Engine seized, rebuild at home?
Discussion
The engine in the Cerb seized today 
And it was my own fault!
I had removed the cam covers to check the gapping of the shims, put the cover on and released the throttle cable and started the car, she reved to the max for a few secs before I could get my hand on the off button, looked in the engine and the cable had got caught on a link and was held fully open, now she won't turn, the starter tries but can't turn her over.
Had been thinking of a refresh anyway and I'm probably going to get her sent to Andy, but I was thinking about having a go at home? I have never built a car engine but have built jet engines (propulsion engineer in the RAF).
Have any of you good people done a rebuild at home? Is it something that can be done or am I best off just getting her sent away?
And it was my own fault!
I had removed the cam covers to check the gapping of the shims, put the cover on and released the throttle cable and started the car, she reved to the max for a few secs before I could get my hand on the off button, looked in the engine and the cable had got caught on a link and was held fully open, now she won't turn, the starter tries but can't turn her over.
Had been thinking of a refresh anyway and I'm probably going to get her sent to Andy, but I was thinking about having a go at home? I have never built a car engine but have built jet engines (propulsion engineer in the RAF).
Have any of you good people done a rebuild at home? Is it something that can be done or am I best off just getting her sent away?
Well its about -2 in Aberdeen, I think going from cold to max RPM for over 5 secs must have broken something. I'm thinking of removing the plugs and having a look with a video probe to see it anything is obvious.
I'm not sure what is causing the seize, anyone had one seize before? Im thinking main bearing?
I'm gutted but the oil pressure has been tempremental at times so was pointing towards needing one at some point.
I'm not sure what is causing the seize, anyone had one seize before? Im thinking main bearing?
I'm gutted but the oil pressure has been tempremental at times so was pointing towards needing one at some point.
dpd3047 said:
I would guess that the valves have hit the pistons ?
I would be more inclined to go down the thinking of piston seized in liner or lower con rod case shattering and seizing? All just guess work though, I'm tempted to take the engine out and drop the sump, see if I can see anything!I have only stripped one down never re-built but it's no different to any other mechanical project really. If that is your trade you will have no issue's re-building it your self. Nuts and bolts really and out source skimming and hoaning ect if you don't have the facility's or tools and keep the costs down.
I work with loads of you Junior service ex-Raffy's your Not too bad
I work with loads of you Junior service ex-Raffy's your Not too bad
sorry to hear this bud,i would have a go i have built many engines in the past......never a tvr v8 but i did rebuild a scooby flat four in my workshop a few years back.As you will know it has to be clean......and just take your time.Take the motor out and see what you can tackle....if you are not happy doing it send it to a garage.I think if you do it yourself you can really clean things up and know it has been done properly......from my experience so far with performance garages i have not been that impressed....infact shoddy comes to mind.have a go bud and enjoy the whole process.....wish you lived closer i would give you a hand
Are you sure its seized? I'm thinking, spinning down from high revs to zero the engine may now be in a position it is not usaully in and maybe the starter can't push it off from there.
Engines only usaully stop in a couple of positions you see.
You gotta try getting a big spanner on the front of the crank bolt and try turning it as a first step.
5 seconds is a long time, I know it might have felt like it but after pressing the starter button, surely you jumped straight for the stop button, probably less than 2 sec in real terms.
Even if you didn't have any oil pressure (it would have come up quick as its relative to number of turns of the engine) you'd still have residule oil around the bearings, with no load on the motor it should survive.
If something mechanical had let go, timing chain, valve etc I'm sure you'd have heard it....then silence
Check the easy stuff first, although they're not bullet proof they're still ok, it should survice a brief over rev (would have just sat on the limiter), if it hasn't for what ever reason, best it did it in the garage than on the motorway........you didnt have to walk home see
Rich.
Engines only usaully stop in a couple of positions you see.
You gotta try getting a big spanner on the front of the crank bolt and try turning it as a first step.
5 seconds is a long time, I know it might have felt like it but after pressing the starter button, surely you jumped straight for the stop button, probably less than 2 sec in real terms.
Even if you didn't have any oil pressure (it would have come up quick as its relative to number of turns of the engine) you'd still have residule oil around the bearings, with no load on the motor it should survive.
If something mechanical had let go, timing chain, valve etc I'm sure you'd have heard it....then silence
Check the easy stuff first, although they're not bullet proof they're still ok, it should survice a brief over rev (would have just sat on the limiter), if it hasn't for what ever reason, best it did it in the garage than on the motorway........you didnt have to walk home see
Rich.
