How can I tell if my engine has blown or seized? It was stolen and when it was found it was bone dry. No water! It is holding oil and there is not any water or a-freeze mixed in. I added water and it held it. The starter sounds like it wants to kick but all it is doing is just making a tick. Any ideas???

 

Take all the plugs out and try turning the engine by turning the crank pulley by hand...if you can't...the engine is seized.

 

The pulley on the end of the crankshaft damper?

 

Wow that sucks bro but welcome to the forums!!! So the engine itself wont turn over at all?? Was it driven hard did the cops say?? How many miles are on it?? What year?? You should find the theifs and throw some fists...

 

Have you tried jump starting it or charging the battery?

 

I think that cops got to them first. They used it in an armed robbery so no luck getting to those guys. (nice long story goes along with that one) I can tell that it was driven HARD. There is alot of brake dust and the water was either thrown out of the reservoir or it overheated. it is a 95 3.8. Everything on it is pretty much standard. Manual tranny and all that. I can not get it turn at all. It just makes a tick sound when I turn the key. it is coming from the starter so it is either not engaging all of the way or it is just hitting a frozen flywheel.

 

Yeah I have tried that. The battery is good. It is still pushing some good voltage

 

Yes. This is a very simple way to see if it's siezed. You should be able to easily turn the engine without the plugs, as there is no compression.
And if when you try to start it, it only makes a click, it may be the starter solenoid. But try to turn it over by hand first. That way you won't waste time or money on a solenoid you may not need.
Oh, and make sure the tranny is in neutral.

 

same thing happened with my car, the starting issue, make sure the battery is not corroded around the terminals, also try to push start the car, that is what i had to do. Put th car in 2nd gear, push the clutch in, turn the key to the on position and have a couple buddys push you, get rolling pretty good and just dump the clutch, that will get you moving if the engine is not seezed. the jump starting should work so give it a shot and let me know if it works for ya

 

OK. I took the plugs out and it turned over I took the starter off and replaced it. It started Now that it has started it running really bad and there is water coming out of the tailpipe. I assume that this is a blown head gasket.[:@] Anyone have any price estimates on getting this fixed?