What could be the problem with my 340?

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71swing

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Hey guys. I been around for a while but haven't visited for awhile. Got a problem.

Earlier this year I got my 71 swinger with a 340, 727 out of winter storage for a nice day in February. Me and my brother both took our cars out for a cruise and car wash. Like any first start up I check for all points before taking off. Oils, temps, sparks, gas. All checked out as normal. Let me point out I have never had problem with the car before.

We were out for a while got her all cleaned up and headed back home. There of course is a 1/4 mile stretch by my house to stretch her legs on before she goes back in the garage waiting for spring. I stopped, readied, and let her rip. All seemed as norm. Spun all of first manual shifted to second and waited for third. It finally came and as third finished up and my road was shortening. I let off the gas slap it into neutral and decelerated to make the turn on my block. As I made the turn the car suddenly died. So I finished the turn in a cost. When the car came to a stop I was confused. It made no abnormal noise or feeling to the ride to cause concern. So I tried to start her back up. All I was getting was a tick from the starter. So I thought maybe the battery had died and was bad from the winter storage. So my brother tried to jump me to get me up the block to my house. No luck. I ran home and got a different battery. No luck. So with it getting dark I popped her in neutral and pulled her home with the wife's jeep liberty. I'd rather work on her in my own garage than the street. So I get her home and put her away for the night since it is now dark.

With a new baby just coming into the picture I get very little time to work on the cars. So a week later I finally get time to look into her. Could not get her to turn over. So I remove the belt and try to manually turn her over. Didn't budge. Some how I managed to seize her up. I just don't know why or how. I started to tare into her. I got the intake, valve covers, all the accessories off, radiator and fan, starter and exhaust removed. Then I ran out of time in the day.

I haven't been able to touch her since. But with everything I have removed. And the oil drained in the motor and tranny which by the way were clean as can be and both looked like new. I have yet to find what has caused the problem. I plan to make time soon to get the edelbrock heads off and remove the tranny to maybe pull her all the way out to find the problem.

Question do you guys have any thoughts as to what could be the problem. Is it possible for a torque converter to malfunction and prevent the motor from turning and still let the tranny roll in neutral. My perfect situation would be the converter is bad which is a Dynamic converter. Then I could slap in a 5 speed. LoL but sadly most likely not. I will certainly let ya know when I get around and find the problem. Thanks for the rant.
 
Before you tear anything else down, try to turn the engine with a socket (1 1/4?) on the crank bolt. Try to turn it both ways, and if you cannot, pull all 8 plugs and try again. Pull the valve covers and take a CAREFUL look at all the valves. Any of em look open, bent, etc?
 
I have tried turning her manually. Clockwise it won't budge. Counter it won't budge and I just loosen the damper bolt. I will pull the heads before bothering to remove the tranny. Hope it tells me more because I hate taking out that damn tranny. I have removed the water pump and all the timing cover bolts. Just haven't gotten it off yet because I don't have the proper puller for the damper to be removed properly.
 
I would look if a torque converter bolt got loose and got caught up on the block or starter. worst case scenario motor may have seized And it can happen from old oil turning into gunk. hope thats not the case.
 
This is starting to sound bad. I agree, pull the dust cover off the torque converter. Unfortunately, if you can't turn the engine, you cannot unbolt the TQ, but you might be able to see if something bad happened in the bell / TQ area.

My first bet is engine problems
 
One thing not metioned so far might be the starter got hung in the ring gear teeth might be worth pulling?
 
Well I have finally gotten time to work on it. Got her torn down to the short block. Tranny is out. Hope to get the block on the stand Monday. To this point I still have not found the issue. I think it's going to come down to a spun bearing. Hopefully not a bent rod.
 
I'm curious,so I have subscribed. My best guesses have already been offered,so I wont say anything,but just hope for the best. Let us know!
 
340sFastback said:
Is the crank still stuck and not able to turn? How do cylinders look?
Click to expand...

Cylinder/pistons all appear fine. Yes she is still stuck solid. Im sure Ill see the problem as soon as I get it to the stand and get the it turned on it back and the pan off.

More to come
 
[IMG=http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1126/imag0607p.jpg][/IMG]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Well haven't found the bearing yet but chances are it could be a cam bearing. Because I found one piece up top when i tilted the motor to get the lifters out and the other in the bottom. If it was a main bearing I don't see how it would get up above. I'm going to get the rest taken off like the damper and timing cover then let the machinist handle the rest.
 
I appreciate great big pictures and all, but dammit. Do you think you could resize them? Big pics stretch the thread and make it difficult to read. You have to scroll left to right to see all the text. You might even get more responses.
 
I can't even see what we are supposed to "see" in the short block
 

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StrokerScamp said:
I appreciate great big pictures and all, but dammit. Do you think you could resize them? Big pics stretch the thread and make it difficult to read. You have to scroll left to right to see all the text. You might even get more responses.
Click to expand...

I was wondering what in the world happened to my browser when I opened this thread.
Looks like some bad indigestion. Do you know what caused the bearing to fail?
 
You said it sat for the winter. Did you remove the distributor and intermediate shaft and reprime the engine? That is one step that should never be skipped.

And thanks for the resize. MUCH better. lol
 
StrokerScamp said:
You said it sat for the winter. Did you remove the distributor and intermediate shaft and reprime the engine? That is one step that should never be skipped.

And thanks for the resize. MUCH better. lol
Click to expand...


Damn...how high an rpm did you take it to?
 
I did not pull the distributor to prime. I do pull the coil wire and crank with the starter till oil pressure shows up before starting. Yes it does have to sit during the Nebraska winters but I do go out to the garage on a regular basis and start her up. It never just sits all winter.
 
You spun some bearings, and most likely the damage was caused by from your own words:

I let off the gas slap it into neutral and decelerated
 
Think about it for a second.
You ran the motor hard, its pumping oil and lubricating a hot assembly.
You put the motor in neutral, the motor is not pumping as much oil but is still real hot.
You have to cool the bearings down as fast as you heat them up or you see the results.
 
Word from the Machine shop today. Spun rod bearing and bent rod on #5 cylinder. Going to stop in on Monday to talk to them about it, but I think my quest for a strocker kit begin now.
 
Hope I'm wrong, but heres the way it seems to me.
Turning an engine over with the starter and no coil wire is the culprit, i would think. Much better to just fire the thing, than to spin it below the speed it needs, to pump itself full.
I have an Autometer mechanical oil pressure guage in our Duster and with a hi-volume oil pump, it takes a second or so to see pressure, after it starts.
 
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