95 Escort - engine seized - can't find problem

My car is a '95 Escort LX Wagon, automatic trans, 130k . It's been running fine for several years until this: the engine is seized.

What happened :
I drove for a half hour to a business, came out and it wouldn't start.
•I tried to start it/crank it five times.
•2nd crank: I got that putt-putt-putt sound of one plug/cyl. not firing. I had this happen a couple of times in the previous two weeks, but it disappeared eventually so I'm not sure it's related. But it could be.
•4th crank: moderately loud sound of tock-tock-tock -same speed of engine turning over - like something hitting hard plastic, but not exactly a metallic sound.
I actually thought it was something on the outside of the engine.
•5th crank: just the click sound you get when the battery hasn't enough juice.

What I've tried :
•I know my battery is weak so I replaced it, also had a jump from a friend's car - still just get the click sound.
•Thinking about the tock-tock-tock sound, I put a socket on the end of the engine where you can manually turn the engine over. I couldn't turn it over clockwise or counterclockwise - with a cheater bar, and with plugs taken out.
•Removed the starter, thinking it might be jammed. Still can't hand crank it over.
•Removed the timing belt to determine whether it's a top or bottom end engine problem. The camshaft turns over easily with all the valve assemblies appearing to operate normally.
•Removed the oil pan. The crankshaft, rods, rod caps, pistons, and cylinders all appear normal.

What I'm thinking :
•Oil pump might be jammed.
•Bolt might have come out of the torque converter and jammed,
•Valve or valve seat might be broken and somehow jammed the engine.
---- But then - it seems like you'd be able to turn the engine either forwards or backwards, at least in one direction.

QUESTIONS
1. Can anyone think of anything else, or a way to approach it ?
2. How am I going to check for a valve/valve seat problem w/o taking the head off, when the engine won't turn over.

.

With the information given, my suggestion is to pull the head. Your thought about valve damage may prove true as it is not uncommon with these engines.

With all you have done, and with negative results, pulling the head and having a look inside is the next logical step.

Ok, thanks for the input.

I was going to save that for last actually, as it's a bit of a chore.
Also, at this point I was thinking it might be the least likely of my three suspicions, because it seems to me if it was valve related I'd still be able to turn the engine just a bit, one direction or the other. But it's really jammed.
It would explain the putt-putt-putt sound though.
All the same, I'm thinking of sticking a copper wire into the plug hole to move it around to see if it catches on something.

So I'm thinking more in terms of a bolt coming out of the torque converter, or the oil pump.
I went down and talked to a Ford service rep the other day and he said he'd seen both in their shop.

I wish there was some easy way to get a look at the torque converter, but the little view window isn't very big.

.

Couldn't you put compressed air in each cylinder with the valve train at tdc for each cylinder? If you can't get any backpressure from filling a cylinder at tdc, ie. valves supposedly closed, then i'd think you'd have a valve leak, which I would think you can trace to the manifold to that valve. I'd think just using a rubber tipped blow nozzle could work. Needless to say, you've narrowed things down to the point, by process of elimination, that there isn't much left on the engine to cause this besides the valves, requiring the head to come off to repair it.


If the car was in gear or neutral, could you determine the bolt issue on the tc by trying to turn the trans via turning one tire off the ground? Not sure the tc would actually be turned as it's a fluid sytem. Maybe in low 1?

Couldn't you put compressed air in each cylinder with the valve train at tdc for each cylinder? If you can't get any backpressure from filling a cylinder at tdc, ie. valves supposedly closed, then i'd think you'd have a valve leak
That's brilliant ! It seems like that would be a great test, and save me from unnecessarily pulling the head.


If the car was in gear or neutral, could you determine the bolt issue on the tc by trying to turn the trans via turning one tire off the ground? . . .
Also a good idea. I'm going to have to look into that, see if it's possible.

Thanks ! !

.

My point was... regardless of what the problem turns out to be, you are going to have to pull the head to make the repairs. You can save a lot of time with testing and just pull the thing and have a look.

The compressed air test would be nice... but if you can't rotate the engine then that won't work :(

I dunno. Sounds to me like you know your stuff! and have done your homework. Real nice Escort wagons here are about $900 to about $2500. When mine quit that's what I did. Cert.Emmission tested 95-98's. Good used engines for 92-6 are about $200-$300. Hey..RESPECTFULLLY NY FRIEND I am ALL for fixing stuff!!. To a point. A challenge? Finding out what happened? Now THAT is a different story!!
Do you think that you might pull the head,find some valve/ seat/material has jammed it up. And the walls and everything else is good?? Fix the head,buy gaskets,bolts and all the other stuff,all the time putting it back together,and all will be well?
I doubt it.

