1952-59 Ford Difficult hand-cranking

Another question for you guys....

I've hand cranked this engine a few times for various reasons and it spins nice a freely except at one point where it becomes very hard to crank and then gives way if you lean on it.....if you keep spinning it.....it becomes very hard to crank exactly 180 degrees away as well.

I'm hoping that this doesn't indicate a stuck valve or something of the sort.

 

Pull the plugs out and the resistence should go away.

 

done....still has the resistance

 

If the engine had sat for a while you may be hitting a "carbon spot" at the top of the bore,while you have the plugs out squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders and turn it several revolutions then squirt a little more in and let it sit overnight and see if that helps.

 

Thanks Jeff....I'll give that a try.

It has sat for a while, however I have a lot of trust in the guy who sold it to me and he knows for a fact that it was a good running 1988 Lincoln motor.

 

Jeff....you the man!

I let the Marvel Mystery Oil sit all day and this evening, went out to crank it and it started to hit that sticky spot and I could feel something sort of give way.

After that, it spun all the way around.....at the same spot it got a bit sticky but much less....then on the next revolution it was nice and free.

I don't want to spin it any more without spinning the oil pump and getting some real lubrication in all the vital spots, but the MMO seems to have really done the job.

 

I guess that old saying "older and wiser" has merit! LOL

 

LOL....yeah.

The older I get, the more I realize that I don't know nearly as much as I thought I did!

By the way....I'm spinning the engine clockwise....I'm hoping that's the correct direction to spin it and that I'm not messing with the torque converter. (ie....if I spun it in the wrong direction, wouldn't the torque converter come loose?)

 

09-01-2009 08:50 PM
rustyfords

Borrowed my father-in-law's pressure washer and degreased and pressure washed the 302....attacked the garage floor and the lawn mower while I was at it.

I've got a feeling this is where you went wrong. I'd guess you got a little water in the motor when you pressure washed it and formed a little rust somewhere...probably on the cylinder wall of one or more cylinders. Jeff's cure is right-on.

 

You may be right Eric.

That having been said....I'm gonna run over to AutoZone this morning and borrow an oil pump primer from them. I'll go ahead and put some oil in the engine and circulate some proper oil through there.