Hi All, Kind of a new member here. I browse the posts now and then, but haven't signed up until recently. I do recognize a handful of member names from my days in the ROA a few years back. So Hello! Hoping I can get some advice/ideas from the pros on a problem I can't seem to diagnose. Been doing a bunch of maintenance on my 65 Riv lately Re-cored the radiator, replaced the hoses, replaced the valve cover gaskets, tracked down a few vacuum leaks, tuned it up, timed it and had it running like a top! Had it up on ramps to check an unrelated issue with the trans, went to start it up and the motor locked up. Did a quick visual inspection to see if anything obvious was to blame. Eventually tried it again, it freed up and started. It sounded horrible and was way out of time. My first thought was that the the timing chain jumped a tooth... Thought maybe the nylon coating on the gears finally broke down. I pulled the timing cover, but the dots on the gears still line up. The chain is pretty loose, but don't THINK that it's enough to cause the problem. I checked the rotor to see where it was pointing, thinking maybe it could be a distributor problem, but it seems like it's right where it needs to be (#1 cylinder, with timing marks lined up on the timing gears). Valves all appear to be moving as they should as well. FWIW, The motor has about 90k on it. I did a compression test before the tune up, and the numbers looked respectable. Not sure what other info may be pertinent, but hoping to get some ideas for where to go or what to look for next. Any help is appreciated! Thanks -BK
pull your belts off and see if your noise goes away. Pull the pass side valve cover off and watch the valves. Make sure the intake rocker and valve open and shut and you will see the mark coming up on the balancer. You will now be on top dead center compression stroke. Pull the cap off and make sure the rotor is pointing to the number one spot. Double check your timing. Paul
Thanks for the replies. @66larkgs - Everything is pulled apart... Including the timing cover, so no checking for noise. I was convinced that the timing chain jumped a tooth, so I went ahead and pulled it apart. As I mentioned, prior to this issue everything was timed correctly, and I previously checked the stuff you mentioned... Valves appear to be operating as they should, the marks on the timing gears are still aligned and yes, the rotor is pointing at the #1 contact. @buick64203 - Transmission wasn't shifting out of 1st. Was preparing to check vacuum at the modulator when all this went down. -BK
When you say the motor "locked up" was it spinning and came to a sudden stop? Or when you hit the key to start it did it stop and just not turn over? Either way it isn't a good thing. But my guess is you could have a leaking head gasket dumping water into one of the cylinders. And what you may have encountered is hydrolock. Ask me how I know. My suggestion would be to pull all the spark plugs and look down into the cylinders with a flashlight and see if you see any water sitting on one of the piston heads. If you can't see the piston head roll the engine over by hand until each one comes up and check them out. Also look at your spark plugs as they come out and get for oxidation or rust buildup. It doesn't take long for them to oxidize and arc when there is water in the cylinder. My car ran what seemed to be pretty good until one night I bumped the starter and the engine didn't even turn a 1/4 rev and stopped. If there is water in the cylinder and your motor stopped like that, the new noise or symptom you ar eexperiencing could be something bent, like a rod. I am crossing my fingers this is not the case, cause I am going through that now, but it's a possiblity.
@66BulldogGS - I hit the key to start it, turned over slightly, then locked up. I'll check the the cylinders for water and see what I find. Thanks for the info, much appreciated! -BK
Yep, sounds just like mine. Luckily for me at the time I was about to run a compression and leak down test to check everything out. I had the remote button hooked up under the hood and when I bumped the button to test it, that is when it locked up. I pulled all the plugs, hit the button and looked like a whale exhaled under the hood from the passenger side. Huge spray mist of water over the passenger fender. Not a cool feeling at all. After pulling the heads it looks like the head gasket may not have been sealed well. But also in the bottom of that cylinder there is a mark on the cylinder wall that doesn't look pretty. Don't think it is cracked, but it isn't nice. That's why I have another engine at the machine shop now being worked on. I will pull the numbers matching out when its finished, have it rebuilt and then store it under I decide to fully restore the car back to all numbers matching. Good Luck!
Well, I think I can rule out hydrolock. All the plugs look good and the cylinders are dry. When I replaced the valve cover gaskets, I had to do a fair bit of cleanup on the gasket surface. I tried to be REALLY careful and not knock any sludge/debris loose. Even went so far as to rig up a small nozzle on my shop vac to suck up anything that did break free. Wondering if something got away from me anyway and found it's way into a valve guide. Gonna pull the rocker arms and shove some air into the cylinders and see if anything is bent or stuck... unless anyone has any better ideas??? Thanks! -BK
How long was it from when your engine locked up until you pulled plugs to check for water? It doesn't take very long for the water to drain out. Had you ever had issues with losing coolant? Notice any extra white smoke out of the exhaust or a funny smell? Can you try to describe the noise? None of the plugs look cleaner(more white around the electrode porcelain) than the others? Since you have the plugs out how easily does the engine turn over(belts unhooked)? Have you done an oil change recently? It may be a good idea to drain it and carefully watch to see if any water comes out before oil. My first guess when you started this thread was hydrolock, but the sound is what had me unsure.
There was plenty of time for coolant to drain. I just re-cored the radiator two months ago, so I know the coolant level was holding where it should (was keeping an eye on it to be sure). Followed that up with a complete tune up, so oil and plugs were fresh. Plugs looked just as clean as I would expect after being replaced a couple weeks prior, and all looked consistently worn. Been dealing with some off and on lifter noise for a while, so I was in the midst of "flushing" the crank case... meaning, I filled up on rotella, along with some MML. Was driving it as much as reasonably possible and planning to drain and repeat. After I timed it and ran it for a few days, it was quiet and running beautifully. No smoke, beyond what I consider to be normal. I've owned the car for about 12 years, with no engine trouble so I'd know if something was really wrong. As for the noise... It initially sounded like a nasty "rapping". I immediately thought piston hitting the valve. It quieted down a bit, and then just ran like garbage. It was popping through the carb a bit as well. The reason I immediately went for the timing chain is because when I strobed it again, it was way off and no adjustment would improve it, hence my thinking it jumped a tooth. Now I'm back to stuck/bent valve, but don't still don't understand why the timing would be so far off. Thanks for the replay! -BK
Check your rockers and rocker arms real close. They are the "weak link" in the Nailhead. The Uncle has limped his cream car home a few times after breaking a rocker out on the street. Makes the car sound like crap and lose a lot of power. For him I think the most common one to go was the driverside rear over #8. He has broken both the rockers and the shaft. They aren't that hard to pop, especially during disassembly of the engine if you don't loosen each bolt holding them down a little at a time.
