Rattle and engine quit. Won't turn over.

[ChrisHelvey]

So I'm driving my stock '94 4.0L on the side road to my house and I hear a loud rattling and a flapping sound. I'm going about 15mph when this happens. At first I thought a stick or something was caught somewhere, but then it sounded more like gears had stopped meshing. It was obvious but not a terribly alarming sound. I was close to home. I got about 50 more yards and the engine died and would not turn over. No screeching of a belt. (Yes, oil level is fine.)

I towed it home in neutral and haven't looked at it (it's dark and the wind is blowing like crazy.)

Looking for advice on what to look at. I figure:
-Remove the serpentine belt and see if all accessories and pulleys turn freely. (I hope not, they are easiest to replace.)
-With the belt off, see if I can turn the engine with a breaker bar.

Would a broken timing chain seize the motor? I thought it would just die immediately.

Thanks for any input.

 

[bobbywalter]

not good....


possible loss of pump drive or pump that locked it up....or valve train backed out

lots of possibilities....make sure it turns over by hand first.....maybe the starter simply engaged and locked up.

 

[mini274]

depending on your RPMs the motor can turn over quite a bit after a timing chain breaks... see if it turns over with the belt on first then go from their... how many miles are on it and such... where did the noise come from and worse case scenario your motor is fried or the trans crapped out on you check everything twice before you make a final decision

 

[ChrisHelvey]

You know, it did sound like a gear, coming from the engine compartment. Certainly from the front of the vehicle.
Perhaps the starter did engage and lock up.

So, I'll pull it too to see if I can turn it over by hand.

Wish me luck. I don't have the money to buy a new truck....

 

[ChrisHelvey]

Well, not necessarily the engine compartment, just from the front somewhere. It all happened pretty quickly....

 

[ChrisHelvey]

Update: It's bad.

Spark plug in Cylinder #2 is crushed. Can't turn by hand at all either.

Something came unglued....

Being that:
1) I have more time than money at the moment.
2) A full set of tools
3) A safe place to work
4) It's finally warm.

It looks like I'll be pulling my first Ranger engine.

I got a good start today:
Lots of pictures
Labeled everything and took notes
All small parts in plastic bags and labeled.
Just a few more bolts and it'll be ready to come out. (Ran out of light.)
So far, no problems except an inordinate amount of time on that derned radiator fan nut.

Valve train looks OK...from the top.

I'll know more tomorrow after I pull off the cylinder heads.

Not sure if I will be going the route of a long block, a short block, or having a local machine shop rebuild. More to be revealed.

Any suggestions on a trusted long block source? I would need to try to keep it around 1300.00 (for the block.) Maybe I'm a little ahead of the game - just thinking about options.

I'll update as I go just to keep a reference for anyone else out there.

 

[ChrisHelvey]

Nope. Autolite Platinums. Too bad too, the other 5 looked really good.

I guess we all long for our trusty engines to die a long, slow, oil burning death and not a catastrophic failure.

Thanks for the input. I may go that route due to money being tight. On the other hand - a nice new long block...hmm....

 

[mini274]

if you get a JY motor 80 percent of the junk yards have a 90 day warranty too on motors and transmissions if you get it in and it doesnt run good or something like that they will refund your money or give you a different engine... but be for warned they are very strict on the returns if it is the 90th day they might not take it so get it done quick and get it in writing and signed if they have the warranty

 

[ChrisHelvey]

Thanks. Will do.

 

[ChrisHelvey]

Well, I see what is wrong with the engine.

Can anyone else see the problem? Look closely...


I pulled the broken piston out. There is damage on the top of the connecting rod but only a very minor scratch in the cylinder wall. Nevertheless, it will probably need boring (although a honing might do it, I am not sure.)

Options:
So, I can plunk in a junkyard block and hope. That's the cheapest.
I could buy a long block. That's expensive but easiest.
I could buy a short block. Kind of in-between prices.
I could take this block to a machine shop, bore it out, buy parts (including at least one head) and rebuild it myself. (But this way I could spend some money on a new cam

I'm kind of interested in going through the process of rebuilding it myself. As I said, I have more time than money at the moment. MAYBE, if parts aren't overly expensive, I could put in some higher quality aftermarket parts.

The block is ready to pull. I just need to rent an engine hoist, buy a stand, unbolt it from the tranny and chassis and do it.

Encouragement is encouraged.

 

[Big Jim M]

MAny times in the past I have pulled that one piston and installed a new one with standard cast iron rings. Put it back together and she would run as good as she did before. Small scratches in one cylinder don't hurt anything. Sometimes when we are short on dough we have to do things that aren't well thought of here in the states.
Around the world that is the method used to repair one bad piston. Here in the states we tend to think that one piston is the end of the whole engine.
Big Jim

 

[ChrisHelvey]

Thanks for the post. That's a really good point and I've been thinking of that myself. I could also just pick up a set of pistons and connecting rods (the connecting rod has a little gouge in it) and get it back together pretty quickly. The little scratch in the cylinder is barely noticeable - I had to really look hard to find it. That might avoid any imbalances.
The rest of the cylinders look great - I can even see the hatch marks from the last honing.

I guess I would also need a new valve and a set of gaskets.
Anything else I really have to have? Can I reuse the cylinder head bolts or do I REALLY need to get a new set? I know they are the stretching kind.

 

[Big Jim M]

I have never had fears of using them twice If they are fairly new... But 16 year old ones that I'm not so sure about... If the 30 bucks was hard to find I guess I'd put em back in there. I know for sure there ain't a single NEW HEAD BOLT in the whole country of Mexico... and they seem to get along Ok.
Make sure the width of the cylinder.. If the piston you take out is standard or +10 or whatever get the same size. Then get the cheap cast iron ring set for it as that set will wear in quickly to an out of round cylinder.
That is one rusty sob ya got there. They don't look like that down here. I recently had the heads off of my 3.0, I should have taken some photos of it. It's only rust was inside the coolant passages.
Big JIm

 

[ChrisHelvey]

Actually, it is really clean - that was just the photo that seemed to add a brownish color. The "coating" is just reddish Taos, NM dust/dirt. Under that there is no rust whatsoever.

Thanks for the heads up on the cylinder diameter and iron ring set. I'll measure twice and buy once...