Re: Engine very sticky

Posted by Sherlock On 2017/5/12 22:34:57

Could it be the bearings?

I've been able to piece together a bit of history on the engine from the owner's somewhat hazy memories, told to me when I bought the car.

Apparently, new babbitt bearings were made by a jeweler back in the '80s. It is unclear whether the engine was ever run after they were installed. The car was at the same time largely disassembled for painting, so it is quite possible it was not. Soon thereafter, the owner got a job overseas and the car was stored (in pieces) for 20 years.

It is possible and maybe probable that the mechanic who got the car running three or four years ago was the first person to start the engine after the new bearings were installed. He had dropped the pan to inspect before he started the car and, when I talked to him, told me personally how surprised he was that it was clean as a whistle inside. He didn't do anything to the engine other than put oil in the sump and antifreeze solution in the radiator. He then drove the car from his garage to the owner's home. The engine was not started again thereafter.

I was reading on a Model T forum that if new babbitt bearings are over-tightened they can burn. Also, that they should be pre-lubed before the engine is run or they could burn. How the bearings were installed is unknown.

This all suggests there is the possibility that some or all of the bearings are burned. I don't have much experience in this area, so I ask: might burned bearings result in the symptom that the engine will turn but only with great resistance?