Car died, and wont restart

[MX4]

Hey all,
Hopefully someone can shed some light on this problem. Driving home, in a VR4 we had just purchased, the car died while slowing down for some lights. When the car died there were not any engine strange noises. The car wouldnt restart so it was towed home. When turning the key the motor doesnt turn over. It is almost like the battery is flat. We have tried jump starting the car without any luck. All the electrics (lights, windows etc) work perfectly which leads me to think it isnt an electrical issue. We checked the engine oil and that is at a sufficient level. We put the car in gear and tryed to rock it back and forward. After checking the marks on the cam gears it doesnt appear the cams moved at all whilst trying to rock the car. I guess that would point towards a seized engine but the car had enough oil?

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance
Ryan

 

Try turning the motor over with a 1/2 in drive ratchet from the crank pulley. If you can turn it over by hand then it is probably not a seized engine.

 

[moidsm1]

You say it would not restart, Does it at least Click when you try to start it? If the cams are not turning then do what 92Galant928 said and see if the motor turns with the ratchet. If it does then check the starter signal wire connected to the prong on the starter if that is good then tap the starter with a hammer while trying to start to see if the solenoid is going out. Sometimes taooing will loosen up carbon covered contacts in the solenoid. If that works then go replace the solenoid, It seperates from the starter.

 

[MX4]

Thanks for your replys guys.


Yes the starter does click when trying to start the car.

I will try your suggestions to try to turn the crank pulley tonight when I am home from work.

 

The car wouldn't just die if the starter simply went out while in motion or if the car is already running. a bad starter wouldn't stall the car.

DONT TRY TO RESTART THE CAR if you aren't sure if the motor is free, thats a big no no with an interference engine.

I JUST, "I sh*t you not", JUST, had this happen to me today when I got to work - I pulled the car outta gear and the engine "Quickly" stalled and I rolled into my parking spot. looked under hood to check T-Belt and it looked fine and had good tension. I did a quick bump with the ignition, which you should never do, I got slight movement from camgears but no more than a degree or two before being halted by something, leading me to believe that something is locking up the motor. now I still have to do the same thing that was suggested to you, which is manually by hand try to turn the crank with a ratchet. if it's locked up clockwise and I can turn the motor (a little, like 9-10 degrees) counterclockwise, then I'll have a good feeling that a valve is hitting the piston or similar. if it's locked up in both directions, than It's probably something like a main bearing.

-Something else you might want to check is the position of your cam gear markings, are they BOTH at the same orientation to each other and what's the location of your dowel pins. for instance Mine are the same, but I noticed that my motor stopped with the dowel pins BEFORE TDC for cylinder #1. meaning not all of my valves are closed. It's just something to keep into consideration while you're troubleshooting your issue.

Not exactly sure of the issue yet, but I know how you feel for I am in the same boat.

 

[MX4]

Basically we have this resolved.

The muppet owner before us had jacked the engine up off the sump. It had squashed the sump hard up against the oil pickup. I think you can guess the rest of the story!