2001 V70 Engine is difficult to turn over -high resistance

ChrisCK · Post by **ChrisCK** » 20 Nov 2014, 19:51

Thanks in advance for your consideration of my problem. A few months ago the serpentine belt broke and I replaced it. A couple weeks later my daughter got stranded as she was unable to start the car. Despite attempts to jump the car with cables and then two different jumper boxes, the car only made some clicking sounds and did not turn over. It was towed to a mechanic who said that the timing belt had slipped and the engine was destroyed. (~195k miles on the car. Timing belt and associated parts replaced at ~140k.) I bought a replacement vehicle and the V70 sat in my driveway.

A few weeks ago I pushed it into my garage, and took off the timing cover to find that the timing belt looked AOK, and that all the timing marks lined up when I manually rotated the engine. The starter solonoid was popping out the sprocket to engage the flywheel, but the flywheel wouldn't move. When I pulled the starter motor I could get it to spin with applied voltage, but I replaced the starter anyway just in case the old one had gotten weak. To no avail, the repacement starter also engaged but could not crank the flywheel.

At that point I pulled off the serpentine belt and found that the A/C compressor pulley was frozen. With the belt off I was able to slowly crank the engine and with generous throttling it started. I then purchased a shorter accessory belt and was able to run it through everything but the A/C compressor.
Now with my jumper box maximally charged up I can just barely get enough engine turn over to get it going. It seems to run fairly normally once it is going (although I have not road tested), but the once it is turned off it is very difficult to get it started again. There seems to be excessive resistance within the engine. The engine oil is not low. I would appreciate any insight.

Chris

Post by **oragex** » 20 Nov 2014, 21:29

Well, how easy does the engine turn by hand? You can remove the spark plugs, it should be turning without much effort.

The clicking sound when cranking, sounds very well like the started doesn't get enough power. Perhaps a starter cable is too corroded ? (not unusual on this vehicle)

How did they try to boost the battery? I would put both cables right on the battery terminals and give it a try. But I would check first the red thick cables near the starter for corrosion.

ChrisCK · Post by **ChrisCK** » 21 Nov 2014, 17:19

It takes quite a bit of force with the plugs still in. I can try removing the plugs this weekend and measure the resistance with a torque wrench if that would help. You have a good point about the possibility that the starter is not getting enough charge. I did carefully sandpaper and clean the red cable connector and I replaced the female connector on the smaller ignition triggered wire. I also measured 12v coming through both. Since the battery is in the rear of the vehicle and the jump start terminal is in the engine compartment I have been using the latter. Thanks.
Chris

draser · Post by **draser** » 22 Nov 2014, 09:53

It would and you'd feel the compression build up then almost goes by itself after tdc.

JeffHicks · Post by **JeffHicks** » 22 Nov 2014, 20:37

My money would still be on one of the cams not "timed" correctly, even though I know you've checked that. It just sounds like maybe the exhaust cam isn't opening soon enough.

I suppose it's also remotely possible that your replacement starter isn't good, or you've got some sort of electrical connection problem - perhaps a battery cable not making good connection.

ChrisCK · Post by **ChrisCK** » 23 Nov 2014, 19:57

Thank you Jeff and draser. Today I attached a positive battery jump (from a good battery) directly to the starter. That made no difference. The starter did not have enough power to get much movement of the flywheel.

Next I removed the plugs, and I could hand crank the engine more easily but still found that it required about 15 foot-pounds of sustained force. It definitely did not keep any momentum on its own.

Chris

Post by **oragex** » 23 Nov 2014, 22:20

You can have a look down the spark plug holes with a flash light when the piston is at the bottom to see if there's any metal debris on the piston. I would also check the timing belt tensioner and roller move smoothly (even if they are recent). Something could have gone wrong when the serpentine belt broke, especially since it froze, even if the timing marks are still aligned. Some places also have a small camera that can be inserted by the plugs hole, to have a look inside (those also sell for little on Ebay, endoscope camera)

Post by **vtl** » 23 Nov 2014, 23:02

How about your mechanic actually saw t-belt slipped, he tried to realign it and start the engine?

When I accidentally spilled a bit of Pentosin on serp.belt in my XC70 and few days later the belt fractioned, kevlar fibers made their way to all pulleys (steering pump, alternator, compressor, tensioner, crank pulley). Luckily, T-belt slipped only one tooth on exhaust side, so the engine was not damaged.

I think you need to measure compression in cylinders to figure out if valves are bent.

draser · Post by **draser** » 24 Nov 2014, 11:19

Does not sound good...

ChrisCK · Post by **ChrisCK** » 24 Nov 2014, 20:37

With the flashlight I don't make out any metal bits. I'll try checking the tensioner and roller and if they are OK, I'll borrow a compression gauge at the autoparts store and see what compression I get. With the holiday I may not report back for a week or so. Thanks.