I tried to start a 1981 series 3 (4.2L) after it had been sitting for 10+ years.
Did the engine seize after the first attempt?
What should I do next? I changed out oil and gas so far.
Dead battery. Get a new one. Take your old one along, they will take it in trade.
Assuming your battery and connections are good…
Remove the plugs, spray a little penetrant in each chamber, try an hour later with plugs out. If it cranks, add a few ccs of engine oil and crank again with plugs out. Use this exercise to check for a spark from each plug laid along the cam covers. If OK, put a drop of fuel in each cyl and replace plugs and crank whilst praying to your preferred Deity. There was fire in the hole when Elijah tried it, apparently.
It did seem to rotate at the first attempt. Then it sounds like there’s no clout in the battery. If it’s been sitting for 10 years I would: check oil level; remove spark plugs; put a squirt of oil can oil into each pot; rotate by hand by turning the big nut on the crank pulley or pulling on the fan belts (ideally). If can’t rotate by hand use starter with charged battery and spin over a few times until the oil pressure come up on gauge - the wear surfaces have not seen oil for a long time! Plugs and wires back and try starting (fresh fuel). Did this with my Series 1 after 10 years laid up and it fired. Paul
I am no expert but here’s what I think. Did you hand turn the engine before trying the starter? In any case, try it now: take out the plugs, maybe put a few drops of oil into each cylinder, try tiurning the engine over by hand - I haven’t had to do it but I think there is a big nut on the front end of the crankshaft pully. Pretty hard to get at though so good luck but if iit turns by hand, it’s not seized.
Try a new battery, or a jumpstart, that sounded weak.
Another possibility based on the sound in your clip is that the starter itself is stuck/inop.
Anyway, those are my thoughts but I am sure more expert owners will be along shortly.
David
There. Four rapid fire responses of similar flavour. Nothing if not consistent.
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You guys are awesome. Thanks for helping this noob.
Battery terminals may need cleaning.
If it’s a ten-year parked battery it’s not fit and I assume it has been replaced and cables cleaned if the oil has been changed. However, although the question is about seizure and fuel has been added, cleaning the tanks and fuel lines would be a ‘have-to-have’ before starting, in my view.
Just for anyone else watching this in the future, it sounds exactly the same when it is hydrolocked; head gasket or stuck open injectors. I would definitely remove the spark plugs and if anything’s in the cylinders it will be blown out while cranking.
It is not seized thankfully.
Go by what the others said and then crank it until you have some oil pressure with the spark plugs removed (and preferably, the 7 injectors disconnected, either directly or by removing the blue connector at the intake manifold and the bullet connector that runs with the wiring loom just behind the coil).
When the gas is fresh enough and everything in place it should fire right up, good luck!
Just my two cents of Haz Op Engineering advice, but if you pull the spark plugs and hit the starter, what will be blown out of the spark plug holes will be a highly combustible fuel cloud looking for an ignition source. Leave the ignition off and crank by hand to be safe.
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Except… when the plugs are out, the cylinder wont pull in a full charge of fuel.
That said, one should always disable the ignition, before open cranking the engine.
Yes sir, if we were talking carburetors, I totally agree. But, unless disabled, EFI is going to be spraying atomized fuel without the benefit of manifold depression. What’s the fuel rail pressure in S3 XJ6? 50 psi?
Ah… that fancy, schmancy EFI… yer point is taken!
Mike
I tested the fuel pressure in four of my EFI XJ6s with a fuel pressure gauge attached to the cold start injector hose. On a non-running engine with the fuel rail fully charged by the fuel pump it is about 39 PSI, while running at idle it is about 36 PSI, and while driving around with a fully warmed up engine at various throttle settings from idle to WOT it ranged from 36-39 PSI.
This was using a fuel pressure gauge that I purchased about 20 years ago that has never been calibrated. So there may be some errors in those values.
I agree with your concerns about ignition sources if raw fuel is around.
Paul
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Spec fuel pressure is 36 psi at the rail, Mike - give or take a tad…
Manifold vacuum reduces the rail pressure to maintain a constant pressure between rail and manifold. Idling, the rail pressure is some 30 psi or slightly below…
But ‘raw’ pump pressure may be 100+ psi…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
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If the ignition is disconnected there will be neither fuel nor spark, so that and a towel in the valley would be perfect…
I managed to do just that!!! A couple of years ago, I tuned up the Predator on Little Red, my ols model Troybilt chipper/shredder. I forgot to install the spark plug. I gave it a mghty pull. Abig bang and a red flame!!!
Carl