I searched: Crank Lock, Engine Lock, Vapor Lock, Stuck Crank, Won't Turn and I didn't get any good results so here goes.

Background (I'm not looking for blame, just a solution): The car was running when it was put on the truck. The truck driver had to take it off the truck mid-trip in order to get another car off the truck, in doing so, he tried cranking it to no avail. On the 3rd try, it finally started so he decided to let it warm up for a few minutes. He climbed out to let it sit and 2 minutes into warming up, he said "something sounded like it broke loose and began making a lot of racket in the engine/transmission area" so he then went and cut the car off. After that, it would not start.

I just got my car in yesterday from being shipped across country. I didn't attempt to start it until today knowing that something could be broken. I got the battery charged up and I tried cranking it and it wouldn't turn over. It seemed like the engine was locked up, but just incase it was that I wasn't getting enough power, I tried jumping the car off and tested the strength of that w/ a voltmeter to ensure that I had enough power. No dice. I took a socket+bar to try to manually turn the crankshaft pulley by brute force and it would NOT BUDGE.

It's an 02 LS1 w/ about 45k miles out of a Z28, a TRex cam, PRC Valve springs, Pushrods, Harland Sharp 1.7, and a quart or two too much oil.

I'm not working on it tonight, but I'll start back tomorrow.
Ideas so far:
Remove a spark plug to try and release some pressure then manually spin again.
Too much oil? (i don't see how this can cause the crankshaft to lock up)
Vapor Lock
Valve Seat detached b/c of extreme cam and locked up a piston?!?! (unlikely)
OR
somehow the crankshaft fused/spun a bearing

Spun bearing is a stretch though, the engine was not revved up, it was idling when it went FUBAR.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated as tomorrow begins the teardown of the top half of the engine

-Dixon

 

I wouldn't bother with tearing down the top half. Just pull it and look into eithor rebuilding that motor or getting another. It sounds like something drastic let go. I would be suspious of somebody else driving my car and having something break like that. It almost seems too convient.

 

Any other ideas before I begin tearing into it today?

I'd like to atleast give it a chance and look inside before i just tossed my block out the window.
Anybody else?

 

Yeah.. Id say it was idling too, then run the **** out of it get it to knock and put oil in it, too much oil.. I bet the driver tore it up and added the oil.

 

someone else driving your car should be easy enough to determine, check the mileage. if I take my car someplace(any car) for whatever, stereo install, oil change, tires and leave the car unattended, I always write down the mileage and I let them know I did so;
if your engine will not budge even by hand then I suspect 1 of 2 things, a rod has broken and is lodged against the oil pan or block, or a valve dropped and is sitting on a piston on its up stroke.
I would pull the valve covers and look for a broken valve spring/dropped valve first, if you find that, pull the head and then see if the engine will turn over by hand.
1 question, will the engine not turn in either direction?

 

Thats what I was going to say...maybe you dropped a valve. Pull the valve covers and inspect all the valves and make sure they are all there. Its a fairly simple job and shouldnt take more than 30 min if you are fast.

 

Thanks Scott, I'm headed out to the garage right now to check on it. I'm kinda hoping that it is JUST the valve and not anything in the bottom end.
I'll also check on the direction of the crank.
-Dixon