3.8 ceased
#1
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alright 98 camaro 3.8l v6, the car has 42k total miles on it....it ran for a week with what i thought was a lifter tick when i bought it. Turned out it was the head gasket....long story short, engine ceased. My question is how to unhydrolock it (i'm going to try this to see if i can cheaply fix it as opposed to a whole new engine). I know you have to take off the spark plugs and try and start it...but where are all the spark plugs?
thanks
thanks
#2
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Eastern PA,
Posts: 10,390
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There is a 98% chance you have a non-repairable motor. Most likely the rod in the the the cylinder that is locked is cracked/broken. In 30 years of working on cars I have never seen a locked motor fixed without a major rebuild or replacment. Infact for lockups 90% take a replacment motor. The other 10% where either very lucky or the owners wanted the car to stay matching number regardless of the cost.
Can you turn the motor backwards? If not its not hydra locked its just a mess inside. If its coolant and you have a blown headgasket you should be able to turn the motor over by hand very slowly. It should just push the coolant back into the coolant system.
Follow the plug wires to the end. There are the plugs. They are just below the valve cover between where the exhaust manifolds are. They are hard to get at.
Can you turn the motor backwards? If not its not hydra locked its just a mess inside. If its coolant and you have a blown headgasket you should be able to turn the motor over by hand very slowly. It should just push the coolant back into the coolant system.
Follow the plug wires to the end. There are the plugs. They are just below the valve cover between where the exhaust manifolds are. They are hard to get at.
Last edited by Gorn; 01-12-2010 at 05:36 AM.
#4
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I have one out of a 98 at the machine shop now getting rebuilt. Engine ceased when I bought the vehicle. Turned out it needs a crank kit. I could turn engine by hand 3/4 rotation before something caught, either direction. Hopefully, I will have it back by this weekend and will get enought time off to get back to working on putting it in. My daughter is driving me nuts to get this thing on the road.