Crankshaft sticking !?!?!?!

[Poser]

Gen4 i4 5sfe

So.... I have gone through replacing the water pump, cam & crankshaft seals, oil pump o-ring gasket, oil pump seal and now am putting on the new timing belt.

I have gotten the belt on and am trying to align to TDC. The Crankshaft makes almost one complete rotation and sticks. It will rotate back in the other direction and then stick. I have now gotten the harmonic back off, removed timing cover...sprocket and belt guide. All was assemble correctly. Putting the crank bolt back and just turning with the sprocket in place produces the same effect.

I am listening for any indication of damaged piston rods, piston rings or sleeves. Nothing, not even the faintest whisper.

Does anybody have any ideas????

Car is in neutral, and crank bolt was removed using starter blip method (if that provides anymore info).

[frenum49]

Was there any failure of the engine prior to you attempting to install the new timing belt or was this just a maintenance thing? Our 5S's are non-interference engines. Meaning if the timing belt comes apart there is no chance of bending a valve. Did you have the spark plugs out of the engine while doing this repair? Could have dropped something down one of the holes? Whatever you do, do not force the crank to turn past the obstruction. If the engine was running normally before you removed the belt and you did not have the lower end apart or the valve cover off, the only thing this can be is something down one of the plug holes. If indeed this is a possibility you will likely need to remove the head to get whatever it is out of there. Unless you are extremely lucky and dont mind fishing down the holes with a magnet on a string If you had the valve cover off, you may have left something in there that is binding shit up.

[Poser]

Originally Posted by frenum49

Was there any failure of the engine prior to you attempting to install the new timing belt or was this just a maintenance thing? Our 5S's are non-interference engines. Meaning if the timing belt comes apart there is no chance of bending a valve. Did you have the spark plugs out of the engine while doing this repair? Could have dropped something down one of the holes? Whatever you do, do not force the crank to turn past the obstruction. If the engine was running normally before you removed the belt and you did not have the lower end apart or the valve cover off, the only thing this can be is something down one of the plug holes. If indeed this is a possibility you will likely need to remove the head to get whatever it is out of there. Unless you are extremely lucky and dont mind fishing down the holes with a magnet on a string If you had the valve cover off, you may have left something in there that is binding shit up.

1. The timing belt snapped in operation, obviously causing the engine to cut out... fortunately only about 175 ft. outside of driveway

2.Plugs are in fact out of the valves

3. I don't believe anything made it down into one of the holes, but I will check this probability.

4. Never took the valve cover off.

Could it be that the compression stroke is pressurized...keeping the pistons on either 1,3 or 2,4 from moving all the way to the top to relieve pressure. Just trying to brainstorm.. I am extremely frustrated!

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by Poser

Gen4 i4 5sfe It will rotate back in the other direction and then stick. I

Stick as in stop, unable to get to TDC, or stick as in more resistance?

I would also remove the valve cover and make sure things there are ok.

[Poser]

Originally Posted by Stillrunning

Stick as in stop, unable to get to TDC, or stick as in more resistance?

unable to get to TDC. I can get it to 10 degrees and then it will not move any longer. I mean the crank should spin freely when there is no belt on, correct?.

[Luckynumber5]

If the spark plugs are out it will not compress anything so it shouldn't stick, somethings hanging it up...

[Poser]

Originally Posted by Luckynumber5

If the spark plugs are out it will not compress anything so it shouldn't stick, somethings hanging it up...

yeah... that makes sense, I think my brain is torched at the moment. What kind of "somethings" are we talking about though?

[Jimnist]

Tools. Like maybe a small socket could've fallen down into the spark plug hole?

Yeah, if ALL spark plug are out, there will be no compression during the 'compression stroke' becuase of the fat hole where the spark plug would usually sit.

[dz63]

Try to isolate what is causing the problem. With the timing belt off, try to rotate the camshaft pulley 360 degrees. If it rotates freely 360 degrees, then I doubt that it is related to valves or the camshaft.

Next, with all spark plugs out and timing belt still off, try to rotate the crankshaft pulley 360 degrees. If it gets stuck, then maybe something fell into one of the cylinders through a spark plug hole. Not sure what else might cause the crankshaft to get stuck like this. Try 'pinging' NEO or Mike Gerber - both very knowledgeable. They might have some suggestions of other things to try.

[Poser]

this may sound stupid... but since the car has been sitting for the better part of two weeks now, is it possible that a drop in temperature, increase in humidity may have helped the carbon deposits in the the sleeves to solidify and bind up the pistons?

Just trying to brainstorm... I will yank the valve cover tomorrow to take a closer look and inspect valves to pray they are not bent.

Bummmmmer.

Thanks for the help guys, keep the suggestions coming.

[Poser]

Originally Posted by dz63

Try to isolate what is causing the problem. With the timing belt off, try to rotate the camshaft pulley 360 degrees. If it rotates freely 360 degrees, then I doubt that it is related to valves or the camshaft.

Next, with all spark plugs out and timing belt still off, try to rotate the crankshaft pulley 360 degrees. If it gets stuck, then maybe something fell into one of the cylinders through a spark plug hole. Not sure what else might cause the crankshaft to get stuck like this. Try 'pinging' NEO or Mike Gerber - both very knowledgeable. They might have some suggestions of other things to try.

Camshaft rotates normally... with the obvious bit of resistance from Cams moving up and down. I put it through two full rotations to be sure.

Side note: To align TDC, should the sprocket spoke hole be aligned with the notch or the hole in the Cam housing (Haynes would lead me to believe it is aligned to the hole and not the notch)?

Will pull valve cover tomorrow... and hope for best.

[Stillrunning]

There is a possibility you could have dropped a valve, and that is the reason the TB broke. When you pull the valve cover check all valves, valve springs and retainers carefully.

[Poser]

Originally Posted by Stillrunning

There is a possibility you could have dropped a valve, and that is the reason the TB broke. When you pull the valve cover check all valves, valve springs and retainers carefully.

will do...

... but the lower timing belt cover looked like the Exxon Valdeez, that coupled with the fact that I am sure it is 151k old are what I believe led to the Timing Belt failure.

Heres one... could the Crankshaft seal, if placed in too deep or too shallow or unevenly cause the Crank to bind up?

[dz63]

Originally Posted by Poser

Side note: To align TDC, should the sprocket spoke hole be aligned with the notch or the hole in the Cam housing (Haynes would lead me to believe it is aligned to the hole and not the notch)?

The hole in the Camshaft pulley is aligned with the "V-notch", not the "round" hole. IMO, installing the seal incorrectly could not possibly cause the crank to get stuck. There is too much leverage on the wrench that you are using to rotate the crank bolt.

[96paseo]

Buy a retractable magnet aka "magnet on a stick" and send it down the spark plug holes. Its always possible to drop a small socket or extension into the cylinder and not notice. You could also remove your valve cover and rotate the cam by itself, then watch the lifters for signs of trouble.