89' 300 seized or starter issue?
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07-07-2012, 01:36 PM
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89' 300 seized or starter issue?
I apologize for the extremely long post, Certain information may be more relevant to the situation than others.
Ive had battery terminal issues, so those have gotten replaced, all electricals have been tested and are in good working order. But a few weeks ago, it was around 100' outside, as well as high humidity. Took the truck out to the gas station, it was running slightly rough, (i have a mild head gasket issue, typically burns around a gallon every 3 or 4 hundred miles) so i just attributed the roughness to the high heat and perhaps it was burning a little extra water. But as i tried to restart the truck at the gas station, it cranked for a second or 2, then completely died, lost all battery power.
Did my usual, clean and wiggle of the terminals, restored power, and it would not crank at all. The symptoms ranged from just a solenoid "click", a starter "click/thud", to a half assed crank. Finally after 2 hours of jumping and tinkering with the terminals, it fired.
Instantly i noticed the truck idleing very rough and working hard to keep itself from stalling out. Was not misfiring, had the same "piston pattern" as it should, but to me it sounded and felt like it was dragging the pistons. The stick was moving repetatively, opposed to the normal vibration the stick has. anyway... i though (for some reason, might have been the heat getting to me lol) the gas stirred up gunk in my tank, so i was driving it a bit rougher in an attempt to "clear it out". bad decision on my part.
Went to town fair tire a few miles away, it progressively started running "heavier/rougher". As i pulled into a parking space, the truck stalled itself out in neutral. It was restarting with ease, but kept stalling when i would put it in neutral, unless i kept my foot on the accel.
Got it back home, shut it off, let it sit, sunpro temp guage was reading around 200 degrees throughout the day. it refired once, idle'd, shut it off, then it wouldnt restart again.
Replaced the terminals with new out of the box terminals. That did not help, tried hooking the battery box to it, with 12v, 24v and 24v boost, it still would not restart. It maintained proper voltage prior to jumping it and afterwards.
I would always check the water level and fill from the radiator, but after a while, the radiator was always full, so i started to add water to the resevoir. That day however, the truck did not want to take water out of the res. perhaps the hose was clogged or bottom of the tank, but i took the radiator cap off, noticed i couldnt see water so, started to fill. All in all it took around a gallon and a half of water.
Tried to start again, to circulate the water so more could be added, and i got a "clunk" from the starter (sounds like when you accidentally arc the solenoid, just without the engine cranking for a split second). I think possibly the flywheel is stuck so the clunk is the starter gear taking up the space itself and the flywheel gear. or maybe it is the starter malfunctioning and only throwing the gear out and not spinning it.
I do not want to believe i "heat" seized the eninge, and personally ive never heard of a starter acting like that, so chances are it is in fact seized or somehow hydro-locked from the head gasket issue.
I just figured i would start a "thread" about it to get some alternative feed back. I know quite a bit about trucks, and ive talked to a few of my ase certified buddys, but i am getting all sorts of wild answers. perhaps a ford enthusiast will have better insight.
At some point i am going to pull the starter, plugs, and possibly the head, since i need to do the gasket anyway. But i would like to hear what others have to say about the situation before i waste my time doing unnessecary things to it.
Again sorry for the long posting! Any input would be highly appreciated.
* also would like to add... the oil level is normal, cold and hot, does not burn or leak oil. Temp guage is very reliable, just not when it has nothing to read hah. Since i bought the truck, it has ran like a top, until the outside temp exceeded 85-90 degrees, but it would run fine again once the day cooled off. Also ive heard about cats clogging up as a result of the head gasket burning water, it does not have a single thing to do with the current issue, but could that be the cause of the outdoor temp effecting the idle and running of the engine?
Ive had battery terminal issues, so those have gotten replaced, all electricals have been tested and are in good working order. But a few weeks ago, it was around 100' outside, as well as high humidity. Took the truck out to the gas station, it was running slightly rough, (i have a mild head gasket issue, typically burns around a gallon every 3 or 4 hundred miles) so i just attributed the roughness to the high heat and perhaps it was burning a little extra water. But as i tried to restart the truck at the gas station, it cranked for a second or 2, then completely died, lost all battery power.
Did my usual, clean and wiggle of the terminals, restored power, and it would not crank at all. The symptoms ranged from just a solenoid "click", a starter "click/thud", to a half assed crank. Finally after 2 hours of jumping and tinkering with the terminals, it fired.
Instantly i noticed the truck idleing very rough and working hard to keep itself from stalling out. Was not misfiring, had the same "piston pattern" as it should, but to me it sounded and felt like it was dragging the pistons. The stick was moving repetatively, opposed to the normal vibration the stick has. anyway... i though (for some reason, might have been the heat getting to me lol) the gas stirred up gunk in my tank, so i was driving it a bit rougher in an attempt to "clear it out". bad decision on my part.
Went to town fair tire a few miles away, it progressively started running "heavier/rougher". As i pulled into a parking space, the truck stalled itself out in neutral. It was restarting with ease, but kept stalling when i would put it in neutral, unless i kept my foot on the accel.
Got it back home, shut it off, let it sit, sunpro temp guage was reading around 200 degrees throughout the day. it refired once, idle'd, shut it off, then it wouldnt restart again.
Replaced the terminals with new out of the box terminals. That did not help, tried hooking the battery box to it, with 12v, 24v and 24v boost, it still would not restart. It maintained proper voltage prior to jumping it and afterwards.
I would always check the water level and fill from the radiator, but after a while, the radiator was always full, so i started to add water to the resevoir. That day however, the truck did not want to take water out of the res. perhaps the hose was clogged or bottom of the tank, but i took the radiator cap off, noticed i couldnt see water so, started to fill. All in all it took around a gallon and a half of water.
Tried to start again, to circulate the water so more could be added, and i got a "clunk" from the starter (sounds like when you accidentally arc the solenoid, just without the engine cranking for a split second). I think possibly the flywheel is stuck so the clunk is the starter gear taking up the space itself and the flywheel gear. or maybe it is the starter malfunctioning and only throwing the gear out and not spinning it.
I do not want to believe i "heat" seized the eninge, and personally ive never heard of a starter acting like that, so chances are it is in fact seized or somehow hydro-locked from the head gasket issue.
I just figured i would start a "thread" about it to get some alternative feed back. I know quite a bit about trucks, and ive talked to a few of my ase certified buddys, but i am getting all sorts of wild answers. perhaps a ford enthusiast will have better insight.
At some point i am going to pull the starter, plugs, and possibly the head, since i need to do the gasket anyway. But i would like to hear what others have to say about the situation before i waste my time doing unnessecary things to it.
Again sorry for the long posting! Any input would be highly appreciated.
* also would like to add... the oil level is normal, cold and hot, does not burn or leak oil. Temp guage is very reliable, just not when it has nothing to read hah. Since i bought the truck, it has ran like a top, until the outside temp exceeded 85-90 degrees, but it would run fine again once the day cooled off. Also ive heard about cats clogging up as a result of the head gasket burning water, it does not have a single thing to do with the current issue, but could that be the cause of the outdoor temp effecting the idle and running of the engine?
Last edited by nemakx125; 07-07-2012 at 01:58 PM.
#2
07-07-2012, 04:20 PM
