I tried searching for this, but haven't had any luck. I have a '59 Edsel with a 292 in it. Recently when trying to start it, the starter will spin it the right direction for about a half a second and immediately kick it back in the opposite direction and stop. Any ideas?
Well, a family friend suggested I go out and try to turn the engine by hand using a socket and wrench going in the clockwise direction. I just did that and it spun for a few inches and promptly stopped. It feels very tight and won't spin anymore.
might be hydraulic lock, a weeping head gasket filling a cylinder and you cant turn it over any further, pull all the sparkplugs and try again, see if any have antifreeze in them
Nope, spark plugs are out and still binds. It will go counter clockwise for a bit, but when you head back clockwise it binds.
Did any of the plugs have a damaged electrode? There may be a nut, screw or other foreign object on top of a piston, especially if the car has been sitting for a long time or the carb has been off. I'd look at the flywheel/flexplate and see if there was a bolt backed out or too long a bolt in it first though. I don't remember how that starter bolts up but there may be one bolt that is way too long that is contacting something on the flywheel too. If it was running before, what did you work on last and work back from there. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
stuck or bent valve, pull the rocker covers and have a look, was the engine running fine and then one day you went to start it and this trouble started? a worn timing chain more often then not will jump when an engine is shut off, then when you try and start it again no go, but if the engine was sitting for awhile then a valve could of stuck.
Well basically the story goes: Bought it a year ago engine ran perfect when i first started it started to sputter and stall out one day redid the carb still won't stay running kept trying to get it started and all of a sudden it does what it does now.
I hope you didnt drop anything down the intake while the carb was off. My ex bro in law dropped one of the nuts that hold the carb on down the intake and didnt take time to fish it out. It made its way into a cylinder and locked the engine up.
I hope not. I did block the intake while I had the carb was off and tried to take it slow so nothing would fall in.
if something made its way into a cylinder you should be able to fish it out with a small magnet on a wire, i know i have seen many cylinder heads and pistons with marks from screws and nuts rattling around inside.