Engine Seized help?! 2.0 GE valve stuck down

[Jackrobbo]

I was changing my fuel hoses to ethanol proof so I had drained the tank as much as a I could then thought to crank over the engine for no more than 30 seconds. Thinking the pump would help clear the lines. Anyway that jobs done and is perfect. But now the engine won’t turn over.

I’ve removed starter motor that’s fine.
Removed alternator belt that turns.
Tried turning the motor on the pulley bolt nothing
Tried rocking in 1st and nothing
Removed rocker covers 1 of the valves in the left hand bank im not sure which cylinder this would be is jammed in the open position.
The pushrod looks straight but there is a 8mm gap between the rocker and the valve the spring should have no doubt taken up this gap should the valve not be seized?

What can I expect now? Given the motor wasn’t running or under any load can I assume the valve is probably bent and the piston is sat against it? Or expect the worst?

[Jeff Geisen]

Remove the head and have a look. Perhaps a cocked valve seat.
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[SGKent]

Before you pull the head lay a straight edge across the valves and make sure that the actual valve is lower than the others. You could be seeing a collapsed lifter and something else is going on like it slipped into gear or your wrench fell into the fan. Example of what can happen, one uses a wrench on the alternator to turn the engine and forgets it is there.

But it does look like an unrelated problem to the work you did, meaning if it is a valve seat, you are probably lucky it happened in the garage and not out on the road or you would have had a grenade. If a bad valve seat the engine comes out and head checked. You can get one of these to look into the cylinder thru the plug hole. DO NOT USE THE STARTER AGAIN until the problem is solved.


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"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it." - George Carlin

[aeromech]

I can’t explain the valve gap but suggest you remove the spark plugs and then try rotating the engine by hand
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[timvw7476]

Lack of oil pressure? Or lack of oil in the sump?
When a Type IV goes, as far as valves. it's the seat popping out of the head, so the valve isn't bent, the geometry is so tame, combustion chamber so roomy. it's always the seat popping, cocking the valve open & loss of power. The piston gets a new 'eyebrow' clearancing ellipse You can even drive home on three good cylinders & one dislodged valve seat. I do not recommend it, but I did do it. You may have a lubrication issue if the crankshaft isn't spinning. That's the Bigger Problem. Where is the oil level & what is the color & is there a gasoline smell riding with the oil??? << Just a few questions<<

[Jeff Geisen]

Look closely at the pushrod end of the rocker arm. It appears to be somewhat damaged. Maybe that’s the issue here.

As well, look to the intake valve rocker in the foreground. There seems to be milling done to the edge of the rocker box at the gasket sealing surface.
_________________
I Corinthians 4: 1 thru 5

‘63 ragtop - ‘68 single cab

[Jackrobbo]

[germansupplyscott]

Seat fallen out and now stuck under the valve head, classic case.

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SL

[Wildthings]

As mentioned you likely have valve seat that has come out of place. For reasons I am not sure of this often seems to happen on a cold start.

It really doesn't matter the exact cause, the head is going to have to come off to fix the problem. In all probability you are going to end up buy two new heads and you might want to pay to have the hardware (valves, seats, springs, retainers, and keepers) upgraded.

[Jackrobbo]

[Jackrobbo]

[timvw7476]

there are people on here who have peened the seats back into used heads.
You also need to check on timing, advanced timing raises the operating temps, expands the head & the first seat to drop in that case tends to be the larger diameter intake.

[alman72]

[germansupplyscott]

[Jackrobbo]

So I managed to pull the engine out Monday night. Heres what I found.

The piston has a bit of a dent but looks perfectly usable and no damage to the rings or cylinder which is good. They are also less than 10k miles old.

I’ve ordered 2 new AMC heads, should be here today. Not sure what parts availability is like in the us but here in the Uk. I’ve had to order from 3 different suppliers just to make up a gasket set….

[Wildthings]

Sure this isn't a 1700? Did you verify the diameter of the pistons? Maybe they are 1700 heads that have had their registers opened up for use with 94mm cylinders?

[germansupplyscott]

Your engine is a bit of a bastard. Those are 1700 heads. The pistons appear to be 2000cc so the heads have been opened to suit. What has been done to achieve proper compression ratio would be a critical question. You can tell the heads have been cut because the raised portion around the register is gone.

Tremendous amount of cylinder leakage evident in the photos, from the cylinder to head surface. Be careful re-assembling.

I would not reassemble the engine without at least honing the cylinders and re-ringing. Marginal chance even this will work judging by the photo of the cylinder with the dented piston but if you're on a tight budget you might get away with it.
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SL

[Wildthings]

The smear on the bottom side of the cylinders will have some matching damage on the piston. You need to be sure the piston rings are free to move in their grooves.

[SGKent]

probably dodged a bullet. Had that happened at RPM you might have scattered the engine. Put your location in your avatar or profile.
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"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it." - George Carlin

[Jackrobbo]