Brian'sCharlotte(TA)

iTrader: (2)

Okay, vehicle is a 1990 GMC sierra with an lq9 swap, T56 trans, small cam, factory intake, 241 heads ect. Driving the truck the other Sunday, got to my house and shut it down and went inside. Everything was running completely fine when I went inside. Came back outside a few hours later and boom. No start.

Starter would attempt to turn the block over but sounded extremely weak and is unable to completely turn the the flywheel. Got a new battery and starter and neither did the trick. Even with the new hardware, we were unable to push start the truck (with various attempts) due to the drivetrain not turning over. Every time I would drop the clutch with the shifter in gear (tried numerous gears) the tires would lock up and come to a stop, unless I pushed in the clutch then it would continue to roll. I pulled the spark plugs and used the starter to turn over the block and it worked like a charm - so the block is not locked.

I'm assuming I have a bad ground or power wire somewhere. Any ideas on where to look/what may be wrong? All ground points have been checked, and are in good shape. I'm unsure what to do now. Sorry for the book I had to write to get the point across. I'm just not sure why the block wouldn't turn over when we tried the push. I guess the compression kept the block from turning?

LLLosingit

iTrader: (4)

It should have turned over while pushing it in 2nd or 3rd gear for sure unless every time you tried to start it it primed and put to much fuel in the cylinders, You probably would have noticed when you pulled the plugs though.
The starter gets it's ground from the block, To test to see if it's a ground problem you can use a set of good jumper cables and hook the black end on the battery terminal and hook the other black end directly to the start case if possible or try a few spots on the block.
Did you have the starter you removed tested? I only ask because it is possible to get a bad starter from the auto parts store.

Not turning over with a push start or starter makes me wonder if you don't have an internal problem of some kind. Did you try to turn it over by hand with the plugs out? It should have been fairly easy to turn.

Freefallin

So symptoms of weak battery but its not weak battery...hmmm...you sure the battery is good. Just because its new it doesn't mean its good.
I would get boost from another car just to be sure.
Also just because its showing 12.6+ volts (which is what the volt is supposed to be), it doesn't mean it should start the car. Some cells could be dead which will lower the battery's CAA, which along with volts, is what is needed to start the car. So yeah, make sure it really isn't the battery.

Another thing I would check is if one of the pulleys is seized or is not freely spinning. So get the serpentine belt off and spin all the pulleys by hand to check.

If all of the above check out, I would check the wires. Specifically the one from the battery to the starter. Its easy enough to do if you could get under the car. Just visually check if its not broken at any point. You will have to expose the cable thou by removing the the wire cover (if any).

Let us know how it goes.

EDIT: Ooops! Missed the part where its a manual!