disappears. I agree that if you never had the cam or crank out, the cam timing shouldn't have changed.

Good luck.

[Terrys]

Have I got this right? With both the head and the pan off, it still comes up hard (hard bind)?

[Sputnicker]

Another thought - consult the Green Bible and make sure your connecting rods aren't flipped 180 degrees. The hole that squirts oil up into the cylinders has a particular orientation.

[69Bugeye]

Cam gear removed?

Just a thought.
If you had the cam gear off of the cam, it is possible for the cam to slide aft in the block and possibly changing the cam to oil pump drive gear timing. Not sure how this would cause a stoppage of the crank though.

Another thought...if the crank was removed, did you get the thrust washers reinstalled in the correct position?

[69Bugeye]

sorry...

[msggunny]

Have I got this right? With both the head and the pan off, it still comes up hard (hard bind)?

Yes sir.

[msggunny]

Another thought - consult the Green Bible and make sure your connecting rods aren't flipped 180 degrees. The hole that squirts oil up into the cylinders has a particular orientation.

I think i am going to do that tomorrow just for ****s and giggles.

Hopefully that the issue, but i still dont see why it wouldnt turn.

The cam, chain and gears were never removed.

[Terrys]

Yes sir.

It's rare I say this, but I got nothing.
With pan off, It isn't rod caps hitting pan. Shank of rods is symetrical, so it isn't rods hitting side of bottom skirt of cylinders. I'd be pulling the front cover next, I spose, to see if something's going on with chain, tensioner, sprockets, etc.
Is it coming up hard at the same point either side of top center? (i.e. 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock, 7 &5 etc.) Then you can lean which element is the issue. I love and hate these sort of issues.
That gouge in the pan baffle is wierd. Is it perfectly aligned with the center of the #1 cap? Honestly, I thought there was more clearance than that.
If it didn't cost me my ss check in gas, I'd jump in the truck and run up there.

[msggunny]

Odd how the title of this thread is fitting for what happened.

A roller from a tappet assembly fell out of the guides and was resting on the lobe of the cam. This of course prevented the cam from turning.

No damage to the cam, or the roller. Screwed up the tappet housing and the brass thing that rides in it.

Big learning experience for me.

1. make sure you can rotate the internals by hand before you take it off the stand. In this case i would have had to figured out that the dowel on the back of the crank fouled the stand arms and prevented its rotation. Lesson learned.

2. If it doesnt turn easily dont force it!!! Im a tanker and we use sledge hammers and huge pry-bars to make things work. There is a reason i wasnt a tank mechanic i guess.... (I wont say lesson totally learned, as i am sure i will do something like that again, but not with an engine)

Thanks for the assistance!