First of all, remove the spark plugs. This relieves the compression
when rotating the crank. Then, try to turn the engine again. If the
engine still does not turn, I would rebuild it.
If you still want to try you're luck:
1. Remove the oil pan and check the bearings - both main and rod - to
see if they have abnormal wear. To check the bearing clearance, you
can use some plastiguage. You're manual should be able to tell you the
proper tolerances. If everything checks out, replace them and be sure
to put them back in exactly the same way you took them off. All
bearings wear a certain way and if you put then on backward or on
another journal, it will probably "pinch" the crank and you definitely
won't be able to turn it.
2. The next checkpoint should be the pistons. To check these, you will
need to remove the cylinder head. Check the cylinder walls for rust
and uneven wear. You can remedy the rust problem without taking the
engine out, but if you have everything disassembled to this point, I
would go ahead and do a full scale rebuild.
3. While the cylinder head is off, check the valves for wear. You can
do this by removing the rockers and putting a straight edge across the
valves. All of the springs should lineup to within a few hundredths of
an inch or so. Thin valves will burn easily.
During a restoration project, I would be inclined to rebuild the
engine anyway. Old engines tend to have lots of old gunk clogging both
oil and water passages. I have learned from experience that sitting on
the side of the highway for hours waiting for a tow truck is no fun.
Also, if the car has been sitting outside, clutches will rust to the
flywheel. Pulling the engine will give you the opportunity to check
this.
If you do decide on the rebuild, have the block cleaned and the crank
and rods balanced. Check the ring gaps in the pistons. Worn-out piston
gaps will cause the rings to eventually break. (This has happened to
me also) In addition, have the cylinder head checked for compression
leaks. Finally, the machine shop can fix any stripped bolt holes by
inserting heli coils. This also saves a lot of headaches.
I hope this helps.
Chris Stephenson
Alpine III
Alpine V
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: SI restoration
Author: haltman(at)VNET.IBM.COM at Internet-USA
Date: 9/11/96 10:47 AM
I have started on the restoration of my Seris I that some of you may recall
that the guy I got the car from said it was running 2 years ago when he
parked it. Question: Should I be able to turn the engine by hand? If not,
how can I tell if I will need to do a rebuild? Any thoughts/suggestions are
welcomed!
Howard Altman
Series I Alpine B9003995
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