Its been a while since I have posted. I blew the first engine (3.0) bout 2 years back, and now have gotten a new 01 engine that is now in. I have a new problem that I was hoping someone maybe interested in bouncing some ideas past me. I tried to turn it over tonigth and it crancked for about a second or two and then stopped. Thinking immediately that I bought a bunk engine, i placed the trans in gear (haines inc mtx 75 w/ less than 1000 miles) and pushed the car back until i could see the cam sprocket reversed past its original starting point, then pushed the car forward and the cam sprocket spun past its original position that it had gotten "stuck" earlier. I dropped the oil pan and there seems to be no probelms below, and by seeing the cam sprocket spin past its original "stuck" position more and more every time, I think it may be a safe bet that 1, the engine is not seized, and 2, there is no foreign debris in the cylinder preventing the piston from reaching top dead center. Prior to installation, both the engine and trans spun freely with no problems. A few issues came to mind after pondering for a few hours and was hoping someone could offer some feedback. first, perhaps the engine and trans are not mated properly, causing the spline to bind somewhere between the engine and trans. 2) (this one is probably reaching but i'd figure it may be a possiblility) could there be an improper bolt that i had installed that may be two long, passing through the trans case and prohibiting the rotating assembly from reaching a certain point 3) could there be a problem with the starter meshing w/ the flywheel 4) could the clutch/pressure plate/flywheel assembly be installed improperly causing the binding? I appreciate any advice anyone may be able to offer before I begin to tear the engine back out.
thanks in advance