Boosted Cerb said:
Are you sure its seized? I'm thinking, spinning down from high revs to zero the engine may now be in a position it is not usaully in and maybe the starter can't push it off from there.
Engines only usaully stop in a couple of positions you see.
You gotta try getting a big spanner on the front of the crank bolt and try turning it as a first step.
5 seconds is a long time, I know it might have felt like it but after pressing the starter button, surely you jumped straight for the stop button, probably less than 2 sec in real terms.
Even if you didn't have any oil pressure (it would have come up quick as its relative to number of turns of the engine) you'd still have residule oil around the bearings, with no load on the motor it should survive.
If something mechanical had let go, timing chain, valve etc I'm sure you'd have heard it....then silence
Check the easy stuff first, although they're not bullet proof they're still ok, it should survice a brief over rev (would have just sat on the limiter), if it hasn't for what ever reason, best it did it in the garage than on the motorway........you didnt have to walk home see
Rich.
^^^^^ Have to agree with this. Get something on the crank and see if it will turn over by hand and take it from there. Engines only usaully stop in a couple of positions you see.
You gotta try getting a big spanner on the front of the crank bolt and try turning it as a first step.
5 seconds is a long time, I know it might have felt like it but after pressing the starter button, surely you jumped straight for the stop button, probably less than 2 sec in real terms.
Even if you didn't have any oil pressure (it would have come up quick as its relative to number of turns of the engine) you'd still have residule oil around the bearings, with no load on the motor it should survive.
If something mechanical had let go, timing chain, valve etc I'm sure you'd have heard it....then silence
Check the easy stuff first, although they're not bullet proof they're still ok, it should survice a brief over rev (would have just sat on the limiter), if it hasn't for what ever reason, best it did it in the garage than on the motorway........you didnt have to walk home see
Rich.
If it was revving on the limit from cold chances are it's cold seized, where the piston expands quicker than the cylinder lining and nips up, the oil been cold and thick will not be much help in that situation, take plugs out and try turning it over again, listen for any nasty noises
take out your plugs and run some wd40 down the bores before you turn anything.....cant see the engine will be stuck in a funny position its more likely you have foofed a ring or two due to the cold theory mentioned above.hope your lucky on this one bud.still think its somthing bottom end as this is where most cold start up problems occur.
spongy said:
take out your plugs and run some wd40 down the bores before you turn anything.....cant see the engine will be stuck in a funny position its more likely you have foofed a ring or two due to the cold theory mentioned above.hope your lucky on this one bud.still think its somthing bottom end as this is where most cold start up problems occur.
Ok, so the update is, sprayed some WD down the plugs, still no joy turning, put her in 5th and gave her a shove with a mate and she turned over a bit, fired her up and she turns and went to catch but sounded awful so killed her before she started, and now won't turn again, so I'm thinking something bottom end has given up.At least the pistons haven't seized! So I'm thinking a bottom end rebuild is needed.
Now the million dollar questions is do I have a go at this myself or send it down to Andy and empty my wallet but have peace of mind she's in good hands?
I've done an AJP8 rebuild at home, but using a local engine shop to do the work on the short block. Its a simple engine, but the rebuild manual will be essential. However, mine wasn't significantly damaged when I stripped it so it was more a matter of carefully logging the strip, making small machine marks on various bits to keep the alignment etc, and then rebuilding it the reverse as it came apart. You must be gutted that this is all the result of a minor oversight in what was otherwise a simple maintenance job.
During the 5 seconds it was running at max, was it bouncing off the rev limiter or did it sound to be reving above 7k rpm? I've always been a bit suspicious of the rev limiter on the MBE - a few times I've glanced down to see the revs at 7500 when accelerating through the gears and all I had was a red warning light flash on and a warning buzzer.
During the 5 seconds it was running at max, was it bouncing off the rev limiter or did it sound to be reving above 7k rpm? I've always been a bit suspicious of the rev limiter on the MBE - a few times I've glanced down to see the revs at 7500 when accelerating through the gears and all I had was a red warning light flash on and a warning buzzer.
see pic for the rev limiter in the tvr version of the mbe .. 2 rows of fuelling set to zero. If you've got enough fuel floating around in the inlet/pipes to allow the engine to rev beyond the 2 rows (as you might well on a fuel rich cold start scenario) then it starts fuelling through the injectors again. the revs would keep increasing until the physical limitations of the engine take over, usually valve bounce. 
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