If the car is a keeper. That engine be headin' for the crane!..and another one goin' in. Wouldn't be much more money or work. Plus you'd be getting a pretty good guarantee.

Curiousity getting you? Grab the gun and peel the old one down when it is out and real easy to do!

My guess is seized. Piston or bearing. Pull a few caps and try and move the crank or piston.

My .02

MM22, I don't think you realized that kbarb said that he was able to pull the timing belt and rotate the camshaft, which is all you need to do to close the valves. That would make the crankshaft irrelevant and testing of the cylinders and valves possible. Right?

I was just under the impression he didn't want to disassemble it again. If going to remove the belt again, just go all out and take the head off.

MM22, I don't think you realized that kbarb said that he was able to pull the timing belt and rotate the camshaft, which is all you need to do to close the valves. That would make the crankshaft irrelevant and testing of the cylinders and valves possible. Right?

It is sometimes not so simple with the belt off. The valve spring pressure will want to rotate the cam some. This may move the cam to the point where the valves are open. Holding the cam in one position can sometimes be a real pita.

Kbarb, here. . .
I'm planning on getting back to this conundrum in the next couple of days - it's a bit hard to keep on top of it as I do have a job, and I'm riding to downtown SF on some cast iron clunker bike just at the moment.

Anyway, I'm picking up a rubber-tipped blow gun nozzle at Graingers today so I can try the "cylinder inflating test".

Yes, it's true, I'd rather not take the head off only to find out that the problem is elsewhere, which is possible.
I still have the timing belt off, and the camshaft is easy to turn over, and it seems to stop the valves where they'd be at TDC for each cylinder. I did notice that on a couple of the cylinders there was zero valve lash. I'll have to look into that. But that wouldn't cause the engine seizure.

Also wondering if there is anyway to check the possibility of something wrong with the torque converter - bolt having come out or the like.
I read through the service manual last night to see if I could turn one wheel and make the trani turn the flywheel, but I think, probably not. Never got into AT's much, nor torque converters, so they're a bit of a mystery to me.

Oh, and thanks for all the suggestions and ideas you guys !

I've got to get going on this thing as the meter maid put the three day notice on the windshield, and the street's going to be dug up pretty soon for new gas lines.
Yikes.

It's probably a dropped valve seat. A common problem on these cars.

I indeed dropped two valve seats, an intake in each of cylinders 1 & 4 as earlier tests indicated.

I did a simplified leak down test and found that 1 & 4 intakes leaked to the throttle body - and to each other.

Also I took all the rockers off, and the tops of both 1 and 4 intake valves were almost 3/16" (4mm)
higher that the other intakes, leading me to believe that valve seats were probably dropped. The exhaust valves were all the same height.

Finally I took the head off.
It's not too pretty; there are some photos below.
And now the crankshaft turns like a breeze.

There isn't much cylinder damage - nothing on cyl. 1 - but there are a few pits on cyl. 4 where I have
circled and pointed to them in the photo. They probably render the block unusable in such a condition.

The strange thing is that every cylinder has virtually all the crosshatching from honing still visible
(see last photo), although I hear that a lot of Escort engines show this lack of wear.

Now I'm trying to decide if I'm going to do some kind of minimal rebuild, or just jump ship for another car.


Cyl#4 valves - you can see how the int. valve has dropped further into the head,
leaving fragments scattered everywhere.
(Cyl#1 valves are similar)
http://www.sonic.net/%7Ekbarb/photos/Escort1-engine/forum/26_escort1-head4_small.jpg


Piston#4 damage (Piston#1 similar)
http://www.sonic.net/%7Ekbarb/photos/Escort1-engine/forum/15_escort1-cyl4_small.jpg

Cylinder#4 pitting and crazing (?) - but very shallow.
http://www.sonic.net/%7Ekbarb/photos/Escort1-engine/forum/07_escort1-cyl4_small.jpg


But typical crosshatching is visible in all cylinders.
It looks like scratches here but if you're there to see it it's the very even pattern of fine crosshatching.
http://www.sonic.net/%7Ekbarb/photos/Escort1-engine/forum/17_escort1-cyl_small.jpg

I would bet that your block is still useable. You may need to replace a piston or two, and obviously the head, but no reason to scrap the whole block.