Before you pull the heads try pulling the spark plugs to remove compression and allow the gas that's still in the cylinder to exit. Squirt some oil into the cylinders, let em sit for half an hour, and try to crank it over with a breaker bar on the crank.

 

I'll try part of that Alex. Thanks. I used the wrong term. By hydrolocked I meant seized or, better yet, screwed. I can't turn the crank at all right now. But I am going to squirter some oil in the spark plug holes and underneath (I have the oil pan off) to see if I can get it moving. Honestly, if all I have to do is re sleeve the engine I'll be satisfied because I really wanted to do flanged liners anyway but didn't since the original cylinders just need to be re honed.

 

Ahhh, ok. Hydrolocked means that a cylinder filled with fluid (usually water) that the engine couldn't compress. That usually bends or breaks a rod. Did it crank at all? That's extremely strange that it seized right off. Are you positive it wasn't your starter motor or something?

 

I did smoke the starter but I have a couple of extras. I'm sure it seized because I couldn't turn the crank at all even with a long bar. I stopped by an independent shop this evening and the guy was real familiar with the Buick 215. He said the same as you... If it didn't stop while running it is probably okay. He asked me of the crank was broken. Lord no. He said soak some oil on the top of the cylinders and try turning the crank backwards then forwards. Basically he said unless something was gouged it should be fine. I checked the pan and oil tube screen and found zero metal. Everything looks straight. Nothing is burnt. It may be okay. I'm going to soak the oil (I got a gallon of marvel) for a couple of days on the stand and see what happens.

The funny thing is that my old engine now runs perfectly. No codes. No leaks. Nothing. Purrs like it did new. After driving my excursion for a few days it feels like a slug with a lead steering wheel but that's okay. After the gas burnt out of the cats with no explosion (thankfully) there is no smoke. Looks good. Shockingly. Last thing I did was put my Alex hood strut on.

As an added bonus, when I flopped my air conditioner compressor to the side the clutch fell right off and I discovered that the inner spline was rusted to hell. The bolt just fell apart like it was made of peanut butter. 19 dollars down the drain (that's what I paid for it on eBay almost three years ago). . I had an extra in the garage and charged it up a few minutes ago. One less thing to worry about.

One other thing not to worry about is the darned crossmember bolts. They've been replaced with something made from metal, grade 10.9 and with a larger head, not cheese like the old ones.

Old engine put a hex on the new engine, apparently.

 

And the hex continues. Knock sensor wire decided to stay warm on the manifold. I smelled plastic so I stopped and opened the hood just in time to see it melt in half. Just so everyone knows, it will still run with one knock sensor. I think I will splice and route it a long way away from the manifold. Maybe to the roof.

 

Oh man, charlie. You're having bad luck six ways from Sunday.

 

No kidding. But that was an easy fix with wire and a plastic loom protector. It gave me an excuse to lengthen it by maybe 3 feet and run it safely away from the manifold. New plastic loom protector looks so... official. I like.

 

Looks like I'm going to have to go the expensive route. A bar won't turn it, so either the bearings or rings or both are screwed. Once I loosen the bearings I'm into some big money. Oh well, thread over. The swap is fairly straightforward. If you get the hp24 transmission you will also want the swept transmission and transfer case mount brackets. And be sure you check your injectors...

 

Sh*t, Charlie. That sucks really badly, and it's very strange that it's done that. I looked forward to seeing your swap. Oh well, better luck next time I suppose.

 

I've got one more trick up my sleeve. I'm putting concrete bags on the stand so I can crank the xxxx out of it. See what happens. Hahaha. Can't get worse!