Hi guys,

I posted a thread earlier about my 383 not starting properly. I fixed up the ground wires, the plug wires, and everything electrical seems fine. I think the problem may be a mechanical one.

One thing I noticed was that even with roller rockers adjusted and valve events occuring, the engine will NOT turn over by hand using the hub. I apply around 100 lb/ft to the hub bolt and she won't turn so i stop there before breaking anything. the starter motor nearly stalls even with a charged battery and a jump start boosting it.

So, we took the plugs out to remove all compression. the motor will NOT turn by hand, only with about 40-50 lb/ft of force on a torque wrench. we also hear a mild squeeking noise for about 90 degrees of a 360 degree turn of the crank.

I was under the impression that with no compression the motor should spin fairly easily using hands on the balancer?

the crank is a callies magnum and the hub is a 1-piece fluidampr. Could we have messed up putting the fluidampr on?

Finally, this motor has not been run for about 16 months.... could this cause a problem making the motor very stiff to turn over? could the starter itself affect how the motor turns by hand?

what the heck could cause a used motor to be so hard to turn over without compression? there was no rust visibly in the cylinders....

 

Using the stock LT1 oil pan?
Did you clearance the oil pan for the crank?

 

Yep, this is the same oilpan that was on the motor when it ran last.... no clearance problem and no audbile sounds of lack of clearance.

I really hope this isn't anything to do with the bearings....

 

did you guys turn the crank before putting in the motor to check for clearance !?

i remember u mentioned that we have to do that in ur "list of things to do"

 

no we didnt.... since this was the same pan used before on the motor. and the whole time we have tried cranking it and turning it by hand we have not heard any metal on metal contact which would indicate a lack of clearance....

 

i would check the timing before i did anything else. make sure the whole motor is in sequence cause if it's not you could be trying to turn the motor and you could have valves hitting pistons.

if your possitive it's not that. you could try removing your plugs to relieve compression so it's effortless to turn. if it still won't turn with the plugs out, the problem is mechanical.

 

this is the problem then. with no plugs i still need 50 or so lb/ft of torque to turn the motor. the question is, what can cause this?

 

was the 383 just built?
was the timing or the cam position messed with at all?
cause that could be your piston valve contact, but now i'm thinking if the motor would even move when it touched valves.

 

The motor is used (from a turbo car putting out 700 lb/ft) and has been run by someone else just fine, but it has been sitting unused without heads on for about 16 months. The cam was never removed, nor was the timing set. It has a Callies magnum crank, Oliver rods, and JE blower pistons.

if the pistons were hitting valves, I think the motor might rotate because the lifter might take up slack if the valve gets pushed up.... but we dont hear anything when we do crank it over, so i doubt there is contact.

also the motor is 8.5:1 compression with dished pistons, so i doubt valve clearance will be an issue (the cam has no more than .550 lift with my roller rockers)

 

turn it backwards. if it goes a bit that way, then your knocking on something. I'm calling a connecting rod on cylinder wall or crank.cam

you NEVER EVER BUILD AN ENGINE WITHOUT TURNING IT AND CHECKING OIL PRESSURE!

 

the motor turns backward with the same force needed to turn it forwards. the motor was used for a while and the cam was never taken out.... the previous owner had no problems.

Could the lack of lube in the cylinders cause a friction problem with the rings? we are also going to try pulling the starter and turning the motor.

 

will it turn backwards?

if it turns backwards a bit but not foward, your probobly hitting something

 

I would suspect over torqued rod bolts/mains, but if it was delivered in as-ran condition, then something else must be going on. Either way somehow I worry that you are destroying the bearings when trying to turn over, obviously something isn't right.

Did you throw WD40 in the cylinders a couple days before turning it over?

Good luck!