I have a 302 that i installed in my maverick. I ran great before i put it on but know i cant even get it to turn over. Does anybody have some good tips on how to get it unstuck with out removing the engine from the car.
will it turn over using a 1/2 inch breaker bar on the crank bolt? has it been sitting unused for long? exposed to water/moisture? did you squirt a little oil in each cylinder thru the spark plug holes? will it move counterclockwise but not clockwise?
if it doesn't turn over using a breaker bar, something that happened to me one time was that the torque convertor wasn't properly lined up. if you have an automatic, that is. it was binding up, had to back the tranny off and reinstall it.
That would be my thought on it too. Try removing the plugs and turning it by the crank bolt. First one way and then the other, may need someone underneath looking at the flex plate and converter. Also check that the starter is not bound in the flexplate. Is there a possability that something was dropped into the engine on installation? Bolt, nut, wrench, etc. have done all of it myself at one time or another. Water in the cyl's will either cause a "hydro lok" or if left in long enough, will rust the moving parts solid. Still going with the converter, flexplate and their mounting bolts, theory.
If the other suggestions don't work and you have the time to wait, I have had good results with engines that have stuck from sitting by doing the following: pull the plugs,pour ATF [automatic transmission fluid] into each plug hole, let sit for several weeks, and try breaker bar again. In some cases, I have had to wait longer, but if it is just stuck from sitting , it eventually would come loose. Good luck.
