QuestionI guess I am lost as to where the harmonic balancer is. What I am turning is a bolt that is on a wheel, at the bottom front of my ford engine, that has a belt around the wheel. I was calling it a fly-wheel, but maybe that's not it. On the belt-diagram (the one that diagrams which way the belt goes, around the water pump, alternator, etc) that wheel is attached to the crankshaft.
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
I have tried this option and have talked to several people who have all told me to try this also. Here is my problem. The bolt that holds the fly-wheel on is what I am supposed to turn right? If I turn it 1 way, the bolt comes out. When I turned it the other way, the bolt would turn slightly, but the fly wheel would not turn.
Then I broke the broke the bolt in half so I ave to get a new one. But is this the right process?
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
Thank you for the advice. I do hope it works in lieu of buying a new engine. 2 questions if I may, how much fuel in each spark plug hole, and how do I manually turn it over?
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
I have a 2001 F150 5.4L V8. I live in Dallas and it has been very cold for the past week. I have not driven my truck for 2 weeks. This morning, I drove to a gas station, and then the oil light came on. I reved the engine and then the engine died and would not turn over again. I had it towed to a local garage who initially said it was the starter, but then checked the oil and said there was very low oil so the engine was locked. They did not pull the engine or anything. Could the combination of cold weather, low oil, and me reving the engine have locked it up?
-----Answer-----
Michael-
The cold weather probably didn't have much to do with it, but low oil and revving is definitely not good. The only thing that happens to oil when it gets cold is that it gets a little thicker (and I know what you mean about the weather...it's been extremely cold here in Kansas City...but not cold enough to cause problems like the one you're describing). If you're lucky you might be able to save the motor. There's a lot of different tricks people try for that. The one I've seen most often is pouring a little bit of diesel fuel into each of the spark plug holes and letting it sit for awhile before trying to manually turn it over and break it free. The success is pretty hit or miss...but it's cheaper than buying a new motor if it works. Hope this helps.
Steve
-----Answer-----
Michael-
To be honest there really is no specific amount. The only real answer I have is "not a lot". Maybe a few ounces. Just enough so you feel that it could coat the cylinder walls. As for turning the engine manually, it's pretty easy you'll need something like a breaker bar (basically a foot-long to 18" solid bar with a non-ratcheting head on it...any parts store can tell you what it is if you don't know. It looks a lot like a torque wrench without the gauge). Find a socket that matches the bolt on your hamonic balancer on the front of the engine, attach it to the breaker bar, and turn like hell. You'll probably be better off doing this from under the car since it's quite a reach from the top side and you need all the leverage you can get.
Steve
-----Answer-----
Michael-
Well I wouldn't turn the bolts on the flywheel. Flywheel bolts aren't made to take that kind of stress. You'll want to use the bolt on the harmonic balancer at the front of the engine, not the flywheel at the rear. If the engine is really stubborn you could always pull the heads and break out a rubber mallet and take it to the pistons. If that doesn't work you're pretty much out of options...the engine is locked for good. Hope this helps.
Steve
AnswerMichael-
Ok...you're in the right place. The flywheel is actually on the other side of the engine...it's what the starter grabs to turn the engine over. I'm starting to think you may either have to resort to drastic measures or your engine is just shot. Sometimes engines just can't be unlocked. This is usually the case when friction actually fuses the pistons to the cylinder walls. Hope this helps.
Steve
