Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Engine on Super 8 would not turn over, so I separated the flange at the rear of the transmission and rigged some bolts so I could use a lever. Poured WD-40 down the cylinders via a flexible tube and, after a day or so, attempted to turn the engine with the lever. No dice, so I tapped moderately on the lever with a dead hammer to facilitate the WD-40's penetration and added more to cylinders. After a couple days of tapping on and off, I thought I noticed movement, so marked the fan belt and pulley and hammered the lever a few times, more than a tap but not a full blow, from about 8". Sure enough, the engine turned slightly. I was able to get it to turn about 60 degrees with a fair number of light to moderate blows. Put in more WD, let it sit for a couple days and got it to turn back and forth through about 120 degrees, but only using the hammer and lever. This time it seemed like the engine was looser; each stroke moved the engine further than the day before.

If rusty rings were the culprit, I would have thought they would have broken fully loose over this much travel and that would have freed the engine. However, it still cannot be turned by hand even with the plugs out. Something is creating resistance, but the fact it turns through this much arc would seem to preclude a broken part as the cause.

The car was last driven three or four years ago by a mechanic who told me it ran beautifully. It has not been started since. The pan was full of oil. The oil is slightly dirty, but I can see no metal in it. The area under the valve cover, the valve springs and the lifters are oily. The radiator had been drained and the drain valve was open. There is no water in the pan. Is it possible the valves may have gotten varnished up and are so sticky they are inhibiting the engine turning? Any ideas would be appreciated.

I'd be interested in what others think too. Is the Super 8 a post 40 356 or earlier? Packard had issues with sticking valves on the 356 due to rusted stems and guides.

I know there was a fellow on the forum a year or two ago that had started a car after a long sit. He had a running car then shut it off and parked it for a few days. Tried to start again and had no luck. His engine turned over but he had no compression in several cylinders. When he pulled the head to check and then do the valves some of them were stuck so badly that it took brute force to remove them. I believe several here blamed the situation on varnish buildup from using some old rotten gas that was still in the car. Apparently that sticking valve issue and old gas has happened more than once. I suppose it is possible one or two valves stuck long ago and not being able to raise now could cause your problem.

As far as turning the engine by hand, I don't think I have ever been able to do that as some have said it is possible to do by grabbing the fan or belt. Have been able to use a breaker bar on the crankshaft nut or a prybar in the flywheel teeth though. Your bolted on lever sounds as if it should provide plenty of force though.

Good Afternoon...Many of us use a 50-50 mixture of Automatic Transmission fluid and Acetone...it will break things loose a bit quicker. There are other products on the market that are also more powerful than what you are using...Basically, don't force it, soak it. Be patient with the old girl. Ernie

Hi all, Appreciate your responses. The engine is a 385. I don't think it was run with old gas because the mechanic had disconnected the fuel line from the tank (it still is) and run the car from a portable gas can. It might be the rings have detached from the cylinder walls but are still corrosion-bound and/or not flexing in their grooves. I'll try the acetone/ATF method. If anyone else has an idea, please shoot it this way! Thanks.

WD-40 is really a very poor choice, it's for dispersing water and really has no useful properties when it comes to rust. Kroil and PB Blaster are the traditional choices for loosening rust.

Of course you should be able to turn the engine over by hand, for years the 385 engine came with a hand crank for emergency use. Not saying it's easy with the plugs in, quite easy with them out.

To check if the valves are moving or not, remove the cover from the side of the block and observe if any are stuck as you do your turns. Have you tried turning the engine back the other way? You could observe valve action by marking the valve stems when you do that.

Owen D, you are right. Turns out the vaunted WD-40 is not a good rust dissolver, merely a preventative. Thanks for the tip. I just put 50-50 acetone/ATF down the cylinders. That is supposed to be the strongest of all, or so they say.

Oz, I shall try that if, after giving the acetone/ATF mix a good shot at it, there is still untoward resistance.

I would be very careful with those stuck valves: If you force them by rotating the engine you could easily damage the roller followers. The cam profile will generate a huge force well beyond what the followers were meant to transmit.

Might be good to take the valve covers off and work the valves loose with a punch and some Blaster.

Just adding emphasis to Ross' point about damaging the cam follower arm and roller, seen the results of this several times. If in fact the problem is frozen valves, don't try to free them by rotating the engine!