What would cause my engine to seize while being started?

Question

About 6 months ago my car (1995 Lincoln Continental, 4.6 L DOHC V8) died on the way up to college and the starter would turn the engine over but it would not restart. We had the car towed home and my dad tried to start it the next day with some ether. While turning the car over, he heard a loud "clack" and the engine would no longer turn over. We threw the battery on the charger and left it for a few hours thinking we maybe had drained the battery down from trying to start it so much. But when the engine still would not start after charging, we thought maybe the starter had gone down the drain so we replaced the starter, but the engine still would not turn over. When we turn the key, all we hear is a "click". Does this mean that the engine seized somehow?

Answer 1

The engine may well have seized, highly possible.

Spray start, or ether, is very dangerous and can hurt an engine badly. It drys out the cylinder walls and all oil film is lost between the piston and the cylinder walls.

A much better alternative to ether is wd-40. It too will start a engine as ether does but wont dry out the cylinders.

Your best bet now would be to remove the spark plugs and spray some oil into each hole. Marvel mystery oil is what I would use as it will also act as a penetrating oil. (you could use ATF also) Add about two tablespoons to each cylinder. replace the plugs to keep out foreign objects and let the engine sit over night. Remove the plugs the next day and try to turn the engine over. It should spin freely if all is well.

If not you have a large problem and may have to replace or rebuild the engine.

Don't feel too bad, your not the first one to ruin a engine with that spray start.

That stuff is OK if you are using it in the winter and only then use a small spurt.

Answer 2

It sounds like it is locked up! Remove the - battery cable, set parking  brake, put transmission in neutral, and try to turn main crank shaft pulley. You can try it with you hand like was already mentioned or you can put a socket on the crank pulley bolt, and try to turn it with a ratchet. Remove plugs for easier turning if it is not locked up.

If you want to get an engine, you might start here

http://car-part.com/

Answer 3

water in the cylinder.

my guess, is that you blew a head gasket, coolant got into one or more cylinders, and when you tried to start it, something major broke.

Pull the spark plugs, and look at each carefully.

If you have time and space, start taking the engine apart.  You will probably find the problem when you pull the heads.

Answer 4

there are several questions... first... was the car overheating on your way up to college? Were you low on oil?

The loud "clack" was probably a detonation of the either.

if the car cranks but will not start, that means the starter is good, and the battery is good.

if you turn the key and nothing happens, there are several possibilities...

1) the battery is dead. when you put it on the charger, did it take a charge. easy way to tell if it is the battery, turn the key to the accessories position and look at the battery meter. it should be about 12 (for 12 volts). if it is less or doesn't register... your battery is dead.

2) the solinoid on the starter. sometimes the starter is good, but the solinoid is bad (most starters come with the solinoid attached already).

to test if the engine is seized, put the car in gear and try to push it. it will be dificult, but if you can move the car in gear, you basically turning the motor and transmission. if nothing is locked up, you should be able to move the car.

the final bet is to take it to a mechanic. they will give you the best diagnosis.

Answer 5

my guess is that you broke a timing belt, these usually need to be changed every 60,000 miles. what has happened is since the timing belt is gone your valves are not operating and you probably got a valve down and blocking the piston from comming up, thus keeping your crank from rotating. if you done this at a slow speed, you might have got off lucky and not bent a valve. you wouldnt of hurt it just by trying to turn it over with the starter, the question is, if you hurt it when it died on you.

Answer 6

It would be an internal problem.  Timing belt stripped or similar. If it didn't make a loud clanking noise when it died,you may be lucky in that there is not much internal damage. The bad news is you will probably have to pull the covers off to see what's going on.

Answer 7

grab lower eng pully by hand and try to turn it.

if can't turn it ,locked up eng

Answer 8

yep should of checked the oil befor and smelled it

Answer 9

Have you checked the oil?  Oil starvation and heat is what causes an engine to seize.