The time machine finally left someone stranded… Me and my two coworkers!
Thankfully we were going downhill, and there was a pull off alley feet ahead.
It all started as I was prepping the Time Machine for the 1300 mile journey back to Texas. I was recently very annoyed by the belt squealing around, so I replaced the faulty component, which turned out to be the water pump (turns out you shouldn’t put rainwater in your cooling system… another story for another time…). I replaced the water pump by the book, torqued it back to spec perfectly. I fixed a couple of various air leaks, vacuum leaks, and PCV issues while I had the cowl off.
It was perfect, besides the fuel check valve the thing drove great. Heater worked well, A/C was beautiful, oodles of power…
And then the Oil Pressure light came on…
I ignored it. The oil pressure sensor is a common issue on these, and I could see oil being splashed around inside the valve cover. I limped it home to make sure nothing was seriously broken.
I assumed it was just time for an oil change or something, so I switched to cheapo walmart oil (thin stuff too), and it ran great for another 300 miles.
I decided it was time to give the van it’s last journey before Texas, so I drive it to work, and offer to take my coworkers out to lunch in the beast. We eat delicious Chinese noodles and start heading back…
DING DING DING DING… Oil pressure light is back… Nah, not a problem, keep driving Luke.
Two minutes later, the engine shuts off at a red light. I give it a crank… seems weird… almost like the engine isn’t wanting to turn. I pop it in neutral and head to an alley out of the way.
Open the engine back, and watch as a coworker starts it. The starter tries really hard but can’t get the engine to turn over…
It’s seized…
Anyways, fast forward to now. Finally had the time to start investigating.
Here’s what I know:
Fresh battery, perfect voltage.
The harmonic balancer bolt spins when I try and turn the engine over manually…
No noticable metal bits in oil.
No noticable metal bits in oil pan.
Oil pickup is clogged like a dam
I’m thinking I can pour some Marvel’s Mystery Oil in the cylinders, let it soak for a week. Replace the oil pickup, put some thin oil in it, and start the beast back up!
What do you think?