motor locked up
 

Hey Guys,
I pulled the roadster out of the shop last night and took it for a little spin. As always she fired right up, ran like a top. I left it outside all night so I could clean the shop to get ready for a picnic. I had a few errands to run so I thought Id take it to town. She turned over but would not start. Acted like no spark. I thought maybe it was a little wet under the cap so I let it set and ran my errands. When I came back it would not turn over, it will roll when I depress the clutch. I tried to crank it by hand and it will not budge. Never had a problem with the motor, oil looks good and I removed the plugs and the look ok. Any ideas?

Re: motor locked up
 

Starter bendix is possibly stuck in the flywheel teeth... Put it in gear and rock the car..
You'll still need to find the crank no start reason.. Ck your basics

Re: motor locked up
 

Thanks Mitch, I put it in 2nd gear and gave it a good rocking....no luck. Should I keep doing it. She's parked on a little incline.....should I coast it to a flat spot?

Re: motor locked up
 

It would be probably safer on a flat surface

Re: motor locked up
 

I'll give it a go...

Re: motor locked up
 

Try 3rd gear. There's more "give" in 3rd, especially if you can get the tires to squeak while rocking the car. That means the engine is turning over, which will free the stuck Bendix drive. Then try the starter.
Marshall

Re: motor locked up
 

Yes 3rd gear is better as Marshall said

Re: motor locked up
 

tried it....no luck. Rocked it hard. any other ideas?

Re: motor locked up
 

Is the starter engaging? Is the bendix stuck? Remove the starter and check it out. You should be able to hear the starter engaging if the motor is truly stuck. Of course you could have a dead battery too if you ran it down by cranking and then left the key on... Or loose battery cable. Get out your voltmeter and start testing.

Re: motor locked up
 

You may have to take out the three mounting bolts and using a 2" x 4" board piece, whack against the starter body to break it loose. Once you get the starter out, I'd remove the Bendix drive and hook the starter up to a battery to study the trueness of the shaft as it spins. If it's this difficult to break the Bendix drive free, the starter shaft is probably bent. That means, this will happen again. As the starter shaft spins via jumper cables to the battery and the Bendix removed, you should only be able to see the shaft turning smoothly. If it's blurry and the starter wants to jump around, then the shaft is bent and must be straightened before re-installing the starter.
Marshall

Re: motor locked up
 

As per a couple of discussions sometime back, you possibly have a dislodged clutch disc dampener spring. It may be impossible to remove the starter without pulling the engine. There are a lot of mis-engineered clutch discs out there. Your starter shaft may be bent by now also.

Sorry for the bad opinion !

Re: motor locked up
 

Success!!! Thanks a million guys. I loosened up the starter bolts and gave it a wiggle. rocked it a few times and she freed up. Just in time for the picnic. She also fired right up....Lots of dew last night....I think it was wet. I'll have a closer look at everything when I have a little time. The guys on this forum are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks again.
Rob

Re: motor locked up
 

Could happen again and let you down on the road, so pull the starter and go through the Bendix drive.

Re: motor locked up
 

I will....thanks

Re: motor locked up
 

When it happens again, always push it rearward. The pinion came in from that direction, and it must go back out. To prevent this, in most cases, don't be a wimp when you push on the starter button. Push it down and leave it down until she starts. What causes hang up is letting off the starter and pushing it again before everything stops turning. You fool the bendix.

Re: motor locked up
 

When you pull the starter, check to make sure the armature shaft where the Bendix is attached is not bent.
Dave

Re: motor locked up
 

too late for advice now, glad you fixed the problem. The incline could have been an advantage...the objective is to get engine turning faster than the starter. That action will screw the bendix out of the flywheel. Once the starter is on the bench, look at the bendix teeth and use a die grinder to bevel as required. Rainmaker Ron

Re: motor locked up
 

I know I've mentioned this at least 6 times, but it is the forward motion that will spin the Bendix out of engagement. It's just the same as when the starter makes the engine fire up, then the engine speed is faster than the starter pinion, and it spins the pinion to the rear, just as Ron also said.

If you are still in doubt, just look at the direction of the helix and study which direction the starter pinion must turn to make it move rearward out of engagement. BTW, notice I didn't say moving the car rearward won't unstick the pinion, as either direction might unstick the gear teeth, but it is the forward motion that spins it out of engagement.

I will not sleep until everyone is a believer! :D:)

Re: motor locked up
 

That's all true if the engine can turn. It can't. It locked up as the gear tried to drive the ring gear forward to start the engine. The only way to unstick it is to back it out. That means turning the engine backwards. I'm done.

Re: motor locked up
 

Normally, the starter comes out of the ring gear when the flywheel is turning faster than the starter. If the starter is not turning, turning the flywheel in the normal direction (even a little) will do the same thing as the flywheel turning faster than the starter...that is kicking the starter out of the flywheel.

The starter engages when it is turning faster than the flywheel. Turning the flywheel in the reverse direction (like pushing the car forward while it is in reverse) will have the same effect...pulling the starter into the flywheel.