8100 vortec motor
Asked by mrbfixit Jan 10, 2016 at 10:14 PM about the 2001 Chevrolet Express 3500 RWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I recently purchaaed a 2001 chevy express that
started making what i assumed to be liftre and
rocker arm noise rather suddenlly while driving it
home it stalled and seemed to freeze up the motor
upon inspection the motor is not frozen it turnd
easily to a certian point then locks it wilk turn back
the opposite direction to wothin 10 degrees of the
other stop. Ive removed the valve covers and soark
plugs and the valves are intact any ideas whats
stopping the motor from turning
5 Answers
Did it over heat at all? If so, it may have blown a head gasket and is hydro-locked with coolant in a cylinder. That car has a timing chain, but in the unlikely event it snapped it is an interference engine, meaning the valves are hitting pistons and preventing it from turning over as you describe. You can tell that by watching valve stems when you move the engine by hand. If the valves don't move, it is the chain. Another possibility it has thrown a rod that is binding up
It never overheated and the valves are intact and moving although quite a few of the rocker arms seem more than a little loose. I was hoping that thrown a rod answer never surfaced. I guess next step is drop the oil pan. But if its the bottom end junk yard motor for$750 might be the answer
Plus it stops both ways in exactly the same spot with maybe 10 to 15 degrees of the flywheel unaccessable
I jumped to conclusions and that is not an interference engine. It took far too long for me to discover this, but fact is it is not