I have a '63 Buick Wildcat that has been sitting for 17 years. I got the spark plugs out and put penetrating oil in the spark plug holes, but the motor is seized. I can’t turn it over by putting a socket on the crank shaft motor. Any ideas on how to free up the motor?
Have you taken off the drive belts for the AC compressor, the power steering pump, and alternator? How big is the breaker bar you are using on the crank shaft? The longer the bar is and the thicker it is make a big difference is the amount of torque you apply to the crank.
Good posting, Tio turbo. My DIL a few years ago, had a car which would not turn over with the starter. A mechanic said it needed a new motor, and they took it to another place, listed on this URL under mechanix files. Turned out to be the compressor locked up.
Also, the starter bendix may be stuck in the flywheel.
I had one that I had use a pry bar on the flywheel. Took about a week for the oil to work. Be careful using a socket on the crank. You could break the bolt. I would remove the balancer and use a crank shaft socket. Then you can rock it back and forth. I have unstuck many a engine and most have run fine.
Great advice to look out for a starter as the cause of the seizure symptoms…Take the starter off… THEN…
Take out all the plugs and fill the cylinders up with Marvel Mystery Oil…Oooh Mystery right? Or you can buy a half gallon of WD-40 or Kerosene and use that or a mixture of the two…I think in this case the thinner the better. It would be greatly helpful if you can get the vehicle into a heated garage. Is that possible? Also I dont know if the Wildcat had a manual trans as an option…Probably did but I assume you have an Automatic Tranny? If by chance you have a manual you can try the rock n Roll approach. After letting the cylinders soak about 4 days to a week you can try rocking in back n forth in 1st or 2nd gear…HOWEVER with an auto trans thats not an option and you will need to get a breaker bar and a pipe for leverage and try to turn the crank pulley on the engine.
It is actually MUCH more beneficial to use the outer diameter of the Harmonic Damper as the means to try and free the crank. It will take some creativity on your part to get this done but it is worth it …trust me.
Remember let the cylinder soak A LONG TIME AND KEEP THEM TOPPED OFF IF THEY DROP DOWN…IF THEY DROP in level this is actually a very good thing for you…as it will be easier to break her free…IF…she is going to break free that is…sometimes they dont…especially if they were severely abused or starved for oil before seizure…and if it was…I dont know why we are even trying…I am thinking she froze due to sitting…no prob.
SOak the cylinders…HEAT the engine if you can…by obviously heating the garage…I hope you have that option as it greatly improves your chances.
Another way is to completely overfill the engine with Kerosene…and I mean FILL HER UP MAN…till you cannot get any more in there…then let that soak…FOr many many days…be patient…it took 17 years to get down this road…You cannot get back up that road in one day… Patience Grasshopper Patience…
You may also want to take off the valve covers and loosen ALL the rocker arms…loose like disconnected loose. This lessens the friction and work the crank has to do… You cant take off the valve covers if you are going with the SUPER FILLED Engine method…or you can rather…but it will have slightly less Kero in there… No matter the Kero will be on top of and below the pistons FULLY immersing the rotating assys in the engine…If she begins to break free…IMMEDIATELY drain some of the fluid out…We dont want blown gaskets or Hydro-lock for you.
SOAK SOAK SOAK…HEAT HEAT HEAT if possible… Then fab up something to go round the main crank pulley (Harmonic Damper) and begin to try and turn her forward and back…over and over…if she begins to free up…You did it…it will free up the rest of the way with patience.
I want you to really try hard to use the outer diameter of the damper to free it up…You have considerably more leverage this way…be patient and work it back n forth back n forth… I bet she frees up. Let us know. I also pray you have a manual trans…If so use the tranny to help you. Let me know if you need more help. I think you will get it free… I have freed up well over 10 engines this way.
Hey- I’m curious about your 63 Buick Wildcat and it’s history. Is it a 4-door hardtop - black exterior with red interior, originally from the east coast- New York? Please post back. Thanks so much. Great and rare car for restoration.
The last stuck motor I dealt with was a Chevy 350 that sat outside for six years with no spark plugs, intake manifold, or exhaust manifolds on it. I loaded the cylinders with engine oil via the spark plug holes, let it sit for a day or so, then went to work on freeing it up. I couldn’t get it to turn by the balancer bolt, so I quickly found another way so I wouldn’t break the bolt off. I used bolts and a complete stack of washers in the threaded holes of the harmonic balancer where you would install a puller, tightened the bolts down onto the washers, and used a large pry bar to get the engine to turn. Once it was free, I worked it back and forth with a smaller pry bar until it seemed to move smoothly. Two hours later, after reinstalling everything I found in the trunk of the car, it was running fine and outside burning the tread off the ancient L-60-15 tires that had somehow found their way onto that car. The engine may not turn, but all hope is not lost and it may end up turning out just fine.
In some cases aluminum corrosion from the pistons will simply gald them to the cylinder walls and the engine will never be freed up short of tearing it down and going through the obvious rebuild.
I’m not saying that’s the case here but 17 years is a long time and especially if your area is prone to high humidity.