I realize this question can have many answers and I’ve read a couple other threads but they are slightly different from my issue. I rebuilt a 327 and had the crank ground and block bored and used all new parts other than that. I used platigauge and followed a book step by step, the crank still turned nicely when I torqued the Rod journals but as I added each additional part the motor got progressively tighter, it still turned though but felt tight when it sat overnight, then turned fine as I moved it. Once I added the positions it was fairly tight but turned. I installed it, moved it a bit with the starter, then it sat for three months, now won’t turn. Brutal. I’m losing patience I’ve been very careful building it. I’m pulling it but feel like I won’t find any problem.
If you can't turn it, you'll find the reason. Don't screw with it any more until you tear it apart, thus saving your new parts if not yet ruined.
Installed it into the truck I’m building I mean, yes once it was fully together it did turn but was tight.
The first thing that comes to mind is incorrect ring gap. Did you "gap" the rings for each cylinder? The rings must have some clearance end to end, Otherwise they will be too tight or cannot expand at operating temperature.. There could be other problems, some being mistakes in machining, parts or assembly. The only thing you can do is take it apart check and measure everything. Hopefully you'll find the problem quickly. The worse thing you can do is try to free it and run it. It needs to come out and come back apart.
Did you install new pistons? Rings? where clearances checked, ring gap, piston to cyl. wall? Rod side clearances ?
Where was it stored for the few months? Was the engine sealed up to prevent entry of moisture or rodents? Humidity and or mouse pee can cause a lot of rust on a short time.
I started filing the rings but the guy who sold to me said not to because they are factory gaped already, he said you just make burrs and take off the moly coating. I used that thick red stuff by Comp Cam , I don’t really like it as it slides off all the parts I noticed and is sticky, I think it adds to the problem. Main caps are in order, piston wall clearance was not a problem I checked. It’s going into this which has been sandblasted and painted dark red. 55 Chev On Trailer by Carl Wurfel posted Nov 10, 2017 at 12:55 PM
"hard to turn" means different things to different people. It does take some experience to get a feel for what is ok, and what is not. When assembling a V8 engine, I can usually turn the crankshaft by hand, pushing on a counterweight, till I get about half the pistons in, then it takes a wrench or pry bar to turn it. There are lots of things that you could have done wrong, or maybe it's all ok and you just expect it to be easier to turn. It's really hard for us to tell, with the info you gave us. On the rings--if they are normal replacement rings, you should not need to file them, although you do have to check the gaps to make sure they are the correct ones, and were made correctly. If they are file to fit rings, you definitely need to file them.
Once built a 265" w/one (slightly bent) rod. Took apart, started over, carefully turned crank after each rod/piston assy was coupled. (Believe I used an in-lbs torque wrench on crank bolt). ID-ed the bad actor!
A couple days or weeks worth of time invested now to investigate the problem will dissapear once your project is back on the road. Take a step backwards to find the issue.
Once all the pistons were in I could turn it with a socket on the crankshaft but was tight, I did check the pre gapped rings and would have filed off .001 or .002 but again my store guy said no need. This is the stuff that I used in it. I realize there are 200 possible problems and would have dissembled it before dropping in the truck but my research said, some motors are tight.
Yes I will slowly dissemble to see if a free up action happens. Rods were new though I guess your saying new doesn’t mean straight
Actually I don’t think I could turn it by hand with all the pistons in without rings, I’m sure I needed a bar.
If you have a bolt in the end of your crank use a torque wrench to see how many foot pounds it takes to make it turn. Then post the results up.
My 265 had gone off a bridge, at least one cylinder had a drink. The rod told the story. You could build up the block/crank assy, measure torque to rotate, then add cam and chain.
If you installed all the rods/pistons without rings, and it is hard to turn, something is wrong! Did you have the rods resized? Did you stamp numbers on them before you took it apart? mismatched rod caps is a likely problem, but we weren't looking over your shoulder when you did the work, we don't know if you kept them in order, or not. I've encountered a bent rod once, it was in a set of "remanufactured" rods I bought years ago. Now I'm pretty good about only using rods that were in a good core engine, as a set. I get them resized and balanced as needed, this depends on the application.
Using the cam and lifter lube will make it hard to turn. That stuff is way too thick for the bearings (IMO). The heat will play into it as well......if you built in the summer but now you're trying to crank it when its cold, the cam lube has an even worse effect.
I just put together the lower end of a Stude 259 with new rings and bearings. I installed the crank and it turned freely. As I installed the pistons it got progressively harder to turn. It finally refused to turn when I got all of the pistons installed and the rod caps torqued. Of course I tore it all down and started all over again, checking everything while I re-assembled it. All the rod journal clearances and ring gaps were good. Same result, will not turn! I broke down and purchased a crank snout socket from Summit. I lubed the bores and rotated the motor with a long breaker bar. The more I rotated it the freer it moved. I think it was just the rings against the fresh cross-hatch in the bores. I have not installed the motor in anything so I can't say how well it runs yet. One last thing, the ring manufacturer (Hastings) recommends straight weight motor oil on the pistons and rings during assembly. I don't know if that will really make any difference.
Yes, I guess I didn't think about that...it is rather thick! Cam and lifter lube is good for cams and lifters. Engine oil is good for some other parts of the engine, and will stick around longer than some guys realize.
Edit Jim beat me but he's dead on point. Cam and lifter lube is for cam and lifters, oil and/or assembly lube for the rest. This subject is right up there with religion and politics so you will not come to a conclusion if asking more than two people. Interesting two-part article here, not advertisements. https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2016/05/assembly-lubes-and-break-in-oils/ https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2016/05/assembly-lubes-and-break-in-oils/
The Jalopy Journal
